{"product_id":"zenith-a278-chronograph-as01590","title":"Zenith A278 Chronograph","description":"\u003cp\u003eGeorges Favre-Jacot began producing pocket watches in Le Locle at the age of twenty-two. By the turn of the 20th century, Favre-Jacot would be producing marine chronometers and chronometer-grade movements, and a chronometer movement of his would win at a competition in Neuchâtel in 1903. Under the brand name Zenith, formally established in 1911, Favre-Jacot expanded his production to include wristwatches.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eZenith's chronographs, in particular, gained a reputation for excellence. At first Zenith used Excelsior Park and Valjoux movements, sharing them with \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.analogshift.com\/collections\/universal-geneve\/products\/universal-geneve-medico-compax-1\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Universal Genève Medico-Compax\"\u003eUniversal Genève\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.analogshift.com\/collections\/movado\/products\/movado-datron-hs360-18k-gold-chronograph\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Movado Datron HS360 18K Gold Chronograph\"\u003eMovado\u003c\/a\u003e (which Zenith would acquire in 1969). By the 1960s Zenith acquired èbauche manufacturer Martel and began using their movements exclusively. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePerhaps the most notable of these Martel-designed chronograph movements was the Caliber 146. First produced in 1969, the Caliber 146 came in two iterations, one--the Caliber 146HP--with a three-register dial layout that Universal Genève used in the 1950s. The other, which can be found in this watch, the Reference A278, was the two-register Caliber 146DP. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1969 was a banner year for horology, because it was the year that the first automatic chronograph movement was produced. Dubbed \"Project 99,\" this was a race between a team consisting of \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.analogshift.com\/collections\/heuer\/products\/heuer-autavia-gmt-1\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Heuer Autavia GMT Reference 11630\"\u003eHeuer\u003c\/a\u003e, Buren, Dubois-Depraz, \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.analogshift.com\/collections\/breitling\/products\/breitling-1450-chronograph-1\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Breitling Reference 1450\"\u003eBreitling\u003c\/a\u003e; Seiko; and Zenith. Zenith used the Caliber 146 as a basis for the caliber which Zenith would dub \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.analogshift.com\/collections\/zenith\/products\/zenith-el-primero-1\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Zenith El Primero Reference A385\"\u003e\"El Primero\"\u003c\/a\u003e--or \"the first.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eZenith ceased using manually-wound movements in their chronographs after the introduction of the\u003ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.analogshift.com\/collections\/zenith\/products\/zenith-67810-chronograph\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Zenith El Primero Reference 67810 Chronograph\"\u003e El Primero\u003c\/a\u003e movement. Due to this fact, Zenith chronographs with manually-wound movements are relatively rare. The Reference A27 series came in several iterations, including one with a white dial (Reference A273) and a silver dial (Reference A279). Of these, the black-dialed Reference A278 is perhaps the most uncommonly-seen. Combining an attractive and desirable colorway--a \"reverse panda,\" with white indices on a black dial--with a sturdy movement, the Reference A278 is desirable and sure to please. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Zenith","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":21357316353,"sku":null,"price":3975.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0809\/1255\/products\/Zenith_A278_Chronograph_AS01590_2.jpg?v=1480104641","url":"https:\/\/www.analogshift.com\/products\/zenith-a278-chronograph-as01590","provider":"Analog:Shift","version":"1.0","type":"link"}