We’ve often talked about homages, which tends to invoke the name ‘Rolex’. Well, today is no different. However, today we’ll take a look at a watch that, while being a Rolex homage, also featured something very important that Rolex borrowed from it first: the Zenith Caliber 400.
The Zenith El Primero movement may be known as one of the first automatic chronographs, but one of its early variants, the El Primero 400, was used in the Rolex ‘Zenith’ Daytona ref. 16520. And the same year Rolex introduced its automatic Daytona, 1988, Zenith released the first series of its own ‘Daytona’ looking Cal. 400-powered chronographs, nicknamed the ‘De Luca’.
These Zeniths had a very similar dial configuration to the Daytona at the time, some of which even had Rolex’s ‘Mercedes’ hands in the second series. Among the very first references of the De Luca, according to Manfred Rössler, were the 01.0042.400/01.0043.400, of which only about 1000 each were produced between 1988 and 1989. Over the years, into the late 1990s as the De Luca continued to be produced, the dial configuration and design changed. Often edging closer to the look of the Daytona - even including the aforementioned ‘Mercedes’ hands. Although I would say that throughout these changes it did very much keep its essence, even if that essence is that of the Rolex Daytona in the first place.
Zenith ‘De Luca’ Chronograph ref. 01.0040.400 / Credit: Catawiki user cool objects
Now, the story of the nickname for the ‘De Lucas’ is not really ‘scientific’. It goes back to a distributor working for Zenith named “De Luca” in Italy, who took it upon himself to design a new Zenith chronograph that he believed his clients would like⁵. Zenith agreed with this De Luca and then made the first, small batch of chronographs in 1988. It’s not exactly clear why, of all people, this mythical De Luca was able to get through to the big brains in Le Locle, but he did and as a result Zenith had a beautiful automatic chronograph to produce for the next decade or so. Part of that is also the fact that Zenith was competing with Rolex, and so this design was perfect for going head-to-head commercially (literally even).
So, while the De Lucas may not be that popular today, surely underrated vintage/neo-vintage chronographs, they are well worth their salt! Today you can expect to pay about $5,000 USD for a model in good working, original condition – and expect that to keep on rising, as 1990s watches become ever more popular.
By: Andres Ibarguen
Zenith ‘De Luca’ ref. 01.0300.400/Rolex Daytona ref. 16520 comparison
Read more:
“Tracking the Rolex Daytona: A 55-Year History.” Watch Time, March 24th, 2020, https://www.watchtime.com/featured/tracking-the-rolex-daytona-a-53-year-history.
Rössler, Manfred. Zenith: Swiss Watch Manufacture Since 1865. Damiani, February 1st, 2009.
Sweeting, Dave. “The Evolution of the Zenith De Luca.” Watch Gecko, April 6th, 2020, https://www.watchgecko.com/the-evolution-of-the-zenith-de-luca/.