Zenith El Primero A384 Revival Dubai Watch

The first enthusiasts’ club in the United Arab Emirates, Dubai Watch Club (DWC) has regularly created limited edition for its members. The latest is the Zenith Chronomaster Revival Dubai Watch Club, a striking new take on the old-school Zenith El Primero A384. Zenith has done many variants of the A384 remake, but the DWC edition is different, being both conspicuous and subtle.
The yellow is hard to miss, particularly with the contrast-colour case and registers, but the Eastern Arabic numerals elements are subtle and practically invisible at a distance. It only reveals the distinctively local details up close, which gives it the appeal of an insider’s watch. More generally, the A384 remake that’s the base of the DWC edition is an appealing watch in itself because it retains practically all of the aesthetics of the original, including the compact case, but executes it in a thoroughly modern way in the form of a titanium case coated in diamond-like carbon (DLC).
Founded by Emirati collectors including Adel Al-Rahmani and Nawaf Al-Abdooli, DWC started with 10 members in 2014, a tally that has multiple tenfold since then. Amongst the club’s past editions was the Cartier Santos-Dumont XL in 2021.

The DWC El Primero is based on the A384 remake in titanium, with the dial being unique to the DWC edition. The dial is a bright yellow while the sub-dials and tachymeter scale in dark grey to match the case.

Only up close do Middle East-inspired elements reveal themselves: all of the numerals are in Eastern Arabic script. This includes the tachymeter, date wheel, and even the scales on the chronograph registers. The dial otherwise retains the classical A384 design, including the baton indices and four lines of text below 12 o’clock.

The case is 37 mm like the vintage original, but slightly thicker to accommodate the display back. Under the sapphire back is the Zenith El Primero A384 Revival Dubai Watch 400, a gently modernised version of the El Primero calibre from 1969, but still identical to the original in all substantive ways.