Zenith is the first watchmaker to create a watch that was directly inspired by a portrayal in a Japanese manga or anime series.
In the opening episode of the animated Lupin The Third series, Daisuke Jigen, the titular character Arsène Lupin III’s debonair right-hand man and best buddy, is seen wearing a watch based on the Zenith A384 model with a black, grey, and gold dial. In the closing episode of the first season, Jigen is shown wearing another Zenith chronograph, but this time with a different panda dial that never existed.
Zenith finally transformed imagination into reality in 2019 by releasing the Chronomaster Revival Lupin The Third, employing the immediately recognized A384 tonneau-shaped case and duplicating the distinctive black dial featured in the first episode, over 50 years after the anime series aired.
The second white and panda dial variant was introduced the following year. The third and final limited edition of this extraordinary cooperation is coming, and it couldn’t be more surprising, featuring two dials in one.
The dial features two different and asymmetrical parts that combine all of the components from the opening and final episodes of the series’s first season. Lupin, the first Chronomaster and the Revival Lupin are on one side. The third version has a semi-glossy black dial with deep grey counters and gold applied markers and hands, whereas the second edition has a creamy-white dial with contrasting black counters in a panda format and beige super luminova.
There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to constructing such a unique dial, which provided the staff at Zenith Manufacture with a fresh and unusual type of task.
The blank dial is completed in a silvery-white hue on the right side, the black chronograph counters are milled, and the remainder of the dial is coated with a clear and colorless lacquer. Because the second half of the dial must be painted black, the white half of the dial is protected.If the protection isn’t correctly applied, colors can bleed into each other, ruining the dial.
Another layer of complexity is added in a third grey color that must be applied for the counters. Reproducing the dual-dial effect with perfectly separated elements for an entire series proved nearly impossible, but the uniquely intriguing result made it worth the effort.
This pretty unique dial is placed in a 37 mm steel barrel-shaped case that is a proportional and finished copy of the A384 model. It’s completed with a steel ladder bracelet that was initially fashioned by Gay Frères and has a vintage vibe on it.
This watch is powered by El Primero 400, the automatic movement that features an integrated chronograph. This movement beats at a frequency of 36,000vph and has a power reserve of 50 hours. The movement can be seen via the sapphire case back, which is engraved with a drawing of Daisuke Jigen.
The Chronomaster Revival Lupin The Third ‘Final Edition’ is available in a limited edition of just 250 pieces for those who missed out on the first and second special editions or simply just want to complete their set.
