With its hexagonal cushion-shaped case, pump-style pushers, tachymetre scale, tri-compax layout and steel ladder bracelet, it is clearly meant to be Zenith’s 1969 El Primero reference A384. Dressed in a tight blue and white jumpsuit and matching helmet, he’s wearing goggles and – wait a minute – what’s that on his wrist? A close-up reveals that the watch is a cartoon take of perhaps the most famous chronograph of the day. In the very first episode, we see marksman Daisuke Jigen behind the wheel of a red sports car. The success of the print version of Lupin III spawned a TV series in 1971. The first watch to appear in “Lupin the Third”, clearly inspired by the El Primero A384 Fast on their heels is Inspector Koichi Zenigata of Interpol. Other characters in Lupin III are Goemon Ishikawa XIII, a master swordsman and Lupin’s love interest (and occasional competitor for the loot), the voluptuous femme fatale Fujiko Mine. Daisuke Jigen is his sidekick and an expert marksman (always dressed in dark suits with strong mafia overtones). His modus operandi is to send a calling card to potential victims and alert them to his intentions. A huge success and one of Japan’s longest-living franchises, Lupin III has evolved from print to a TV series, from films to video games and from live-action films to television specials and even a musical!Īs the grandson of Arsène Lupin, the fictional gentleman thief, detective and master of disguise created by French writer Maurice Leblanc in 1905, Lupin III inherits his grandfather’s penchant for robbery and dapper style. Created by Monkey Punch (Kazuhiko Katō), Lupin III was first serialised in Weekly Manga Action magazine in August 1967. Lupin III is one of the most popular characters in Japanese manga folklore. Limited to 200 pieces, the watch was initially available exclusively at the Zenith Ginza Boutique in Tokyo but will be winging its way over to international retailers very soon. For 2020, Zenith follows up with a second Revival Lupin the Third model based on a second cameo appearance of Zenith’s A384 in the first TV series dedicated to Lupin the Third and his gang. Although brands like Seiko are at home producing watches dedicated to characters from Japanese manga, the Zenith Chronomaster Revival “Lupin the Third” marked Zenith’s first foray into this imaginary dimension – and it was a resounding success. It was unprecedented because this black and grey model only existed in the ‘fictionalised’ realm of gentleman-thief Lupin’s universe. Last year Zenith launched an unprecedented version of its Chronomaster A384 inspired by the Japanese manga and anime series Lupin the Third.
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