Lupin the Third is an iconic mange first released in 1967. It relates the adventures of of master thief Arsène Lupin III, the grandson of Arsène Lupin, heroes of the Maurice Leblanc'novels. Most of us in the western world, will not know the manga but will ndoubtedly remember the animated series or film. Despite his obvious French link, I never understood why the series was called "Edgar, Detective Cambrioleur", probably due to some copyright issue. Such a pity, for ones a French hero was internationally known... except in France. At least we still have Jean-Luc Picard. I enjoyed watching this TV series in my childhood, Lupin (Edgar de la Cambriole in French) and his sidekicks, Goemon Ishikawa XII, the Japanese swordsman, and Daisuke Jigen, the gunman. This latest character is the connection between the animated serie and Zenith, because he has been seen few times wearing a black and a white Zenith chronograph, very similar to the A384 model. Zenith released in 2019 a black dial Zenith El Primero Lupin III homage, limited to 50 pieces only for the Japanese market. In 2020 was release the white dial Zenith El Primero Lupin III homage, limited to 200 pieces worldwide. So what could Zenith prepare for the third edition? Well, simple, a combination of the first and second edition design but now in titanium.

The El Primero still remains one of the most influential chronograph in the watch industry, and despite being 50 years old, it still possesses modern characteristics. Three-register compax design, self-winding caliber based on column-wheel and lateral clutch architecture, 5Hz movement, date feature, these characteristics are still up-to-date! Zenith celebrated the 50th anniversary of the El Primero with a retro-inspired edition with a 70's tonneau-shaped case and a panda, the Zenith El Primero A384 Revival 50th Anniversary, which is quite similar to the El Primero Lupin III second edition.

The Zenith Chronomaster Revival El Primero A385 comes in a 37 mm diameter and 13 mm thick steel case, adopting an angular tonneau shape. This case shape is reminiscent of the 60's and 70's early El Primero models. The watches with tonneau cases look bigger than what the case dimensions suggest, so you should not be afraid of the 37 mm only diameter of the case. The watch wear very well on a 16 cm circumference wrist.

The tonneau-shaped has a magnificent radially-brushed top surface, and polished edges. It reminds me of the vintage Omega Speedmaster Mark II. The Zenith case is however more angular than the one of the Omega. I have to say I really like these brushed cases. It is so difficult to find a vintage one in good conditions, which means not-polished, that I am glad Zenith brought back to life this case design. In contrast with two first Lupin III editions, this third edition case is not made of stainless steel but of titanium. The watch is surprisingly light.

The main feature of the Lupin III third edition is its dial. This El Primero chronograph keeps the compax tri-register layout, but the main dial is diagonally separated into two color schemes.

The right side of the main dial is black, whereas the right side is white, in fact light cream to be correct.

The running 60s-subdial is located at 9 o'clock is dark grey and contrasts with the main dial black side. The counter 30min-subdial located at 3 o'clock and the counter 12h-subdial located at 6 o'clock are both black and contrast with the main dial white side.

It shoudl be noticed that the 6 o'clock subdial is slightly smaller than the two other ones. The hands of the white subdial are painted in white color, whereas the hand of the black subdial adopts a golden color.

"ZENITH", "CHRONOGRAPH", "AUTOMATIC" and "El Primero" are printed in golden color on the black-side of the dial just below the 12 o'clock index.

The hours are indicated on the main dial by applied faceted golden rectangular indices. The golden central hands are also faceted and their center is black. In contrast the counter second hand is painted in white color. The hour indices and the central hands are coated with faux-patina SuperLuminova. This beige tone goes well with the two dial colors.

Like the main dial, the tachymetric scale is separated into a white and black section. The tachymetric scale background is dark grey on the dial black-side, whereas it is white on the white-side.

A date window is located on the white-side of the main dial at 4.5 o'clock. The date is printed in white color on a black background.

The dial is protected by a domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment on both sides. The watch has a 50M water resistance.

There is no crown guards on the case to protect the counter pushers and the crown. This is typical of the 70s case design. The crown is signed with the Zenith star.

The watch is of course powered by the iconic El Primero caliber. The in-house caliber 400 is a self-winding chronograph caliber based on a column-wheel and lateral-clutch architecture. It beats at 36'000 v/h (5 Hz) and has a power reserve reaches 50 hours.

The caliber can be seen through the transparent sapphire crystal of the case back. The caliber rotor is decorated with a "Côtes de Genève" motif. The Zenith star is engraved on the rotor as well as "ZENITH EL PRIMERO" on the rotor left side and "MANUFACTURE LE LOCLE" on the right side. The caliber is maintained by flame-heating blue screws. The caliber blue column wheel and the horizontal clutch are also visible through the transparent case back.

As everyone is expected, a reference to the Lupin III manga is visible on th ecase back. The drawing of Daisuke Jigen holding his hat is printed in black color on the transparent case back. "LIMITED EDITION ONE OF 250" is engraved on the metal part of the case back.

This bracelet is a modern interpretation of the vintage ladder bracelet made by the Gay Frères. The main feature of this bracelet is the large apertures between the links. The bracelet stays airy, and doesn't look like anything else but is incredibly lighter, especially in titanium. The bracelet clasp is a bit old-fashion, it looks like a Rolex Oster bracelet clasp. At least there are nine holes in the clasp to well adjust the bracelet length.

I will be straight forward, I love this A384 Lupin The Third Final Edition, not because I am a fan of the Lupin animated series, but because I love its half-white and half-black dial. To cut the dial that way seem absurd at first glance, but the watch really looks awesome. I have to congratulate the Zenith design team for taking the risk to engineer this king of unusual and polarizing dial. I would however have put the date on a white background instead of a black one, to make it visually less intrusive. That is my only (little) complain. It is clear from my previous reviews that I am a fan of the Zenith El Primero Chronomaster Revival case. I love its retro-inspired tonneau case and its radially brushed finish. It was however quite a surprise to hold this watch. It was so light! I would have never imagine a fully titanium watch, case and bracelet, could weight so little. The El Primero caliber stilt retains modern performances. I really appreciate to be able to see the column-wheel through the transparent case back. I also appreciate to see the drawing of Daisuke Jigen on the case back. This is in fact the only element connecting the watch to the Lupin the Third manga. For those looking for a more classical design, I can only recommend to have a look to the panda dial Zenith El Primero A384 Revival 50th Anniversary or the fumé dial Zenith El Primero A385 Revival, but to me, the Zenith Chronomaster Revival A384 Lupin The Third Final Edition is really the model I like the most of the collection. Such a pity only 250 have been produced. They have all been sold by now and I truly envy their owners.