Zenith Watches

About Zenith Watches

In 1865, Georges Favre-Favre-Jacot founded Zenith at the young age of twenty-two. As legend has it, Favre-Jacot was working late into the night on one of his watches. After he had finished, he went outside to see the night sky. As Favre-Jacot gazed up into the universe, he saw how his creations were imitations of the stars. The way all of the stars revolved around the Pole Star reminded him of exactly how his mechanical pieces functioned. With this idea in mind, Favre-Jacot named the manufacturer after the highest point in the universe, the Zenith.

One of Favre-Jacot’s initial goals for the company was efficiency. At the time, each of the skilled craftsmen needed to supply watch parts were spread across the country and stationed in different workshops. In an era without modern day communication techniques, this made it incredibly difficult to run an effective watch operation. In response, Favre-Jacot created a larger and more dynamic setup for his workers. With this idea, he was able to create a company that ran exponentially faster than other companies in that time period. As it turned out, bringing all workers under one roof became an idea that many other watch brands would emulate. Today, Favre-Jacot is credited with inventing the concept of the modern day manufacture.

Soon, Favre-Jacot began enjoying the successes of his watch company. As he continued to manufacture newer and better watches, he won Grand Prix medals for timekeeping precision in Geneva, Paris, Barcelona, and Neuchatel. Favre-Jacot realized that he was a pioneer in watch history at the time. This propelled him to create some of the world’s most precise watches. In its history spanning over 150 years, Zenith has received more than 1,595 first-place observatory prizes in chronometry. This makes them one of the most decorated watch companies in the world.

Despite Favre-Jacot’s early accomplishments, a number of the brands most remarkable achievements have taken place in the modern era. Many of these centralize around the creation of extraordinary movements. One of the more notable came in 1948. That year, Zenith launched the Caliber 135. This chronometer movement featured a small seconds hand and went on to receive over 200 awards for accuracy and design. In 1960, they debuted the Caliber 5011K, which boasted record-breaking precision fit for marine chronometers. This movement would also go on to be used in the Pilot Montre d’Aeronef Type 20 limited edition. Then, in 1969 came the introduction of the iconic El Primero. Today, there continues to be much debate over who was truly the first to release the automatic chronograph. However, the El Primero was undeniably one of the first and definitively the most precise.

Shortly after the launch of the legendary El Primero, Zenith and the entire Swiss watchmaking industry faced the Quartz Crisis. In response, Zenith announced they would discontinue the production of mechanical movements, including the beloved El Primero. They sold all their machines, tools, and components for scrap then pivoted to exclusively producing quartz calibers. All those years of work, the history, and the very existence of the El Primero could have ended right there if not for a man named Charles Vermot. Vermot was one of the watchmakers involved in the development of the El Primero, and he couldn’t let it disappear. So, he disassembled machines, stowed away parts and cutting tools, and filed route sheets into binders. After the height of the quartz craze faded, Vermot revealed what he had done. By 1984, Zenith was able to produce their signature movement again.

Zenith’s next major movement development came a decade later in 1994. That year, they unveiled the Elite. This ultra-thin automatic movement was the first caliber for which Zenith employed Computer Assisted Design technology. Once again, the brand received an award for the innovation of this impressive caliber.

In the new millennium, the illustrious LVMH group purchased Zenith. With the resources of a larger company, Zenith has been able to expand its offerings over the past several years. In that time, we’ve seen numerous variations of the El Primero. The most recent came in 2019 in celebration of the model’s monumental 50th anniversary. Zenith commemorated the occasion with a trio of limited edition variations. There have also been a number of incarnations of the Defy collection. The line was originally called the Defi under Favre-Jacot’s initial leadership and through the 1990s. The modern Defy collection resurged in 2011 with a totally new feel. One of the most recent iterations also came in 2019: the Defy Classic Ceramic. Another notable model came in 2014 in anticipation of the brand’s impressive 150th anniversary. That year, they paid homage to the brand’s beloved founder with the Academy Georges Favre-Jacot. The high-frequency and time only model featured a unique aperture showcasing a fuse and chain mechanism.