Zenith was born 150 years ago

1865 in Le Locle, a small village in the Neuchâtel mountains of Switzerland. Georges Favre-Jacot, a young man barely 22 years of age, set up his own watchmaking workshop. His aim was to create complete watches in an era when movement components were made by scattered and isolated artisans. The future entrepreneur invented a landmark concept by regrouping the region’s many talents under one roof. This enabled him to incorporate a foundry, rolling-mills and stamping machines, as well as case- and dial-making. In parallel, he created the principle of components that were interchangeable between various movements. One of the first industrial watch manufacturing facilities in the modern sense of the term was born. A Manufacture that the tirelessly innovative founder would do his utmost to develop on an international scale.

A whole planet to be discovered
The second half of the 19th century brought considerable progress in the domain of transport, making journeys slightly less tedious and not quite so long. From 1870 onwards, George Favre-Jacot began traveling on foot as well as by train, car and boat around the world - and notably to Russia - for the purpose of selling his watches. As of 1900, he entrusted his nephew and son-in-law Jämes Favre with touring the markets - Europe, China, Manchuria, Japan, North and South America, the Philippines, British India and the Dutch East Indies – in order to evaluate their profitability and their development potential. Zenith thereby developed one of the watch industry’s earliest distribution networks. Subsequently, various commercial contracts, especially with railway and airline companies, substantially fostered the brand’s global reach.

Friends past and present
A loyal partner in countless challenges for the past 150 years, Zenith has consistently been right there alongside those who constantly push back human limits. Whether in accompanying the early days of aviation at the start of the 20th century with Louis Blériot, imparting the cadence for the travels and prayers of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, freefalling from the stratosphere with Felix Baumgartner, sailing on a giant trimaran with the Spindrift racing team, delivering standout performances on stage with The Rolling Stones, or racing on Europe’s most prestigious tracks at the wheel of classic cars: the interaction with these daring individuals has always been embedded in the very genes of the manufacture.

The all-conquering spirit
The only true conquerors are front-runners who display a daring approach. Zenith’s enterprising spirit and the innovation that has always stemmed from it go hand in hand with the conquests it has accompanied. Whether on land, in the air or at sea, the brand was involved in the technological breakthroughs and the challenges taken up by the heroes of its time throughout the 20th century. In the air, one such pioneer was Marcel-Georges Brindejonc des Moulinais, who became the first pilot to fly from Paris to Warsaw. On land, Zenith was sucessively appointed from 1910 onwards official suppplier to the US army, the Swiss postal service as well as a number of national railway companies. At sea, Zenith quickly earned a reputation for its onboard instruments and marine chronometers. Thanks to the Defy watch line boasting water resistance to 600 metres, the manufacture from Le Locle made a noteworthy entrance into the world of subaquatic exploration.

Chronometry: aiming for perfection
Zenith soon became involved in the race for precision, to the point of making it an immutable quality objective extending beyond its participation in competitions. Between 1903 and 1968 (the year the last chronometry competition of the era was held), Zenith won prestigious prizes for the excellence of its calibres, filed more than 300 patents and created legendary calibres interpreted in over 600 different versions. Among them were Calibre 5011-O, which won the absolute precision record in the Pocket Chronometer with spring balance category (1967); the famous Calibre 135, which earned 235 chronometry prizes from 1949 onwards; the legendary El Primero (1969), the world’s first integrated chronograph; and the Elite (1994), an ultra-thin automatic movement and the first calibre from the manufacture to be developed using computer-assisted design technology. The Elite movement, which has since then served to power a number of different models, was voted movement of the year in 1994.

Haute horlogerie according to Zenith
Zenith has consistently displayed outstanding expertise in the development and production of exceptional models, with one particularly striking recent example being the Academy Christophe Colomb Hurricane and its self-regulating gyroscopic module. Named Gravity Control, the latter serves to maintain the regulating organ in a horizontal position however the watch is tilted, so as to generate the best possible precision. The movement - an El Primero - is also equipped with fusée and chain transmission compensating for the variations in the force of the barrel as the latter unwinds. Five years of research, 939 components of which 354 for the calibre, 173 for the Gravity Control module and 575 for the fusée and chain transmission: the Academy Christophe Colomb Hurricane enables Zenith to provide a definitive solution to the effects of gravity on a watch’s smooth operation. And also to establish itself as a major actor on the contemporary haute horlogerie scene.

A big revolution in a small world
On January 10th 1969, Zenith staged the worldwide launch of its automatic El Primero calibre. This world-first movement was equipped with an integrated chronograph - rather than an additional module - equipped with a column wheel and beating at the high frequency of 36,000 vibrations per hour ensuring tenth-of-a-second precision. The El Primero calibre soon became a legend and now, almost 40 years since its launch, remains unrivalled in the realm of precision. While it continues to drive Zenith timepieces, such as the El Primero Chronomaster 1969 anniversary model, it has constantly evolved over the years and been enriched with various horological complications as well as avant-garde mechanisms that have earned it many distinctions. Its various interpretations, each contributing to the advancement of time measurement, are now part of a complete collection bearing its name.

Elegance and the art of watchmaking
Zenith has always been a manufacture attuned to its times. From the start of the 20th century, it began cooperating with artists of the Art Nouveau movement, and from 1925, with proponents of Art Deco. These partnerships encompassed its watch models as well as its advertising and image. Likewise, the Manufacture naturally expressed its love for women, to the extent that at one point in its history it was actually producing more ladies’ than men’s models. These feminine timepieces were of course also imbued with daring and authenticity: from the pocket watches of the early decades, through pendant jewellery watches and on to the complicated wristwatches of the modern era, Zenith has always regarded ladies’ watches as an anthem to femininity, an ongoing romance regularly nurtured by new «declarations of love» and a timeless affirmation admirably embodied in the Star 33 mm collection.

To the next 150 years !
While 150 years undoubtedly represent an exceptional slice of history that is well worth celebrating, nostalgia has no place at the manufacture Zenith, which continues to write history. The daring attitude and the enterprising spirit cherished by the brand with the guiding star are conveyed through new territories to be conquered, fresh chapters to be written, as well as new struggles in which to engage. As a partner of Tour Auto Optic 2000, Zenith has become official timekeeper of historical car races on Europe’s most prestigious tracks. It also partners with French footballer Eric Abidal and his foundation for children struck by cancer. The upcoming years will be marked on the one hand by a determination to focus on the brand’s expertise, and on the other by a commitment to live in step with its times by creating daring and highly contemporary watches.

The manufacture in a few dates:

• 1865 Georges Favre-Jacot revolutionises watchmaking by bringing all skills under one roof.
• 1900 The manufacture wins the gold medal at the Universal Exhibition in Paris.
• 1911 The manufacture definitively adopts the name Zenith, a symbol of excellence for the brand with the guiding star.
• 1925 Zenith is nicknamed «the manufacture with 2,000 pairs of gold and silver hands».
• 1910-60 Zenith develops onboard instruments equipping planes, cars, trucks and trains.
• 1948 Launch of the legendary Calibre 135 equipped with small seconds, which will earn 235 prizes.
• 1960 Launch of Calibre 5011-O, which sets a precision record in its category and will power marine chronometers.
• 1969 Zenith creates El Primero, the first integrated automatic chronograph that is still the most accurate in the world.
• 1975 The quartz era is in full swing. Charles Vermot hides the production tools required for automatic movements, thereby saving the El Primero calibre from destruction.
• 1984 Mechanical watches are back in fashion. Charles Vermot reveals where the corresponding production tools are hidden.
• 1994 Launch of the ultra-thin automatic Elite calibre, voted movement of the year.
• 2000 Zenith joins the LVMH group.
• 2003 Zenith creates the Open concept featuring a dial opening revealing the escapement of the El Primero calibre.
• 2009 the El Primero calibre celebrates its 40th birthday (and Le Locle is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site).
• 2010 Birth of the El Primero Striking 10th, featuring a sweep seconds hand displays tenths of a second.
• 2011 The Academy Christophe Colomb Equation of Time wins the Best Complicated Watch Prize at the Grand prix d’horlogerie de Genève (GPHG).
• 2012 The Pilot Big Date Special wins the «Petite aiguille» prize at the GPHG. The main building of the manufacture is renovated.
• 2014 The manufacture becomes official timekeeper of the Tour Auto Optic 2000.
  
  

September 03, 2015