When Georges Favre-Jacot created his watch manufacture in 1865, he already knew that emotion stems from a combination of boldness and authenticity. Later, to suggest that his brand offered the best in experience and high standards, he named the company the highest point in the sky: Zenith.
The founder of Zenith Manufacturing has shown his boldness since the first year of activity. This was a visionary who built in Le Locle, a small town in the Swiss canton of Neuchâtel, large and bright studios to gather all watchmaking art under one roof. Thus was born the first integrated watchmaking manufacture that still remains in its original location. In this way, it was possible to develop and manufacture all components and master the whole manufacturing process, not only of movements but also of enamel or painted dials and even boxes. Very quickly, he conveyed to his artisans his vocation: to continually invent with total creative freedom to design incomparable clocks from beginning to end.
In fact, innovation has become a tradition at Zenith, so that throughout its history Manufacturing has registered over 300 patents, created over 600 varieties of movements and holds the absolute record of awards won in the area of timekeeping, more precisely, 2333 awards. Launched in 1969, the first integrated automatic chronograph movement that beats at an exceptional rate of 36,000 vibrations per hour, the El Primero chronograph remains a reference.
Incidentally, this is still the most accurate serial caliber in the world. These feats would have been impossible without the women and men who performed them. This is because if Manufacturing owes its reputation, generation after generation, to the talent and passion of its artisans, it is also due to the incredible projects it has accompanied over time, carried out by extraordinary personalities.
From aviation, exploration or simply adventure. From Louis Blériot in 1909 to Felix Baumgartner in 2012 to Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, who discovered the South Pole in 1911, Zenith's history is marked by figures that perfectly illustrate its genetic code: nurturing the adventurous spirit of those who challenge the rules in their pursuit of freedom and fullness.
In the world of watchmaking, brands have to distinguish themselves and this mainly involves creating a world of their own. As a lasting brand, Zenith has since its inception been based on values with which everyone, both its customers and its employees, can identify.
