Zenith is one of the very few brands that has a real in-house tradition of early aviation watches. Louis Blériot crossed the Channel in 1909 with a Zenith watch on his wrist, and that piece has inspired a long series of classic pilot’s watches by the brand, all based on that original. Next year will…
Zenith confirms the generalized move towards vintage styles and smaller case sizes with the Heritage 146 chronograph. It is directly inspired by a 1960s watch and it has a 38 mm-diameter steel case, 12.45 mm thick. A water resistance of 10 atm (100 metres) is higher than usual and gives you the assurance that you…
The Zenith Chronomaster El Primero Grande Date Full Open reveals the application of Jean-Claude Biver’s marketing approach as already applied at Hublot. There, a single in-house movement, the Unico, has been used for countless skeletonized Big Bang variants. At Zenith, Biver already had a legendary movement, El Primero, and so this year he opened up…
The Zenith Chronomaster El Primero Full Open, launched in 2017, is a direct reflection of Jean-Claude Biver’s influence on the brand that he currently directs. He specifically wanted to open up the dial completely. The Chronomaster was previously available with an entirely solid dial, and a version with a half-open dial revealing just the balance…
The El Primero movement by Zenith is a watchmaking legend, with its rate of 36,000 vibrations per hour – 5 Hertz – that improves precision and provides an accuracy of a tenth of a second in chronograph readings. It was first introduced in 1969 and so we’re not far off 50 years. The three overlapping…
The partnership between Zenith and Land Rover began in 2016 with the El Primero Range Rover Chronograph, and this year it continues with the Chronomaster El Primero Range Rover Velar Special Edition. The new watch is even more subtle than the 2016 version: the name Range Rover that previously appeared below the Zenith logo has…
The Elite Lady Moonphase by Zenith has a size perfect for women, 33 mm diameter, with a case thickness of 9.25 mm. With respect to the previous version, its size has been reduced from 36 mm to 33 mm. It is powered by the self-winding Elite Calibre 692, designed and built in-house by Zenith, and…
Zenith is one of the few brands making watches in the early pilot’s style to have a genuine historic prototype on which to base its new models. The original timepiece made for Louis Blériot in 1909 set the scene for pilot’s watches, with its cathedral hands, large, chunky numerals, and a crown large enough to…
Baselworld is an enormous show, and this year it ran for a week starting from 23 March. The major trends emerging from the stands were a confirmation of the popularity of blue dials, the rise of sports watches – pieces with some features of diving watches but intended for everyday use – a move towards…
The Defy El Primero 21 by Zenith was undoubtedly one of the highlights of Baselworld 2017. With its chronograph seconds hand flashing around the dial once a second, and its movement that ensures timekeeping precision by means of two gear chains and two regulators, one for time and one for the chronograph, it is a…
After working his magic at Hublot and TAG Heuer, Jean-Claude Biver is turning his attention to Zenith. All three companies are part of the LVMH Group, where Biver is President of the Watches Division. “I am writing to inform you of the departure of Aldo Magada from his position as CEO & President of Zenith.…
The Zenith Elite 6150 was released in 2015 as a steel dress watch. It is now also available in rose gold. The cambered dial has a sort of Bauhaus purity, with engraved baton hour markers and narrow leaf-shaped hands, and nothing (not even a date window, a commendable and courageous move) disturbing the classical elegance.…
Zenith works in a number of vintage territories, such as motorbikes, but more importantly classic cars. The El Primero 36.000 VpH Classic Car fits the image perfectly, with its high-speed column-wheel chronograph movement, the classic three counters in different colours, a “brushed engine” finish on the dial, and the perforated leather strap that recalls driving…
It looks like a classic pilot’s watch, but the Zenith Heritage Pilot Café Racer has a marketing campaign designed to connect with a different set of clients: classic motorbikes. The Café Racer movement was born in England in the 1920s, when riders customized their motorbikes and souped up their engines. The watch has all the…
This is a limited edition of Zenith’s El Primero chronograph, with an open dial revealing parts of the movement. Colours have been given a minimalist treatment, with everything in shades of grey except for the touches of red on the chronograph hands. The sense of depth on the dial is enhanced by the moulded letters…
Zenith is a symbol of continuity in watchmaking. Ever since its foundation in 1865 in Le Locle, it has been working at a factory at the same address. Its watches all have an in-house movement. This piece is based on their original pilot’s watch made for Louis Blériot in 1909. However, in addition to the…
Company profile: Zenith was founded in 1865 in Le Locle by watchmaker Georges Favre-Jacot (born in 1843), and from then on it has been working at a factory at the same address. When he founded his company, Favre-Jacot was just 22, and he took a revolutionary step: instead of following the usual Swiss watchmaking system…
The Pilot Type 20 GMT by Zenith was originally presented in the black-dial version in 2013, and the brand is currently promoting a boutique edition of this model, along with another two watches (El Primero Chronomaster Power Reserve, and Elite Power Reserve). They all have a distinctive blue dial design, and a 150th anniversary transparent…
El Primero is a name that Zenith gave to its automatic chronograph presented in 1969, and it has become one of the watch-making legends. The name, which means “the first” in Spanish, was chosen to stake the Zenith claim for the first automatic chronograph; at that time, several brands were working on the concept, and…