![]() Although the creation of El Primero also coincided with the start of the quartz crisis, during which Zenith was forced to shut down all operations on mechanical movements, it also proved to be the brand’s saviour in the aftermath, when it was able to sell the extremely desirable movement to other brands in the 1980s and beyond. Regardless of its relative position, El Primero was undeniably a brilliant invention, oscillating at an extraordinary 36,000 vibrations per hour (the others were only 28,000), and able to measure time to the nearest tenth of a second. (Interesting fact: El Primero is not in fact Spanish, as many people assume, but rather means first in Esperanto.) All three finished almost simultaneously, but despite ongoing debate about the true first, the manufacture dubbed its creation El Primero, and continues to maintain that it was the winner. But perhaps the most distinguished moment in the history of the brand came in early 1969, when it was one of three competing brands in the race to complete the first ever automatic chronograph movement. In 1948, it unveiled the Calibre 135, a universally praised chronometer with a small seconds function. The story goes that after creating a particularly magnificent movement, Georges was struck by the poetic similarity between a well-functioning watch and the motion of the heavenly bodies: zenith worked as both an astronomical term and as an homage to the giddy heights of perfection to which watchmakers could aspire.īy 1925, the company employed 1,000 workers and was making a range of highly sought after timepieces, clocks and instruments, as well as watches. Georges won numerous awards for his creations during his lifetime, including the gold medal at the Paris Universal Exhibition in 1900, and he retired in 1911 after endowing the company to his descendants, along with the name Zenith. Previously, artisan watchmakers worked independently from their homes, but Georges brought them together in a single workshop for the first time, hugely facilitating the company’s ability to increase efficiency and quality control. It was founded by watchmaker Georges Favre-Jacot at the extraordinary age of just 22.ĭespite his masterful horological skills (focused on precision pocket watches until the 20th century), Georges’ most important contribution to watch history was the establishment of the Zenith manufacture, which was an entirely new concept. The company had originally been set up in 1865, in the UNESCO World Heritage town of Le Locle, where it still makes watches today. It does not store any personal data.Although it is now one of the most prestigious and internationally acclaimed watch brands in the world, Zenith was not officially given its current name until 1911, 46 years after its founding. The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. ![]() The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly.
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