Zenith Watches: Combining Noble Watchmaking Traditions with Avant-Garde Innovations

By Oster Jewelers | February 17, 2022 0 Comments

Zenith has been a global leader in both elegant design and technical innovation since its beginnings in 1865. While their history is rich with instances of horological inspiration, there are many reasons why Zenith Watches stand out.

The History Of Zenith Watches

Zenith Watches are Swiss luxury timepieces dating back to 1865. It began at Neuchatel’s Le Locle. Georges Favre-Jacot founded the company when he was just 22 years old, and it has grown to become one of the top luxury watch brands.

In 1999, the brand was acquired by watchmaker LVMH, further establishing it as a premium brand. It is one among the company’s several brands, including Hublot and TAG Heuer. Zenith is one of the few remaining Swiss watch companies that manufacture their own movements in-house.

Originally known as The Manufacture Zenith, it has one of the most illustrious and proud watchmaking lineages and histories. This legacy will undoubtedly be felt in the future, particularly given the brand’s tendency to incorporate innovation into its time-honored watchmaking traditions. The brand and its investors are motivated by the desire to advance differently, better, quicker, and more accurately than the competition.

Zenith capitalized on this momentum and authored some of the most significant chapters in the history of watchmaking. For example, it’s El Primero caliber beats at 36,000 vibrations per hour and is the world’s first integrated automated chronograph movement, and has since become an industry standard.

Reasons To Invest In A Zenith Watch

Durability

In watchmaking, movement quality and accuracy are meaningless without dependability.

This is why Zenith Watches is happy to subject its movements to the most stringent testing. The most famous was for a Red Bull advertisement when Felix Baumgartner broke the sound barrier with a free-fall leap from a stratospheric balloon (more than 126,000 feet).

His El Primero Stratos never missed a beat.

Affordability

Zenith is a premium watch brand that is accessible to the masses. Affordability is a relative phrase, but when you consider the movement’s quality, the attention to precision, and the time and work required to make and assemble each watch, you’ll undoubtedly agree.

There are relatively few in-house chronographs of a comparable caliber that cost less than ten thousand dollars. There is a sizable range of Zenith Watches available for far less than that price, and they are undoubtedly worth the investment.

Awards

While Zenith may not be the first name that comes to mind when discussing luxury watches, it is the most awarded watchmaking company in terms of quality and accuracy.

They began in 1903 by competing in the inaugural chronometry competition. Since then, Zenith has earned 2,333 awards for outstanding performance in several timekeeping categories.

Innovation

Zenith has proved its technical skill and ability to innovate over 300 patterns throughout the course of its lengthy existence.

Although the movement’s quality has remained constant over time, Zenith watches continue innovating by adding new features to an already incredible movement.

The Chronomaster 2, for example, is a more recent version that incorporates the Striking Tenth principle. The Striking Tenth enables the center hand to complete a full dial sweep in ten seconds rather than the 60 seconds required by a standard chronograph.

Zenith DEFY Skyline

The DEFY Skyline is driven by the El Primero 3620, a variation of the El Primero 3600, the high-beat, tenth-of-a-second measuring chronograph movement that made its debut inside last year’s best-selling Chronomaster Sport.

The Skyline is a reversal of the El Primero 3600 used in the Chronomaster Sport. As a consequence, an unorthodox sports watch is created, complete with a central hour and minute hand and a running smaller seconds hand at nine o’clock that completes one full revolution every ten seconds, precisely like the central chronograph seconds hand on the Chronomaster Sport.

The new DEFY Skyline series is structured geometrically and has a pattern of four-pointed stars – an inventive recreation of Zenith’s 1960s “double Z” emblem. This pattern is inspired by the night sky above Le Locle’s manufacturing district. It all started when Georges-Favre Jacot dreamed of inventing the world’s most exact watch and picked as a brand name the highest point in the sky immediately above the observer, astronomically known as the Zenith. And this uniqueness continues.

Invest In A Zenith Watch From Oster Jewelers!

Oster Jewelers is a one-of-a-kind diamond, watch, and jewelry boutique located in Denver’s renowned Cherry Creek North neighborhood. Our business is a representation of our love for finding the world’s greatest artisans. We stand behind the artists and perfectionists who create today’s timepieces. We purchase with the long term in mind, ensuring that our consumers get lasting quality items. We offer a wide selection of Zenith Watches. Visit our website or in-store to browse our selection.