In 1865 Georges Favre-Jacot, at the age of only 22, created what was to later become the core concept of the watch-making term ‘Manufacture’, and give rise to Zenith watches. Favre-Jacot brought various artisans involved in the watch-making industry together under one roof. He provided the basic facilities, including heat and light, that enabled these artisans to focus entirely on the design and making of their timepieces. The ‘manufacture’ was born.
The word manufacture derives from the French language where the word literally means a ‘manufacturing company’. In the watch-making industry ‘manufacture’ has come to be used to denote a factory where watches are made almost completely if not entirely - in particular, the watch ‘movement’, the principal elements and mechanism of a watch. Because Zenith, conceives, manufactures and assembles its own movements in its workshops in Le Locle, in Switzerland, it can be called a Swiss Watch Manufacture. A term and a guarantee of excellence that is rare for a watch brand today.
Then, having created what he felt was the perfect watch movement, Georges Favre-Jacot went out and gazed up towards the starlit sky. The story goes, he saw a gigantic constellation turning around the Pole star. For Georges, the stars rotating around the axis of the Pole star recalled the movement of the pivots and the wheels on their axes in the movement he had just created. It was then he decided then to call his new movement, and its Manufacture, after the word that designates the highest point in the universe, zenith. He also adopted the star as the company’s logo.
Georges Favre-Jacot retired in 1929, by which time Zenith had achieved watch-making history winning prestigious prizes and medals for timekeeping precision at international shows in Geneva, Paris, Barcelona, and Neuchâtel. In 1969, Zenith produced the world's first automatic chronograph movement, the El Primero. Besides this first, what makes this particular movement special is that it oscillating at 36,000 alternations per hour, and so it is able to measure short time intervals to a tenth of a second, an unsurpassed world record in 1969. In 1995, Zenith launched a new generation of ultra-thin movements, the Elite, which was recently voted best mechanical movement by the professional press. Zenith has been awarded over 1,500 prizes and commendations - making Zenith the most awarded Swiss brand.
As a result of this exceptional reputation Zenith produces three of the most important mechanical movements of the luxury watch industry. These are the automatic integrated chronograph El Primero, the mechanical ultra-slim Elite movement, and the hand-wound 22-line 5011 K movement. Not satisfied with producing the world’s most sought after movements, in 2005 Zenith launched their first Haute Couture watch: the Starissime for women. It is a tourbillon that has been decorated with 230 diamonds.
Zenith are as well known and respected for their own luxury, high-end watches as they are for their movements that are used in many watch brands around the world. In 2009, to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the making of their El Primero movement, Zenith have launched an exceptional range of Zenith watches, in two collections: the Originals and New Vintage 69.
A Background to TAG Heuer Watches
What is today TAG Heuer Watches was originally founded in 1860 by Edouard Heuer and his two sons Jules-Edouard and Charles-Auguste. Although they only introduced their first ‘wrist chronographs’ in 1914, they already had a widely recognised reputation for the production of chronographs and sports timing equipment, such as stopwatches, split-second timers and timing systems.
A Background to Jaeger-LeCoultre Watches
Jaeger-LeCoultre is today widely regarded as one of the most innovative players in the watch making industry. Having played a prominent role in the history of watch making, and producing distinctive, luxury and often unique watches Jaeger-LeCoultre watches often win awards as chosen by the public and expert panels alike.
A Background to Panerai Watches
In 1860 Giovanni Panerai (1825-1897) opened the first watchmaker’s shop in the Italian city of Florence on the Ponte alle Grazie. Giovanni was in contact with some of the most prestigious and established of Swiss watch-makers, and so established what was to become a leading family run Italian watch manufacturer.Florence is still home to Panerai watches, and the following is a brief history.
