To cultivate beauty and total precision, with audacity. For almost one and a half centuries ZENITH has sculpted time, seeking the ultimate perfection.
In 1865, under the guidance of Georges Favre-Jacot, one of the most mythical manufacturers of quality watches was born. A 22-year old visionary, he was the first to create the very concept of a watchmaking Manufacture. He brought all artisan watchmakers together under one roof, providing them with heat and light, allowing them thus to dedicate themselves entirely to the design of their timepieces. From the hand of the watchmaker, “manus” in Latin, came the etymology of the word “Manufacture”.
One evening, Georges Favre-Jacot perfected a movement which he considered almost perfection. He went out into the silver night and lifted his eyes towards the heavenly sky. And the cosmos spoke to him. He saw a gigantic constellation turning around the Pole star, similar in its complexity to the movements of the pivots and the wheels on their axes. He decided then to call his new movement, and its Manufacture, after the word that designates the highest point in the universe, ZENITH. He adopted the star as a symbol, a shining good luck charm, a celestial guide towards a promising destiny.
From then on, protected by this radiance, the Manufacture with its 2000 golden hands, traversed the 20th century with style. 1565 awards, over 50 mythical calibres, branches throughout the world, from New York to Paris, from Moscow to Tokyo. History is in the making, led by exceptional men and women, who conscious of the treasure they hold in their hands, develop it with love, while keeping true to the founding values: beauty, truth, integrity, precision, and mastery over complexity. Furthermore, not content to simply perpetuate tradition, theyreinvent it.
Today, the Manufacture continues to meet its challenge: to combine beauty and mechanical perfection, subtly uniting tradition with modernity. In the heavens, the ZENITH star continues to shine, as if Georges Favre-Jacot, from a panoramic vantage point, continues to look after his heritage, observing the work of his successors.
While quality, perfection or precision are mere objective values, only emotion can reveal pure beauty. When man lies down “At the edge of the world”, at the foot of this monumental red sculpture, the thoughts of the artist are not understood – they are felt. Suddenly, infinity is present, and with one breath of air, the world belongs to him.
Visiting ZENITH means visiting the workshop of an artist: for just a fleeting moment, you almost enter his secret garden… From the meticulous cut of a main plate to the patient assembly of our watches, from the plans for a mechanical movement by the construction engineer to the design of the case by the artist, beauty is eternally present. From the calculated selection of finely scaled alligator skin to the precision of the digitally controlled machines, from the eye to the hand or from the sketch to the watch, each and every step aims at the production of beauty. Each piece is polished with tender, loving care to perfection. Each wheel, bridge, hand and dial takes up our challenge, the challenge of perfection.
Nevertheless, this is not the source of the emotion. In the end, and against all expectations, the total is not equal to the sum of all elements, but goes far beyond it. Where does this come from? Without a doubt, from the century-old expertise of ZENITH watchmakers, the vision of a genius, the vision of Georges Favre-Jacot, founder of ZENITH, and from the creativity of his spiritual successors.
We could think of fairy dust, just like in the fairy tales we read to our children, spreading a rain of stars over the planet. Our senses awake, our hearts pound, our eyes sparkle. This is magic. This is art. This is ZENITH! |