In fact, many of these "big names" have the heart of a Zenith themselves, since the fine El Primero movement is in such common use. Zenith watches are notably rugged, most of them being water resistant to depths no one but the fishes is likely to see, and there is a style for any well-dressed man or woman searching for the perfect luxury timepiece for their lifestyle. Buy a Zenith watch and you know you have bought a fine luxury timepiece as only the Swiss can make them.
Zenith SA is a watch manufacturer of Swiss extraction. One Georges Favre-Jacot founded this venerable old firm in the city of Le Locle in the canton of Neuchâtel, when he was only 22 years old. It was originally a movement maker, and Zenith movements have been used extensively in other famed watch brands. Zenith watches have developed an outstanding reputation for quality, even among other fine Swiss watches, and the company has won over 1,500 first place awards for precision in its various design.
Unlike many other watch manufacturers in Switzerland, Zenith Watches actually crafts mechanical movements for themselves. They make two varieties. The Elite is their basic automatic self-winding watch movement. Their finest work, dubbed the El Primero chronograph, first released in 1965, was the world's first self winding automatic mechanical chronograph movement and is still widely considered by many to be the best on the planet of all mechanically operated movements. The frequency of movement in the El Primero is an astonishing 36,000 alterations an hour. This extremely high rate of alteration allows for resolutions of as little as 1/10 of second and much greater accuracy than standard chronograph movements which only alternate a rate of 28,000 per hour.
A signature feature of Zenith Watches is a window displaying the movement of the watch, which is referred to as an "open" style in the watch world. Through this window the owner of the watch can enjoy watching the main gears turn while the crank regulates how fast they spin. The pleasure for the watch enthusiast to be had in viewing this mechanical ingenuity at work simply is not available in other kinds of watches, albeit they may be accurate and functional. A Zenith watch is a good value in a luxury timepiece.