Zenith

The star is rising again Pictorial essay and in-depth interview with Zenith CEO Jean-Frédéric Dufour A chimney towering over Le Locle From almost everywhere in Le Locle one can spot a huge brick chimney that seems to tower over the whole town. This chimne...  

Thank you for a great interview and photos! A great way for a newbie like me to get a feel for the spirit and soul of the Manufacture. Best Blomman

your kind words. I'm glad you liked the interview and the photos. Thanks, Valentin

to learn about the relaunched 2572, and M. Dufour's plans for the future. You convey his considerable energy very well. Now, if he could only be convinced to make the small adjustments to details that are so irritating for purists - the functionally compr... 

I can tell you that it had bothered me too at first. But then I realised that at least in the case of the Striking 1/10th the functionality isn’t compromised because the red hand measuring the tenths of a seconds provides the necessary information. ... 

Excellent pictures and a great interview. It's very exciting to hear JFD talk about future calibers, especially the El Primero 2. It's a good move considering his price strategy. With current El Primeros being priced fairly low, a new high-tech El Primero... 

and I hope you will soon find a Zenith watch that matches your taste. I think they have a very interesting collection, regarding both the movements and the designs. I, too, look forward to the El Primero 2 Cheers, Valentin

I hope so, too, the new designs are certainly nice but are missing a touch of uniqueness that made Zenith stand out in the past. Did you get any indication of what the Surprise calibre is about? Sounds intriguing, I wonder if it's coming out for Baselworl... 

the Christophe Colombe. Just my opinion, of course... Mr Dufour kept tight-lipped about the new calibre. But when he told me that it was going to be a big surprise, he was beaming. Thanks, Valentin

For the 2 pieces of Zenith I owned (new Vintage 1955 and Ultra Thin), I agree that "it is a true watch manufacture offering genuine value for money". The challenge would be to maintain its simplicity (while satisfying the customers need for more) and main... 

is indeed a considerable one. Having met Mr Dufour, I believe he is fully conscious of it. And I think that so far, he has met this challenge very well. Thanks, Valentin

Thank you Valentin and JFD for the photo tour and interview. As a PuristSPro executive moderator, I try to avoid singling out any brands or watches, in the interest of fair play. As I have mentioned to Mr JFD, many Purists have old Zenith watches or the E... 

that she will never again be able to curb your watch fever without losing credibility. And you know, maybe you just need to buy her a nice Zenith and you'll get yours back. Cheers, Valentin

May I ask what Zenith model went from his collection to hers?

.

a brand that was one of my favorites when I started out with the hobby. signature Valentin on the photographs (my fave is with Mr. Dufour holding up two pieces). thanks, VB!

that a Zenith watch was your "gateway drug". I hope you're doing fine. Thank you for the comments on the photographs. Cheers, Valentin

In last couple of years I really missed your posts hope that now we wouldn't have to wait so long for another... Man of the year 2011 is more than deserved after what I've read So happy to see that one of my favorite brands is blossoming Thank you so much... 

Zenith's blossoming and I think that there are many interesting things to come from Le Locle in the near future. I, too, hope that my next post will not take as long as this one Thanks again, Valentin

... thank you Valentin for your nice work. Enjoyed very much! Ken

your kind words. I'm glad you liked the post. Best, Valentin

. . . from your interview, Valentin: "But I also have plans for a completely new calibre which is coming soon and which is going to be a big surprise." If this is going to be a new edition of the legendary cal 135, then all Zenith fans will be celebrating... 

has a huge one. I would certainly be one of those fans celebrating if Zenith came out with the calibre 135 again. However, as Jean-Frédéric Dufour said that it is going to be "a completely new calibre", I rather expect something else entirely. W... 

Thank you for sharing that in-depth interview and those really nice pics with us. What is especially heartening is the news about the cal. 2572 re-introduction, and the design of new movements. Zenith is a true Manufacture, and well-designed movements sho... 

your compliments, I'm glad you liked the interview and the pictures. If you think of all the calibres Zenith once produced it would really be nice to see some of them being reintroduced. It would be a pity to let all those beautiful stamp tools collect du... 

Of course, nice pics too! Thanks for the wonderful interview with Jean-Frederic Dufour. I like the new direction of Zenith and it's great to learn more about their operation. And great to see you posting again. Hope all is well. Regards, ED-209

pictures. I think Zenith is in a really interesting stage of transition / evolvement. I'm sure there are many compelling new watches on their way from Le Locle. I'm fine, thanks. I hope you, too, Mr Bulgari Thanks, Valentin

thanks for an excellent interview and post, VB. It is great to have a Zenith forum now, it occured to me a few times last year that this is really missing here in our PuristSPro forum. Even more exiting is the move of Zenith back to "real-value" watches i... 

regarding the Zenith forum. Having visited the workshops and seen the beautiful buildings of the Manufacture, I have absolutely no doubt that Zenith deserves a forum here on PuristSPro. I'm glad you liked my post, thanks, Valentin

Great interview and intriguing answers of Mr. Dufour. Happy to read that Zenith is not only redesigning its cases but is (apparently) working hard on technical innovations. I am especially interested in the new movement soon to be released which I hope wi... 

interview. And I share your impatience about the soon to be introduced new Zenith movement. I, too, read the news on the Mikrograph. Interesting indeed! Thanks, Valentin

No message body

definitely worthy of a closer look. They really have an interesting selection of watches, I find. Thanks, Valentin

Projects of Zenith? Cheers. Luc

Jean-Frédéric Dufour has gone in an interesting direction with the new collection and with the 150th anniversary within eyeshot this collection will become even more exciting. Thanks, Valentin