Zenith

Persons and Passion: Undoubtedly Charles Vermot is very important in the history of Zenith.  You also have mentioned about the contribution of Nataf at Zenith.  Some of the designs in the Nataf era were bold but let's not forget the Grande Chronomaster XT and GT, they are still very highly desirable.  The open heart has now incarnated into something quite attractive.  But there are more persons who were and are important to the brand of Zenith.  

In the past, there were Lousi Bleriot and Gandhi, nowadays there are Felix Baumgartner, Colonel John Blashford Snell, Johan Ernst Nilson to name a few.  These personalities have one thing in common - a determination to accomplish.  This spirit is very much align with the determination of Zenith in making very technically accomplished timepieces.  If one looks at the number of patents Zenith own and the determination to build, acquire machinery and expand the manufacturing concept.  The success was not because of only one individual, Georges Favre-Jacot but a group of engineers.

Consistency: All the watches manufactured by Zenith are focused around either the El Primero and Elite.  All the fans of Zenith must have heard of the 36,000 bph of the El Primero but probably do not remember there was a race to launch the world's first automatic chronograph movement in 1969.  There is an excellent article written in the December 2009 Watchtime which documents the feats the different teams encountered including SEIKO. I quote, "the theoretical automatic chronograph was to have an integrated design and a classical clutch mechanism and column wheel for start, stop and reset functions.  Plus, the Zenith management, for reasons of patent law, insisted of a central rotor that turned above the entire movement...When the El Primero made its 1969 debut, almost two months before its other Swiss competitors,  it boasted a number of technical accomplishments.  With a diameter of 29.33 mm and height of only 6.5 mm...".

El Primero movements are reliable and accurate.  The primary reason is the technical knowledge.  When a manufacturer has been using the same movement for a number of years, the very same movement can only be improved so that better timepieces are made.  The issue with the flyback of the second hand not returning to zero is now fixed.  Special oil is used to reduce the wear and tear in engaging different engineered components inside the movement.  Today's a piece of El Primero does not only represent reliability but the dedication of the technical teams at Zenith.

The focus has always been the El Primero but the Elite movement when first launched in the 1990s was very thin in those days.  It has 55 hours of power reserve and won numerous awards.  It of course will be unwise for Zenith not to allocate their marketing resources to promote El Primero which makes the Elite always sitting in the place of a supporting role.

My Collection:  When I first attracted by Zenith, it was back in the 90s.  It was a brand buried among all the other Swiss manufacturers who did not have enough budget to invest in marketing yet I read about the technical achievements of Zenith and I was impressed.  Zenith in those days were very affordable and but I could only afford to pay for an Elite comfortably.  The Rainbow Flyback was beyond my reach.  When the Rainbow was launched, it was considered to be big at 40mm.  Nowadays, most will concur it is of the perfect size.  Only years later could I get a very good condition Rainbow Flyback, looking at it brings back memories of how many times I was looking at the same model through the window of a shop while I was waiting for my wife to join me.  I was intrigued by the colour dial and I probably would not have appreciated the philosophy and determination in the design of such a time piece.  

As my collection of timepieces has increased, I was so close to let go of it.  My wife finally gave me a nod to keep it, was it because of the story of the Rainbow Flyback keeping me company while I was waiting for her?

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