The Zenith company has been manufacturing timepieces since 1865. Founded by Georges-Favre Jacot in Le Locle, the manufactory initially focused on high-quality pocket watches and later on board instruments. During the design and production phases, these watches bore witness to a special pioneering spirit that quickly made Zenith a respected brand. However, the core story for which Zenith is known today did not dawn until the age of automatic watches. Driven by an unbridled passion for precision, the Swiss company competed with other manufactures to develop a fully self-winding chronograph movement. In 1969, Zenith became the first manufacturer to unveil this movement. Named “El Primero”, the movement was a groundbreaking success for the brand and a milestone for the watch industry.

El Primero—Then and Now the Cradle Of  Zenith's Successs

The El Primero movement has been a breakthrough for Zenith in more ways than one. Technically, it inspires with its masterful precision and an impressive frequency of 36,000 vibrations per hour, which allows the exact stopping of tenths of a second. The first three fully self-winding Zenith chronographs A384, A385 and A386, also launched in 1969, featured thus an exceptional complication and quickly earned a legendary status. In the 1970s and 1980s, Zenith also offered the movement to other manufactures, at times bringing to life models from other well-known watchmakers. The ingenuity of the movement is particularly evident in light of Zenith's current collections: Although the movement recently celebrated its 50th birthday, it beats in current Zenith Chronomaster models and also powers the high-tech timepieces of the Zenith Defy collection.

Zenith at Wempe

Zenith and Wempe look back on a similarly long history. It is therefore all the nicer that the paths of the two companies now cross—and that you can choose from a large selection of Zenith watches at Wempe. To ensure that you can enjoy your chronograph for a long time after its purchase, we offer you at our showrooms a comprehensive service to cover all aspects of your watch, from replacements of the watchband to professional repairs and complete servicing. We look forward to your visit.