Zenith is a Swiss watch maker founded in 1865 by Georges Favre-Jacot at the age of 22, in Le Locle in the canton of Neuchâtel. Zenith has a long reputation for the quality and precision of their watches, with 1,565 1st-place precision awards to date. The majority of Swiss watchmakers today use stock movements from suppliers such as ETA.
Zenith is one of the few Swiss watch brands that make their own mechanical movements - the Elite (standard movement) and the El Primero (chronograph). The El Primero movement is highly regarded for its quality and has been used by a number of other manufacturers. This is due to having a frequency of 36,000 alternations per hour. This high rate ensures that the chronograph will be accurate to 1/10th of a second.
Rolex, for instance, used El Primero movements in their "Daytona" chronographs for several years, although at a de-rated 28,800 alternations per hour. Zenith was purchased by luxury giant LVMH in November 1999, becoming one of several brands in LVMH's watch and jewelry division. Presently, Zenith markets five watch lines, including the Chronomaster, Class, Port-Royal, Vintage, Defy and Star.
