Manufacturer
Zenith
Also recorded as: Fabrique des Montres Zenith · Georges Favre-Jacot
Le Locle manufacture known for observatory chronometry prizes and the El Primero chronograph.
Georges Favre-Jacot founded his firm in Le Locle in 1865 and organised production in a single manufacture. The Zenith name, first used for a calibre in the 1890s, became that of the company.
Zenith won many observatory chronometry prizes. Its El Primero, announced in 1969, was one of the first automatic chronographs and ran at 36,000 vph; its survival through the quartz crisis is credited to Charles Vermot, who preserved the tooling.
- Country
- Switzerland
- City / centre
- Le Locle
- Founded
- 1865
- Status
- Active (LVMH since 1999)
- Key people
- Georges Favre-Jacot (1843–1917); Charles Vermot
Innovations & specialities
- El Primero automatic chronograph at 5 Hz (1969)
- Observatory chronometers
Calibres
Works by Zenith in the catalogue
Open in the catalogue →
Pocket Watches · 1900
Pocket watch by Zenith, Switzerland, 1900
Museum Rotterdam
Pocket Watches · circa 1900s
Zenith pocket watch, circa 1900s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · 1970
Wristwatch by Fabrique des Montres Zenith, Switzerland, 1970
German Clock Museum
Wristwatches · circa 1980s
Zenith El Primero Triple Calendar Chronograph, ref. 95.0100.418, circa 1980s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · sold in 2022
Zenith Chronomaster Original, ref. 03.3202.3600/33.M3200, sold in 2022
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · sold in 2025
Zenith Defy Revival A780 Chronograph, ref. 03.A780.400/19.M3642, sold in 2025
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Wristwatches · sold in September 2026
Zenith Defy Revival, ref. 03.A3642.670, sold in September 2026
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Linked through the Atlas maker authority list, which reconciles the spellings used by different institutions. Attributions are as stated by each holding institution or auction house.
