1865

Georges Favre-Jacot, the founder of Zenith, revolutionised Swiss watchmaking by creating the Manufacture - uniting all the watchmaking professions under one roof.

1899

Zenith’s first pocket chronograph was launched.

1910

Zenith begins to create onboard instruments for aviation.

1911

The Manufacture officially adopts the name ‘Zenith’. Meaning the highest point reached by a heavenly body in the sky, the name symbolised the heights of excellence the brand has always strived for. The Zenith logo also became their famous guiding star.

1948

The legendary Zenith Calibre 135 chronometer movement was launched and went on to earn no less than 235 prizes.

1960

Used to power marine chronometers, pocket watches and table clocks, the Zenith Caliber 5011K achieved record-breaking precision.

1969

Zenith made history when they created El Primero, the first ever integrated chronograph movement. Today, the El Primero is still the world’s most precise series-made calibre, and the only one capable of measuring short times to the nearest tenth of a second.

1975

In the midsts of the quartz revolution, watchmaker Charles Vermot hid the plans, parts and tools required to make Zenith’s legendary mechanical calibers. At this time, Zenith limited their production to quartz watches only.

1984

Thanks to Charles Vermot’s foresight, production of the El Primero calibre could begin once more thanks to the production tools he had kept safely hidden. Other Swiss luxury watch brands were also keen to equip their timepieces with this legendary movement.

1994

The Zenith Elite Ultra Thin was launched, and was the first Zenith caliber to be developed using Computer Assisted Design technology. The Zenith Elite movement was voted movement of the year due to its reliability and extreme slenderness.

2000

Zenith became part of the Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton (LVMH) luxury group.

2003

The magic of the mechanical watch is brought to life as Zenith invents the Open concept dial, revealing the beating heart of the Zenith El Primero.

2009

The El Primero movement celebrates its 40th anniversary. The El Primero striking 10th is created with a sweeping seconds hand that displays tenths of a second.

2012

Zenith makes history with Felix Baumgartner - the first man to break the sound barrier in free-fall. As Baumgartner jumps from the edge of the stratosphere, he wears a Zenith Stratos Flyback Striking 10th, equipped with the legendary El Primero movement.

2015

Celebrating 150 years of watchmaking expertise, Zenith celebrates this important milestone with a limited edition release of the Zenith El Primero Chronomaster 1969.

2017

Representing a quantum leap in both performance and mechanical design, Zenith leads the way with the release of the Defy El Primero 21 with ground-breaking accuracy to 1/100th of a second, as well as the Defy Lab, whose ultra-precision is unaffected by gravity, magnetic fields or temperature.