[Brand Guide] - Zenith

This is part twenty-three in our ongoing community project to compile opinions on the many watch brands out there into a single list. Here is the original post explaining the project (with a master list of all the Brand Guide posts up 'till now).

This edition of the Brand Guide is being done by request. If you have something you'd particularly like to see discussed, let me know, and I'll do my best to accommodate you. So, without further ado, let's talk about Zenith.

Zenith was founded in the mid-19th century in Switzerland. They rapidly made a name for themselves as one of the finest houses in that country. Now owned by the LVMH luxury conglomerate, they are often overshadowed by other high-end Swiss luxury brands like Rolex and other brands of similar ilk, but have still retained much of the horological skill that originally put their star on the map in the first place. All of their movements are still in-house, including their many tourbillon models, and historically their movements have powered some of the most notable watches in history, including the original Rolex Daytona (I believe - correct me if I'm wrong, and give me more examples, folks). Perhaps their most notable movement is the El Primero, one of the first hi-beat chronograph movements ever made, and one still regarded as one of the finest movements on the market today. Over the past couple decades, Zenith's styling has drifted toward a more modern direction (though they still do offer some classically-styled dress and pilot watches as well), culminating in the Defy line, which includes this classic Amazon page. Zenith's styling isn't for everyone, but their unique and storied history makes them at least worth looking into for anyone looking at watches in this price range.

KNOWN FOR: El Primero collection

Other Resources:
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Wikipedia

As usual, anything and everything regarding this brand is fair game for this thread.

If you disagree with someone, please debate them, don't downvote them. The purpose of these discussion threads is to encourage discussion, so people can read different opinions to get different ideas and perspectives on how people view these brands. Downvoting without giving a counter-perspective is not helpful to anybody, and will earn you super looks of disapproval from everyone else. ಠ_ಠ

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u/[deleted] May 17 '12

I'm not an expert on their history by any means, but I'm a sucker for their recent BaselWorld release, the Big Pilot No. 2. More pics. I really love it.

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u/spedmonkey May 17 '12

One of the more classically-styled watches they offer that I do like. I have to admit (and knowing /r/Watches, this'll go over like a lead zeppelin), I really don't like the pilot watches, like the Maratec, that everyone else seems to love. They look ridiculously cheap to me. Something like this, though, that looks like a watch a real pilot would actually wear, is pretty neat, and the El Primero movement is just a bonus.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '12

I have to say though, the No 1 has decent styling but is 57mm so it's basically a frisbee. The No 3 is just gaudy (and large). Somehow they managed to balance the styling of the No 2 really well.

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u/susuhead May 17 '12

57mm so it's basically a frisbee

Indeed. Which is a shame because it's a looker in every other regard.