Zenith El Primero 410 (18.2091.410/01.C494)

Two new boutiques exclusively dedicated to watches from the Swiss Manufacture Zenith opened their doors in China, two weeks apart. On January 1, 2012, the first store opened in Wuhan, at the heart of the Wuhan International Plaza, at 690 Jiefang Avenue. The second store opened in Shanghai on January 16, 2012, at n°1071 on one of the most prestigious streets in Shanghai, Nanjing Road. Both stores feature the new design Zenith has developed for its points of sale.

This new concept store is a whole universe featuring an interior design that draws visitors into a temple of Swiss watchmaking tradition, the Manufacture Zenith. This legendary firm is still located in the exact spot where its founder Georges Favre-Jacot first established it in 1865. To this very day, each Zenith timepiece is developed, produced and assembled there, benefiting from expertise handed down and enriched for almost one hundred and fifty years.

Enter the world of the Manufacture Zenith

These boutiques immediately stand out from the rest thanks to their geometrical storefront studded with glass panes and framed by two large stone columns - both characteristics directly inspired by the architecture of the historical Zenith headquarters.

Upon stepping through the doorway, visitors immediately enter the universe of Zenith - a discreet world combining expertise and noble materials assembled with a blend of precision and elegance. The interior of the boutique picks up on the horizontal and vertical lines of the storefront window, using it in displays, counters and exhibition areas. Wenge wood combined with Chantilly porcelain creates a refined contrast between a deep chestnut brown and a luminous creamy shade. In both stores a private space has been developed to welcome our VIP customers. On the walls, a series of chronometry awards attest to the expertise of the Manufacture in the domain of precision.

The Manufacture Zenith, a precious gem within the world watchmaking heritage

Only a few rare brands can still boast complete mastery of the production of their own timepieces and thus lay claim to the supreme title of Manufacture. Zenith is one of these, and one can even state that its founder, Georges Favre-Jacot, is the inventor of the concept of a watch manufacturer. It was he, who had the idea in 1865 of building spacious and luminous buildings in Le Locle, in the Swiss Jura Mountains, where the full range of specialized craftsmen involved in the making of various moving parts could be brought together under one roof. Prior to this, these craftsmen worked independently, scattered among various small workshops: uniting them in one place would enable them to coordinate their work in order to improve the accuracy and the reliability of the watch mechanisms. To this day, the Manufacture is still located in the exact place where the founder built his first workshop, and its buildings are part of an industrial ensemble that UNESCO added to its list of World Heritage sites in 2009 under the title "Watchmaking Town Planning". This is where all the stages involved in production are still performed, which means that anyone acquiring a Zenith timepiece can enjoy the absolute certainty that it has been developed and produced from start to finish in the workshops of Le Locle.

The excellence of the Zenith tradition

The Manufacture in Le Locle has considerable technical and creative potential: in its 147 years of existence, it has filed more than 300 patents and won a vast number of chronometry awards - 2,333 in all, making Zenith the most titled brand in terms of dashboard watches, wristwatches and pocket watches. Its achievements include the development of the El Primero chronograph collection which has the most precise mechanical caliber, beating at a frequency of 10 vibrations per second.

All the Zenith collections will naturally be on hand to be admired, tried on and adopted in the two new boutiques. Whether the feminine lines (such as the Zenith Heritage Ultra Thin Lady Moonphase, an ultra-thin model interpreted in versions including some extremely elaborate models falling into the luxury jewelry category), or the masculine lines, they are characterized by their innate elegance (the Captain collection, with a variety of complex functions), by their sporty appeal (El Primero Stratos Flyback), or by a technical tradition magnificently represented by the El Primero Striking 10th model offering a tenth of a second read-off. All this and more awaits visitors at the brand-new Zenith store in Wuhan and Shanghai.