Zenith Automatic Luxury Watches, Fake Zenith Automatic Watches

Zenith El Primero Stratos Flyback Blue Dial Chronograph Automatic Men's Watch 86206140557R514

I liked this Zenith El Primero watch when I got it, I wore it, and used it. It had a dead spot on the screen when I turned the light on so it is currently on its way back for an exchange. We will see how the replacement works out but aside from the defect, this is a good watch and good size.

---- [Rating: 5 / 5 stars]

Review by Marja Nikkanen-Rastas, From USA Scarsdale

Zenith El Primero Chronomaster Open Rose Gold Automatic Men's Watch 182080402101C494

Got this for my gf and we both think its cool. the transparent cover and movement is pretty sick. it is normal sized on a girl, i was thinking it would be an oversized face on a small wrist for some reason. sick nonetheless!

---- [Rating: 5 / 5 stars]

Review by Fernando M, From England Uk Workington

Zenith El Primero Chronograph Automatic Silver Dial Men's Watch 03215040069M2150

Very happy !

---- [Rating: 5 / 5 stars]

Review by sharon peretz, From USA Springfield, Illinois

Aldo Magada, who has been President and CEO of Zenith since 1 July 2014, was born in Switzerland in 1958. He graduated from the University of Lausanne and the University of La Jolla in San Diego, before beginning his professional life in parapharmaceutical sales for Vifor.
He joined Swatch Group in 1984 and continued his career in the watchmaking industry. He took on greater and greater responsibility with Piaget and then Omega where, from 1994 to 1998, he was Product Director and Marketing Director. During that time he worked alongside Jean-Claude Biver, currently President of the Watch Division of the LVMH group, to which Zenith belongs. In 2000 Aldo Magada was appointed President of Gucci Timepieces, which he would leave two years later to pursue similar opportunities with Technomarine, Reuge and Badollet. In 2009 he set up his own consultancy and, in 2010, he became International Director of Sales and Development for Breitling.
Today Aldo Magada heads up a brand that is globally recognised for its famous El Primero calibre.

The line of Captain chronographs is now being enriched with a new horological complication. After the power reserve, the moon phases and the second time zone comes the turn of an ingenious complication, the annual calendar, which displays the date, the day of the week and the month while requiring just one annual adjustment. Named Captain Winsor Annual Calendar, this timepiece marks the start of a collaboration between the Musee International d'Horlogerie (MIH) and the Manufacture Zenith.The alliance between these two institutions has given rise to the most accurate series-produced calibre with a useful and innovative complication.

Tracking the origins of the horological complication that lends the Captain Winsor chronograph its distinctive touch leads us to the Musee international d'Horlogerie in La Chaux-de-Fonds. The museum's curator, Ludwig Oechslin devised a particularly ingenious construction : an annual calendar displaying the day of the week, date and month and that requires only one adjustment per year - a far more accessible complication than the perpetual calendar for many chronograph enthusiasts.To ensure excellent readability, this display is provided by three concentric discs.The outer disc shows the date, the middle one the month, and the inner one the day of the week. This mechanism is both simple and complex : for 31-day months, the date disc moves the month disc forward; for 30-day months, the month disc makes the 31 "jump". The only manual adjustment required is for the transition from February to March. The clever, pared-down design of this complication comprises just nine mobile elements, whereas most calendars require between 30 and 40.

The Fruit Of Collaboration Between The MIH and Zenith
The possibility of integrating this complication within the Zenith captain chronograph stems from an agreement between the Manufacture and the Mih, which will in return be able to set up within its premises two permanent exhibitions on the theme of hours and seconds.

The "engine" powering this chronograph expresses the full measure of Zenith's horological expertise: it is the famous high-precision el Primero movement made in-house by the Manufacture for over 40 years. The el Primero is the only series-produced movement to beat at 36,000 vibrations per hour, meaning one beat every tenth of a second. Zenith reserves this automatic calibre for its own timepieces.The captainWinsor model is equipped with the automatic el Primero calibre 4054 version, adorned with côtes de geneve and circular-graining, and visible through the sapphire crystal case-back.

The Captain Line
in its early days, the reputation of the Manufacture in le locle was notably built on the reliability of its marine chronometers, which served to calculate the position of ships at sea. it was the legendary 18th century age of maritime exploration when marine chronometers were first invented, imbued with the thrill of adventure and the call of the open sea, that Zenith wished to evoke in creating the captain line first launched in 1952. The contemporary chronograph versions carry b references to the 1950s vintage models through a wealth of refined details, including guilloche dials, dauphine hand and hand-applied facetted hour-markers. The captain Winsor annual calendar is available in two versions : with a silver-toned or midnight blue dial framed by a steel case; or a silver-toned dial and an 18-carat pink gold case. Epitomising the alliance between the knowledge and ingenuity of two watchmaking institutions, this timepiece embodies horological ingenuity dedicated to ensuring optimal user friendliness and maximum legibility.

Zenith's sales reached blast off last year with the CEO announcing double-digit growth. This development is primarily due to the collections being refocused on the brand's founding values: esthetics, accuracy, and technical complexity. The tone has been set! Not satisfied with simply perpetuating tradition, Zenith is reinventing it with style and panache.

A sneak preview in Geneva
On the evening of Sunday, January 16th, a panel of over 100 international journalists and retailers of the brand gathered in Geneva. This annual meeting, held before the first watchmaking trade show of the year, has become an unmissable event. The curtain was raised to the sounds of the Gypsy Queens, who provided the soundtrack for this presentation.

Zenith in orbit - the three new lines
The Captain, available in three versions, is the purest expression of Zenith's watchmaking heritage. Each one features a useful complication: power reserve, moon phase or second time zone. The second line, Chronomaster, brilliantly combines the most rigorous watchmaking tradition with contemporary boldness. The Chronomaster Open showcases the very heart of time, revealing its movement's 36,000 vibrations through an opening in its dial. This open window piques our curiosity through both the magic it exudes and the questions it raises. But let there be no doubt: the Chronomaster Open is above all a technological exploit, a timepiece that is 100% technology, 100% passion. The third line, the El Primero Striking 10th, is currently flying high above the Earth at a speed of 27,700 km/h. Launched by a Soyuz rocket, the watch reached the International Space Station (ISS) in December 2010. It will remain in space for six months, orbiting the Earth.

The pioneering spirit
Zenith has always been a trailblazer in previously unexplored fields. The three new lines presented in Geneva are further proof of the brand's ability to innovate and launch exceptional models before anyone else. For the first time at Zenith, the Striking 10th model provides a visible mechanical expression of the tenths of a second it measures, i.e. each beat of the heart that drives the famous El Primero.

With this highly sophisticated model christened in tribute to Christopher Columbus, the bold 15th century explorer who was the first to tackle the ocean head on rather than following coastlines, Manufacture Zenith proudly presents one of the great modern-day horological accomplishments stemming from over five years of intense development.

The decision to name this watch after Christopher Columbus relates to the very nature of this ultra-complex model which addresses one of the key issues that faced this adventurous seafarer and still haunts the contemporary watch industry to this day: how to achieve precision measurements with instruments that are subjected to constant motion that is detrimental to their accuracy. However, this name is not merely a tribute to one of the greatest maritime adventurers of all time; it also points to a historical heritage, as Zenith produced a Lepine chronometer movement at the beginning of the 20th century whose escapement was already known as the "Echappement Colomb" (Columbus Escapement). This 20½''' NVI chronometer was awarded three First Prizes by the Neuchâtel Observatory and an "Especially Good Class A Certificate" from the Kew Observatory, Teddington.
Maintaining precision against all odds
A century or so after Christopher Colombus' bold feats, maritime navigation was to be considerably improved by the development of a shipboard compass featuring a "Cardan suspension" on gimbals, a type of universal joint in a shaft that enables it to rotate when out of alignment. This system proved particularly useful in keeping the instrument so vital to survival at sea upright even when a ship was pitching and rolling on the waves. While 16th century mathematician Girolamo Cardano after whom the joint is named did not claim its invention, he described it in detail and apparently drew inspiration from a sedan chair made for the Emperor Charles V and featuring an ingenious system cancelling out the slope of the terrain so as to ensure that the sovereign's chair would remain flat and stable even if a bearer were to stumble!

Subsequently used to equip marine chronometers, this Cardan suspension system has now inspired the Manufacture Zenith movement design engineers in seeking to compensate for the effects of gravity on the precision of a wristwatch. While the tourbillon was specifically designed for this purpose in respect to vertically-carried pocket-watches, wristwatches move through constantly varying positions and thus required an entirely different approach.
Given the well-known fact that keeping the regulating organ in a horizontal position generates the best possible amplitude of the balance and thus considerably enhances timing precision, Manufacture Zenith decided to ensure that the regulating organ and the escapement were indeed permanently kept in this position.
This was of course easier said than done however, especially when one considers the numerous challenges of keeping a wristwatch flat in various daily or sporting activities such as driving, golfing, or skippering a boat. Applying this to a movement beating at the exceptionally high rate of 10 vibrations per second further complicated matters, which does much to explain why a full five years of development have gone into presenting one of the major recent accomplishments in the watch industry. Even the numbers give an idea of the sheer complexity of the task, since this daring complication comprises 166 components, while a tourbillon has approximately 66. The result is the first wristworn timepiece in which the rate is completely independent of its wearers' movements.

A noble exterior to house a prestigious mechanism
The hand-wound 45-jewel, 36,000 VpH Academy 8804 manual winding movement with 50-hour power reserve, features a unique gyroscopic system ensuring perfect horizontal positioning of the regulating organ. This system consists in a cage composed of 166 parts, 10 conical-geared wheels (with 6 spherical wheels) and 6 ball bearings.
The 45 mm-diameter case comes in a choice of white, rose or yellow gold and is fitted with cambered glareproofed sapphire crystals on both sides, with the Gyroscopic system topped by its own sapphire crystal "dome". The eminently readable silvered dial is adorned with a barleycorn guilloche motif. The off-centred hour and minute subdial appears at 12 o'clock opposite the gyroscopic cage, while the small seconds are displayed at 9 o'clock and the power reserve on a segment extending from 2 to 4 o'clock. The faceted hands are in blued steel, as are the applied numerals and hour-markers. Finally, this handsome model with its revolutionary interior is secured to the rest with a crocodile leather strap and fastened by an 18-carat gold triple folding clasp.

A shared will to explore uncharted territory
When intrepid navigator Christopher Columbus set his course westwards in an attempt to reach Cathay (China) - rather than eastwards like everyone else at the time - little could he have imagined that his voyage would lead him to the unexpected and epoch-making discovery of the New World. The watchmakers and movement design-engineers of the Manufacture Zenith undoubtedly sense a feeling of affinity with this determination to do things their own way, and their tireless exploration has led to a discovery also destined in its own way and quite literally to change the very face of time.

Brain candy for tech-lovers
The rating precision of a classic watch varies according to its position. Gravity attracts the escapement components, which do not operate in exactly the same way according to the direction in which they are attracted. The friction between the various components is also different and the amplitude of the balance may be disturbed, causing it to gain or lose. The best position for an escapement is the horizontal position which ensures the best amplitude for the balance and on which gravity is perpendicular to the components and does not therefore disturb their rotation.
The need to improve the precision of clocks for navigation led to the invention of marine chronometers, in which the entire movement is mounted on gimbals and remains horizontal despite the ship's movements. This was the only way of achieving chronometric precision enabling a reliable measurement of position when at sea by comparing local solar noon with Greenwich Mean Time for example. When it became important to make pocket-watches more accurate, the same means could not be used, because that would have involved placing in the pocket a large mechanism measuring 50 mm.
Working on the principle that a watch in a pocket remains in a vertical position and that only the stem leans to the left or the right, the tourbillon watch was invented. This system does not prevent the position-related flaw from occurring, but instead averages out the flaw over the 4 vertical axes every minute. Since the watch does not move very much, it is adjusted to this particular average. However, as mentioned earlier, the constant vertical position of the balance is not the most favourable.

With the arrival of wristwatches, the positions of the watch were diversified by adding positions with the horizontal dial pointing downward or upward. Classic tourbillons continue to correct 4 positions out of 6 and already enhance precision, although only partially. Inclined tourbillons or gyrotourbillons average out more positions, but this is still the average of several errors, and they are only briefly in a horizontal position. The ultimate step thus lay in adapting the best solution, that of the constant horizontal escapement, to the wristwatch.
To avoid making a huge mechanism, only the part most sensitive to variations in position is mounted on gimbals and thus benefits from a more or less constant horizontal position - as well as a slightly gyroscopic stabilising effect of the balance. It was however necessary to find a system that enabled the two parts of the movement - the one that follows the position on the wrist and the one mounted on gimbals - to remain perfectly coordinated.
This perfect coordination is achieved in an extremely elegant manner by Zenith's patented 0G system. In this system, a gear system harnesses the rotations of the axes of the carriage and a reverser differential gear instantly compensates for all the relative movements of the various elements.
The cadence of the operation of the gear train indicating the time on the part connected to the wrist movements is imparted by the escapement situated in the carriage, which constantly seeks to find its point of equilibrium determined by gravity. If the watch is moved in such a way as to set the carriage spinning on its axis, the coordination system compensates for this rotation and the hands continue imperturbably indicating the correct time, whatever the speed of the direction of this rotation.
For all these reasons, Manufacture Zenith considers this system to be the ultimate evolution in comparison to the existing tourbillon systems.

1875
Success comes rapidly. In 1875, the company already has over one thousand employees. It creates pocket watches, pendulum clocks and counter instruments for the navy.1896
Georges Favre-Jacot is awarded a gold medal at the Swiss National Exhibition in Geneva. Four years later, honours at the Universal Exhibition in Paris. These prizes and awards, acknowledging the quality and the precision of his timepieces, continued to increase over the years. The company with its thousand talented workforce sails through the 20th century in glory: 1565 awards and over 50 mythical movements.1911
In 1911, Georges Favre-Jacot decides to give the company, which still bore his name, a lasting identity. He names it "Manufacture ZENITH". According to the legend, as he was walking one night under a starry sky in the Swiss mountains the idea came to him to give to his best movement, and later also to the company, the name of the highest point in the sky. A star hence became the symbol of the company, evidencing the special importance that Georges Favre-Jacot saw between mechanical time and cosmic time.1920
In 1920, the company has already produced two million timepieces. The desire to communicate this passion further afield sparks the idea of opening branches in Geneva, Moscow, Paris, Vienna, London and New York... Carried by the thrust of this magnificent effort, ZENITH starts its international history. This is ongoing: today, ZENITH has 17 subsidiaries and its business is equally shared between America, Europe and Asia.1930
During the 30s, also because of the progress achieved in fields such as civil aviation, the watchmaking industry is required to offer greater precision. A benchmark in the production of high quality mechanical movements, ZENITH Manufacture diversifies its production and its marine pieces were to be found on seaplanes of the French navy, on board Royal Navy vessels, as well as the Italian and British navy.1940
During the 40s and the years that followed the war, ZENITH Manufacture goes back to basics and thanks to its experience and maturity, decides to concentrate on its core business. Faithful to its innovative spirit and its faith in progress, new automatic movements are developed, in a quest for the perfect movement.1969
In 1969, throbbing at 36,000 vibrations per hour, the El Primero movement is born, the first integrated automatic chronograph, a triumph over the challenge to fit in the smallest possible space a maximum of technical functionality. Today it still is the fastest automatic chronograph and the most precise in the world. The end of this decade also sees the arrival of quartz. ZENITH Manufacture takes up the challenge, whilst still preserving its precious tooling awaiting the return of mechanical movements that it considers inevitable. In doing so it does not lose its heart, or its soul.1980
Whilst the beautiful mechanical watches are once again riding the wave, ZENITH Manufacture has all the necessary equipment to relaunch the El Primero movement. Having become famous, it is in great demand, also by other prestigious watchmakers.1994
Animated by exuberant dynamism, it creates new watches, like the extra slim Elite movement. Thanks to its outstanding know-how in traditional watchmaking, ZENITH Manufacture enters the third millennium with confidence and an even greater desire for innovation and modernity.1999
The LVMH Group (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy) acquires ZENITH Manufacture, a rare pearl that it wants to turn into a leading star of watchmaking in the 20th century.2001
The rebirth: ZENITH searches the depths of its past hundred years to reinvent itself. Drawing inspiration from the legacy of its young and brilliant founder, ZENITH forges a unique style, classical and yet innovative, the link between tradition and modernity.2002
During the Basel Watch Fair in 2002, ZENITH launches 4 new movements and 14 new models representing 52 new variations. History is on the move...2003
Launch of the Chronomaster Open El Primero, a technological innovation enabling a view of the beating heart of the movement through an opening in the dial. This model rapidly becomes the icon of the ZENITH Manufacture and encounters a resounding success. The company also decides to turn its attention to ladies and offer them a range in their image, beautiful and intelligent: the Star. Great enthusiasm ensues. Sales of this segment show continuous growth and today have reached a third of total production. The production facilities are modernised with the new digital manufacturing technology. However, the watchmaker's craft remains at the centre of it all and old manual or semi automatic skills are reinstated (angling and decorating craftsmen...).2004
The first Tourbillon ZENITH: integrated to the El Primero chronograph, it is the fastest Tourbillon in the world. Thanks to this watchmaking masterpiece, the ZENITH star now shines high in the heavens of the most prestigious Watchmakers. It obtains the "Grand Prix de l'Horlogerie" in Geneva, the prize for men's watch. The Grande Chronomaster Open El Primero is awarded the "Best Watch of the Year 2004".2005
The first Haute Couture watch is launched: the Starissime, a tourbillon embellished with over 230 diamonds, designed for an exceptional woman. ZENITH Manufacture also endows itself with one of the most complicated watches in the world, the Grande Class Traveller Repetition Minutes El Primero: a chronograph, an alarm clock, with a vibrating mode, a date display, dual time and, of course, a minute-repeater. One hundred and forty years after its creation, ZENITH shines at the highest point: the zenith.2006
Launch of the new DEFY collection. An unexpected design, avant-garde technology, unique style.2007-2008
« Grand Prix de l'Horlogerie » in Geneva : the ZENITH Manufacture received the award for the DEFY Xtreme Open El Primero Stealth in the Public's Prize category. An unusual design, avant-garde technology, unique style, extraordinary performance. A true revolution in aesthetics and technology that has confirmed ZENITH's global success whilst opening up new horizons: the sports watch revisited by the spirit of luxury.

GMT - Automne-hiver 2009Interview by What image did you have of Zenith when you were offered the job of CEO?
The same I still have, meaning that of a magnificent watch manufacturer with an uninterrupted history of 144 years behind it, and which makes the finest self-winding chronograph movement on the market: El Primero, the first and only high-frequency chronograph calibre, produced in Le Locle since 1969.We have made 600,000 of them in 40 years and we repair less than 1% per year - figures that provide the best possible proof of its reliability.

What image do your customers have of the brand?
Since I began on June 3rd, I have visited over 100 points of sale representing Zenith in Europe, the United States and in Asia. Everyone agrees that Zenith is a brand with an excellent image in terms of quality and precision. Customers interested in our watches are looking for authentic added value. We can offer them just that thanks to our expertise which has gained ever greater credibility by the registration of over 170 patents, along with the 1,500 prizes we have received.

What has happened at Zenith since you took the helm on June 1st?
A lot of things! Some tough events such as the activation of a redundancy plan, as well as some exciting projects such as the launch of preparations for our new collections to be presented at Baselworld 2010. I want to try and unite the full range of teams encompassing our 44 professions behind me in order to confirm Zenith's place on the high-end chronograph market in the coming years. The chemistry is good; I feel at ease in my position at the head of this brand and I am fortunate in being able to look forward to coming to work every morning. I think I can honestly say that I get on well with the various crew members of the Zenith ship.

What opportunities for Zenith do you perceive in the current crisis?
Every time we go through a crisis, the cards are re-dealt. I have read that in Chinese the word crisis translates as "danger" and "opportunity". We will be careful, and at the same time we will do everything in our power to consolidate our leadership position on the chronograph and mechanical watch market.
Don't you think the race for grand complications is going to run out of steam and that watchmaking connoisseurs are likely to return to more useful and restrained functions?
What will run out of steam is the fact of just any brand being able to offer a tourbillon or another complication without any credibility. Today, allthe watches manufactured by Zenith are equipped with Zenith movements. We are capable of repairing all the watches we have made, without any time limit. We offer genuine added value. That is what customers are looking for today when they invest money in a timepiece.
What kind of new product directions are you planning to take in the medium term? Will you for example maintain ladies' watches in the Zenith collections?
There will of course always be a place for women's models at Zenith. We produce 100% in-house mechanical watches and there is a real demand for this kind of product today. With regard to the collection as a whole, we are going to focus on Haute Horlogerie collections, Defy in the field of sports watches, El Primero as the chronograph "benchmark", and Elite for classic watches.
What can brand enthusiasts expect to see at the next Baselworld?
We are working extremely hard on a new project for our El Primero collection. We want to revive the powerful emotions of 1969 within a 21st century product! We have a certain number of great surprises in store which I look forward to unveiling six months from now.
On which markets do you plan to concentrate your efforts in the coming years, and why?
Zenith is distributed around the world and no particular market is particularly favoured. There are however certain markets that are coping with the crisis better than others, such as Asia.

Timeless in style, this collection, with its subtle Italianate overtones, threads its way between Tradition and Modernity. This icon of the ZENITH Manufacture, inspired by the neoclassical, is a celebration of Time. From the double gaudron case to the authentic barleycorn guilloche, it has a look that harks back to the great watchmaking tradition. Its boldly innovative design allows the 36,000 vibrations per hour of the mythical El Primero chronograph to be glimpsed at the heart of the movement.
This collection, timeless yet strikingly modern, which now joins the Haute Horlogerie universe along with the ChronoMaster Open Grande Date Moon & Sunphase, has been enriched with new complications over the years, thus writing new chapters in the history of the ZENITH brand.

Calibre Manufacture El Primero 4021

The ChronoMaster Open matches the watchmaking tradition with modernity, ZENITH uncovers the heart of Time and reveals the 36,000 vibrations per hour of the legendary El Primero chronograph through the opening in the dial.
This will be the first Open El Primero 4021 calibre.
The impertinence of the collection is creating a stir in the watchmaking world. The applique numerals, the double gaudron of the case, the black alligator strap are the signature features of a new elegance.
The range is available in two sizes (45 mm and 40 mm), in rose gold with a silver guilloche or stainless steel dial or alternatively in stainless steel with a choice of dial in black or silver, with a smooth or guilloche finish.
A revolutionary technology allied to a daring design - this collection is reasserting its distinguished and ambitious style.

Calibre Manufacture El Primero 4039

In 2008, this collection was endowed with a new fully-mastered complication, the ChronoMaster Open Grande Date.
This innovative timepiece stands out because of its design as well as its sophisticated technical features.
The three patented disks for the Grande Date at 2 o'clock can be seen as a result of the outstanding transparency of the dial. This translucent and unbreakable material - the result of space research - lightens the perspective, making it seem as though the numerals are floating.
The opening on the dial at 10 o'clock, the emblematic symbol of the range, reveals the El Primero 4039 movement composed of 331 components and 41 rubies. The applique Roman numerals and barleycorn guilloche dress the dial which comes in rose gold for a classical look or stainless steel for a more contemporary design.

Calibre Manufacture El Primero 4047

Masterpiece of the ChronoMaster 2009 collection, its resolute classical elegance offset by modernity: the ChronoMaster Open Grande Date Moon & Sunphase will surprise.
Illustrating yet again the Manufacture's specialist ability, this unique complication of a Grande Date, Moon and Sunphase chronograph reveals a new El Primero 4047 calibre, with 332 components and 41 rubies, through the opening in the dial.
The barleycorn guilloche on the dial, the wavy guilloche on the counters and the moon disk, the delicately pearlised plate and the guilloched oscillating mass are so many precise and refined indications of authentic watchmaking know-how.
In one 45 mm size, the rose gold cases show off a silver dial whilst those in stainless steel offer the choice of a black or silver dial.
Aristocratic and refined, the ChronoMaster Open Grande Date Moon & Sunphase records the mechanical measurement of Time in style.