How do you perceive Zenith watches?
Discussion
Because I prefer chronographs, and the El Primero is one of the best at any price, and certainly at the price they sell for. Running at 36,000 VPH it sounds and looks a bit special. There may be better movements made these days, while the EP was launched in 1969, yet a heard a watchmaker say of the EP... they got it right first time, its a work of genius...
I like the way the movement was saved by the head watchmaker at Zenith disobeying the orders from their US owner at the time, to destroy all their tooling back during the Quartz crises. Instead he secretly hid all the tooling in an attic, while carefully making detailed notes of the watch making process.
Then Rolex and others came knocking a few years later , asking if Zenith could still manufacture the El Primero for their new proposed 1984 model of the Daytona... the rest is history. Also went on the Zenith Factory tour a few years ago when I lived in Basle.
Pic of the hidden tooling in the attic, from the internet..
I like the way the movement was saved by the head watchmaker at Zenith disobeying the orders from their US owner at the time, to destroy all their tooling back during the Quartz crises. Instead he secretly hid all the tooling in an attic, while carefully making detailed notes of the watch making process.
Then Rolex and others came knocking a few years later , asking if Zenith could still manufacture the El Primero for their new proposed 1984 model of the Daytona... the rest is history. Also went on the Zenith Factory tour a few years ago when I lived in Basle.
Pic of the hidden tooling in the attic, from the internet..
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