Zenith was founded in 1865 by a 22-year-old Georges Favre-Jacot in the village of Le Locle in the Canton of Neuchatel in Switzerland. The company grew rapidly and after only 10 years, one-third of the working population of Le Locle was employed by Zenith. At the time the company manufactured pendelu... read more.
Zenith was founded in 1865 by a 22-year-old Georges Favre-Jacot in the village of Le Locle in the Canton of Neuchatel in Switzerland. The company grew rapidly and after only 10 years, one-third of the working population of Le Locle was employed by Zenith. At the time the company manufactured pendelum clocks, pocket watches and various navigational instruments.
In the beginning of the 20th century Zenith had produced nearly two million watches and opened boutiques in cities such as Paris, London, Geneva, New York and Moscow.
After the World War II, Zenith made contracts with both the French Airforce and the British Navy and the Italian Royal Navy. During the 1970's, Zenith, like so many other watch manufacturers, focused on the newly developed quartz movements. Since then the automatic movements has made a strong comeback.
During the 21st century Zenith has continued to produce modern collections. In the The Basel 2002 World Watch and Jewelry Show Zenith launched 4 new movements and 14 new models that represented an overwhelming 52 new timepieces.
