An In-Depth Look at the Zenith Manufacture, Now Open to the World

In Switzerland, it's well known that strong characters are commonplace. The rigours of winter, the harshness of the climate and the isolation of life in the mountains impose pressures on human beings that make them more solid, more resistant and therefore certainly more inclined to camp on their certainties.
 

Georges Favre-Jacot had to be a visionary, even a little crazy, to dare to set up his first workshop in 1865, destined to become, under his vision as a pioneer of industrialisation, a true Manufacture entirely dedicated to the perfection of a calibre called Zenith. A caliber, a watch, a brand at last. A brand with a rich history that has won over 2300 precision prices, with the launch and exploitation of a mythical high-frequency calibre, the El Primero. A calibre which is about to celebrate a jubilee date and which, in the second breath of its industrial existence, helped to save the company as well as three of its neighbours, the Ebel, Cartier and Rolex brands. All in all, four industrial routes, though violently heckled by the most violent crises in the sector, which saved their lives.
 

There, in this attic no longer sprinkled with dust but with magic powder, one can watch the interview of this Charly, found by the French-speaking Swiss television. It is one of the highlights of the "Star World of Zenith" (the star world of Zenith), this very first visit of the Manufacture opened for the general public by the official organization of Neuchâtel Tourism. This man had nothing of a strong head, he was moving, humble. On the screen, he appears almost embarrassed to have disobeyed. He, the insignificant worker of the Ponts de Martel, he whom one could never have imagined daring to resist, found himself in the posture of the obstinate, the recalcitrant. Concretely, he thus undertook to hide in this concealed attic, the small machines, the stamps, the plans as well as all that could have had an importance and an interest in the manufacture of this mythical calibre, this DNA on which the brand does not finish building and developing.

Until then, despite their efforts in Watch Valley or to put into perspective all the surrounding museums, politicians and ambassadors of the Canton of Neuchâtel had never managed to "get to the heart of the matter", i.e. to cross the psychological and technical armour of the major manufacturers. It is a bit as if, in the middle of a visit to Burgundy or Champagne, tourists and wine enthusiasts are systematically forbidden access to a model cellar, to a tasting followed by an incentive to purchase. Then came the meeting that unblocked the situation: the managers of Neuchâtel Tourism and Economic Promotion met Jean-Claude Biver, boss of the Watches Division of the LVMH group, owner of Zenith. Man is also known for his strong temperament and determination to move mountains.
 

In Le Locle, at the radiant end of April 2018, there was talk of an iconic calibre, the rich history of a brand... and of a man who disobeyed. His disobedience even appeals to Julien Tornare, CEO of Zenith, who remembers being, at school age, marked by the sentence of one of his teachers: "Never trust the expert". In other words, stop buying what you're told, stop reading this article. Make up your own mind, treat yourself to this two-hour tour in the heart of one of the legendary Manufactures of Swiss watchmaking, a magical territory that until now was only reserved for a privileged few.