Zenith Watches Explained: A History and Guide to Every Major Collection

When watch collectors discuss Zenith chronographs, conversations tend to veer towards comparisons with the Rolex Daytona, despite the partnership between the two brands ending over 25 years ago. But if you dig into Zenith a little bit further, there is far more to this Swiss brand than meets the eye. Let’s look back at their history, and take a look at the brand’s current collections.

The History of Zenith: How the Brand Began

Zenith was founded in Le Locle, Switzerland in 1865 by Georges Favre-Jacot when he was a mere 22 years old. The brand was conceived as the world’s first vertically integrated watch manufacturer, which means that all the parts for the watch would be manufactured under one massive roof. This was in stark contrast to the traditional method of individual workshops specializing in different parts that would then be assembled under a single brand’s emblem.

Zenith’s new complex, covering 17,000 square meters, connected the workshops to the train station of Le Locle for a direct supply of raw materials for production. This new approach, inspired by American industrialism and Henry Ford’s assembly line ideas, would solve many logistical problems, including quality control issues and transportation costs associated with importing various parts from various places. It also allowed managers to keep a keen eye on all stages of production and make any necessary changes very quickly.

The brand operated as “George Favre-Jacot et Cie” and quickly gained a reputation for high quality and dependable timepieces. It went on to win a Grand Prix at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900 for a pocket watch using their new “Zenith” movement, a moniker they would go on to adopt as the official brand name in 1911. They continued to build their chronometric credentials over the ensuing years, eventually winning five consecutive first prizes for chronometry in the wristwatch category from 1950 to 1955 for the caliber 135 movement. 

Zenith El Primero: The Watch That Changed the Brand

Fast forward to 1969, a pivotal year for Zenith, when they released the world’s first automatically winding chronograph movement, the El Primero. This brand new, ultra-thin movement oscillated at a high frequency of 36,000 vibrations per hour, allowing it to measure time with record-breaking precision to 1/10th of a second. The El Primero would go on to become Zenith’s defining achievement in the 20th century, but not before a bit of strife. 

Like all family-owned watch brands, Zenith faced trials and tribulations around this time, mainly due to emerging quartz technology and the consequential decline in popularity of mechanical wristwatches. Zenith first merged with Movado before being acquired by the American TV and radio manufacturer, conveniently also called Zenith. This acquisition would prove catastrophic, as a corporate mandate came down to not only cease production on all mechanical movements, but also destroy the machinery and blueprints used to make them, to make way for the bleak, quartz-controlled future the corporate overlords imagined. 

Most enthusiasts have heard the tale of the hero Charles Vermot, but we’ll summarize: a senior engineer in Zenith’s movement-making department named Charles Vermot decided that the El Primero was too important a contribution to horology to simply be erased from the history books. He began an after-hours campaign to hide away the machinery, blueprints and parts in a secret, walled-off area of the attic in the Zenith factory, in hopes that the quartz storm would pass and they could resume making these beautiful mechanical machines.

His wishes came true in the form of the Rolex juggernaut, who began looking around for an automatic chronograph movement to update their Daytona line of watches in 1988. It was then revealed that all the necessary equipment was safely hidden away in a dusty attic, and a partnership was formed that would last for the next 12 years, eventually resuscitating Zenith and laying the foundations for the brand we know today.  

Zenith Chronomaster: The Modern Face of El Primero

The modern, not-so-humbly-named Chronomaster collection is an homage to those first El Primero watches released in 1969, and is split into four different variants: Original, Sport, Revival, and Open. The Originals are modeled after the flagship A386 model originally released in 1969, while the Revival pieces are modelled after the more futuristic-looking (aka 1970s coded) tonneau-cased A384, also released in 1969. 

The Sport was released in 2021 as the modern incarnation of an El Primero chronograph, and there was much internet ballyhoo about it being the “Daytona-killer”, which would have been an ironic turn of events, considering the aforementioned history. 

The Open models are a revamp of a watch originally released in 2003, and are similar to the Original models, but with an opening on the dial that allows you to see the beating movement through it, hence the name “Open”. Clever phrasing! 

Whatever flavor of Chronomaster you fancy, you will find the combination of blue, silver and grey subdials that has become the calling card for all things El Primero. 

Zenith Defy: Zenith's Boldest, Most Modern Collection

The Defy collection can also trace its roots back to 1969, and is currently split into no less than seven sub-collections. The Revival models pay tribute to the original Defy, complete with the retro-inspired ladder bracelet, while the Revival Diver resurrects a funky archival design and retains the appealingly compact 37mm sizing.

The Extreme sub-collection is where Zenith shows off their cutting-edge tech, such as the extremely accurate (to 1/100th second, specifically) chronographs. These are also offered in a DOUBLE tourbillon version, if you really want a proper flex. The extreme collection also contains Zenith‘s hyper-modern dive watches; with their chunky angular cases and 600 metres of water resistance, they can go toe-to-toe with any modern diver out there. 

“When you look closer at what Zenith is doing these days, you find a design house and manufacture that is offering a fresh and deeply cool modern take, while simultaneously preserving so much past greatness in their El Primero and Defy Revival lines. What’s not to like?“ said Chris Sohl, an avid diver, watch personality and recent owner of a Defy Revival Diver.

Zenith Pilot: Zenith's Aviation-Inspired Watches

A little-known bit of trivia about Zenith is that they are the only watch brand that can legally put “PILOT” on the dial, as Georges Favre-Jacot had the foresight to trademark the word (both in English and the French pilote) back in 1888. Zenith capitalized on this enthusiasm for aviation by providing wristwatches for pilots very early in the game, and also manufactured cockpit timekeeping devices for airplanes. French aviation pioneer Louis Blériot wore a Zenith-provided wristwatch on his historic first flight across the English Channel. 

This line was revamped back in 2023, taking it from a very retro, flieger-leaning design to a more modern, pilot-inspired aesthetic. The modern Pilot collection consists of a 40mm standard pilot-style watch and a big-date, fly back chronograph, both sporting El Primero movements. 

Zenith G.F.J. : The Relaunch and Update of a Celebrated Caliber

The GFJ collection, named for the initials of Zenith’s founder Georges Favre-Jacot, was relaunched with a single watch in 2025, created in a 160-piece limited edition to celebrate the brand’s 160th birthday. In addition to celebrating, Zenith used this anniversary to relaunch the vaunted Calibre 135 hand-wound movement from their archives. Originally produced between 1949 and 1962, this movement was one of the most award-winning movements of all time, holding a whopping 235 prizes for its spot-on timekeeping.

Rather than only bringing the movement back to life, Zenith rebuilt it with modern tools and tolerances, increased the power reserve to 72 hours, and obtained COSC certification. The Calibre 135 went immediately back to its award-winning ways, taking home the 2025 GPHG prize for chronometry. Zenith was not content to have this simply be a single limited edition, and the collection has since grown to a few different iterations, including a solid gold version with a green bloodstone dial that was introduced earlier this year at Watches and Wonders. The GFJ is the Zenith collection with a little bit of secret-handshake horological history under the hood.

Zenith Elite: Zenith's Understated, Classic Collection

The Elite collection is Zenith’s version of a more classic, dressy offering. The collection is named after the Elite movement, a very thin, high performance in-house automatic movement with a 50-hour power reserve. The ultra-thin movement means that all of these beautiful three-handers and even the moonphase come in under 10mm thick, adding an impressive technological feat to the collection’s modern and understated beauty. 

Zenith’s Modern Identity: A Brand That's More Than Its History

Zenith today feels like a brand that understands the value of its own history. It is no longer living in Rolex’s shadow or relying solely on nostalgia for the El Primero years. Instead, Zenith has become one of the few modern Swiss manufactures capable of balancing genuine innovation with a deep respect for its archive. Whether through the razor-sharp precision of the Chronomaster, the experimental edge of the Defy line, or the quiet elegance of the Elite collection, Zenith continues to prove that its story extends far beyond a dusty attic and a Daytona movement.