[botudi]

i'm a Breitling fan but after a long research on the net i found out that this brand is very unique in many aspects and i've started to like it. From my research resulted that all Zenith models are equiped with movements that are in-house made . Is this true? Also i've read somewhere that Zenith supplies ebauches to rolex. Is this a fact or a rumour? If this it's a fact, are there other brands (beside Panerai, Dunhill and Kurt Schaffo) that are using ebauches from Zenith? Another question: why the forum of this brand has so small in numbers? 'cause to me Zenith seems a very nice brand.....also is it true that Zenith doesn't sell in usa due to a brand name conflict?

sorry for all the questionssantasmile

 

[D N Ravenna]

Welcome Botudi!

Hopefully we can answer your questions. Currently, Zenith uses its own calibers on its own watches. There was a while where some of the time only or time and date used movements other than their own.

Zenith used to supply its El Primero movement to Rolex. Rolex has introduced its own chronograph movement, so now, all of Rolex watches have their own, in-house movements.

I do think that Zenith movements are used in other LVMH watch brands, but I am not sure and cannot give you any examples. Perhaps other readers can?

Forums ebb and flow. The Zenith forum has had many diehard supporters that, due to various reasons, have moved on. As with all forums, we hope that new members will make it come back again in strength. But it is indeed a very nice watch brand.

The brand name conflict has been put to rest a few years ago. The brand is sold through authorized dealers in the USA. For instance, Bailey, Banks and Biddle used to sell them around me until the store went under. They are not the easiest to find, but they can be found.

Hope this helps and look forward to your contributions!

Dan

 

[botudi]

Thanks for your replysantasmile

Now here are more questions:

-is Zenith the movt provider fot the LVMH group ?
-what's the status of Zenith in LVMH ?
-it's fair to say that Zenith is haute horlogerie ?
-non certified watches (by COSC) held up in the long run?
-have you experienced problems of mechanical sort ?

thank you, more to come :-d

 

[UVox]

Hello and a hapy new year,

Tag Heuer and Dior (LVMH group) are using the El Primero Movement too.

 

[D N Ravenna]

Thanks for your replysantasmile

Now here are more questions:

-is Zenith the movt provider fot the LVMH group ?
-what's the status of Zenith in LVMH ?
-it's fair to say that Zenith is haute horlogerie ?
-non certified watches (by COSC) held up in the long run?
-have you experienced problems of mechanical sort ?

thank you, more to come :-d

Let's see, Zenith is not a movt provider for LVMH. Some of the group use Zenith movements, but that is about it.

Regarding Zenith's status in LVMH, it seems to be pretty good from the press releases we have had other post previously.

Haute Horologerie is sometimes defined in the eye of the beholder. Some people say it is, some say it is not. They have not done anything recently, but then again, they have the EP movement.

COSC is mostly a gimmick in MY opinion. As I have stated before, many non-COSC watches meet COSC specs. I do not worry about it any more. In short, today's watches behave pretty much the same whether they are COSC or not.

I have had no problems with my Zeniths.

Hope that helps!

Cheers,

Dan

 

[botudi]

well in my opinion Zenith is haute horlogerie (and not just because the "haute horlogerie" line but also for the hystorical awards and achievements)

more questions (sorry ):

-is the Zenith name a guarantee that even a non-COSC watch meets the COSC requirements or if i buy a non-cosc zenith i might end-up with a watch that needs recalibration? (my valjoux Breitling is +1.3sec/day)
-is the annual production of Zenith known?
-how much of a Zenith watch is manualy made?

 

[LeifUK]

Zenith do not guarantee COSC compliance. In fact someone once emailed Zenith, asking them about their tolerances, and the response showed them to be quite large, and outside COSC. BUT in practice most Zeniths seem to be very accurate, and as good as anything else, so I suspect they just don't see any reason to boast.

If you check out the Watch Sellers index:

http://watchseller.stores.yahoo.net/ind.html

You will see that his Zeniths were typically out by 1" - 2" per day, with a few running at 3" per day.

For some reason Zenith do not seem to attract as much attention as many other comparable brands. I suspect this is because whilst the movements are excellent, and well made, they are not highly decorated. Thus there is no engraved swan neck regulator, no anglaged (beveled) plates, and many components look to be sand blasted rather than perlaged (decorated with swirly patterns). In addition they are not marketed as effectively as Rolex, who tightly control the entire supply chain.

In addition the latest designs are rather 'distinctive' to put it somewhat diplomatically.

 

[botudi]

thx Leif....so question list updated :

-is the annual production of Zenith known?
-how much of a Zenith watch is manualy made?

 

[D N Ravenna]

thx Leif....so question list updated :

Zenith has been very tight lipped about how many watches they make. If you buy one and send them an email, they seem to be more than happy to tell you when it was made and how many of that model were made, but never the whole amount. Most interesting.

With regards to how much of a Zenith watch is manually made, it would have to be about the same as Breitling, Omega, Rolex, etc., with perhaps the exception of Seiko. The watch making business is an established one and a company that does not take advantage of CNC-style equipment will not be able to stay competitive for long. But no hard number has been made available to answer your question.

Cheers!

Dan

 

[botudi]

If you buy one and send them an email, they seem to be more than happy to tell you when it was made and how many of that model were made, but never the whole amount. Most interesting.

i've read somewhere that someone wrote them and they answered that Zenith has made an aprox.150.000 "Open" models, but after they were taken in the LVMH group the production number became "much less"...so they are really "tight lipped" as you say
also the reply stated that they are making app. 20.000-30.000 El Primero movts/year.