IN JUNE OF 2022, Zenith launched a marketing campaign called “Master of Chronographs” to highlight the company’s 157 years of experience creating precision time instruments, most notably the 1969 El Primero, the first self-winding, fully integrated, high-frequency chronograph calibre.
It’s hard to believe that the company nearly went bankrupt when it embraced quartz technology four decades ago. Thankfully, the head watchmaker at Zenith workshop 4, Charles Vermot, had the good sense to disobey his new American owners and hide the dies and punches needed to produce the components of the mechanical marvel behind a wall in a dusty attic.
In the early 1980s, when demand for mechanical watches began to rise again, Zenith began supplying some of its movements to other brands, including Rolex. A 10-year contract later, the first Daytona Chronographs equipped with a Zenith movement were delivered in 1988, allowing the Manufacture to relaunch production.
In the 1990s, following another golden age in mechanical watchmaking, luxury giant LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) came knocking at the end of the decade, taking over the company in 2001 and cementing its positioning in the higher end of the segment with its horological feats. Tourbillons followed, including a gyroscopic version of the gravity-defying escapement, but its call to 21st-century fame lay in the El Primero Striking 10th launched in 2010 featuring the first automatic movement capable of measuring and displaying tenths of a second.
This story is from the Issue 188 edition of August Man SG.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the Issue 188 edition of August Man SG.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Future Will Be Pixelated, Probably
What are the implications on one's lived experience as online life is rife with meaning and possibilities?
PARADISE FOUD
It's time to give tuning out its due. We all need a break from the group chat(s).
Sunday Island Mornings
An island cluster so beautiful that Harry Winston made a watch in its honour.
A Clear Vision Of The Future
With the proliferation of its Myopia Centres, local eyecare brand W Optics is keeping Singaporeans clear-sighted for the future.
MAKING INVESTING MORE DELICIOUS
FINANCE INDUSTRY VETERAN WALTER DE OUDE IS COMBINING HIS ERUDITION AND EXPERIENCE WITH THE STAR POWER OF HENRY GOLDING TO BRING US AN INVESTMENT PLATFORM THAT'S MUCH SWEETER THAN MOST.
HOW DOES A HOTEL BRAND BECOME THE BEST IN THE WORLD?
Cristiano Rinaldi, president of Capella Hotel Group, shares its recipe for success.
THE MAN OF MANY TASTES
On the opening day of his longgestating contemporary Italian restaurant Le Pristine in Singapore, the Esteemed chef Sergio Herman gives us a poignant account of why his philosophy of gastronomy is fundamentally inclusive.
BAPTISM BY FIRE
Dave Pynt, Chef-Owner of the Burnt Ends Hospitality Group, reflects on the universally resounding success of the eponymous restaurant as well as the recently released book of the same name.
VROOM VROOM
One of the most memorable moments of the recently concluded Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2024 was when Jack Daniel's and McLaren linked arms.
FORGED IN RED
The Streamliner Flyback Chronograph Cortina Limited Edition brings H. Moser & Cie and Cortina Watch together in a bold, exclusive creation for the ages.