Zenith (watchmaker)
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Zenith is a Swiss watch manufacturer started in 1865 by Georges Favre-Jacot at the age of 22, in Le Locle in the canton of Neuchâtel.
Zenith has a long reputation for the quality and precision of their watches, with 1,565 1st-place precision awards to date. The majority of Swiss watchmakers today use stock movements from suppliers such as ETA. Zenith is one of the few Swiss watch brands that make their own mechanical movements - the Elite (standard movement) and the El Primero (chronograph). The El Primero movement is highly regarded for its quality and has been used by a number of other manufacturers. Rolex, for instance, used El Primero movements in their "Daytona" chronographs for several years.
Zenith was purchased by luxury giant LVMH in November of 1999, becoming one of several brands in LVMH's watch and jewelry division. Presently, Zenith markets five watch lines, including the Chronomaster, Class, Port-Royal, Vintage, Defy and Star.