GEORGES FAVRE-JACOT

A man with a singular vision of watchmaking and the courage to bring innovation and modernity to the heart of tradition, George Favre-Jacot gave rise to the first integrated watch manufacture in Switzerland. When he established his brand in 1865, his objective was to create ‘the perfect watch’: the finest, most precise and most reliable timepiece ever made.

Time to Reach Your Star

SINGLE ROOF

ZENITH Manufacture in 1865

To accomplish this feat, he knew that he had to unite all the various crafts of watchmaking under a single roof. And that’s exactly what he did. He built an empire, with an industrial site covering 17'000 m2, connecting the workshops to the train station of Le Locle for a direct supply of raw materials for production. This revolutionary Swiss watchmaking site already counted up to 2000 workers in the earlier decades of the 20th century.

GRAND PRIX 1900

ZENITH Manufacture in 1865

In 1900, at the Paris Universal Exhibition, ZENITH was awarded the Grand Prix for the ZENITH calibre and its exceptional performance that was so phenomenal, the Manufacture eventually adopted it as its name.The pioneering spirit of Georges Favre-Jacot remains a guiding star for the Manufacture.