Zenith

Tim_M
1472

• Show profile
• Show other posts

Four Strong Debutantes

Thank you, Magnus, for this excellent preview. Your photos and written account unpack the guiding ideas and design details of each model in a fashion that whets my appetite for more!

Zenith is a hard brand to categorize in the hierarchy or taxonomy of the watch industry. Arguably, there hasn't been a period of "routine" business at the manufacture since the early 1970s, and every period since has been either a fight for survival, ownership change, management shake-up, or a Nataf-style attempt to revolutionize the brand image.

The last two years have seen everything from giant Hublot-style models, weird celebrity endorsements (the Stones, really?), bizarre products (PVD Black Platinum Felix Baumgartner Tourbillon? Hurricane Revolucion Che Guevara?), resort to cheap outsourced movements (Sellita SW300), hyper-conservative revivals (El Primero Chronograph 03.2110.400, Elite 6150), extreme art pieces (the Bleriots, Type 20 Grand Feu), and a 150 Anniversary year that failed to give any real gauge of future direction.

And now, outside of the trade show season, Zenith launches four of its finest complicated novelties in years. Normally, this would be cause for celebration in its own right (and I *am* impressed), but the only missing thread seems to be a coherent brand-building strategy behind the product launches. The brand reboot of the Dufour years restored the faith of the manufacture's traditional collectors, but there was no follow-up to bring new customers into the fold; it was a reset rather than a resurgence. The product range, which had been pared to a coherent and logical minimum under JFD, now sprawls over a huge range of variants some of which seem linked by little other than the brand name.

As long as LVMH is patient and generous with resources, it's never too late to begin anew and correct past errors. Hopefully, these exceptional debuts that Magnus has shared will be followed by complementary models of more attainable price and backed by robust marketing support. Writing as a fan of the brand, I'm convinced; Zenith has immense capability and the vision to use it. The watches on this page prove as much. Now, all that remains is an olive branch to younger and more entry level buyers who don't already feel as we do. Solid $5-15,000 watches, a blanket 5-year warranty, innovative features at the entry-level, and a (visible) marketing focus on communicating the brand's virtues would be a good start.

Best,
Tim