Zenith - History, Models and Owners' Reviews

For my 29th birthday, my friends wanted to give me a joint birthday present. As always, I wanted a watch. In order to be surprised anyway, I selected 5/6 watches that caught my eye. I had noticed this little Zenith from the 60s, during one of those many moments when I was getting lost on Chrono24. At that time, my tastes for vintage were mixed with my desire to add a brand that I did not have in my collection and certainly with the news of the surge in the price of gold. My partner chose this watch from the list with the vote of my friends. So I received it on the evening of my birthday, I put it on my wrist and I immediately liked it. The next day, having sobered up, I realized that the strap on it was of very poor quality and that it was coming off where one of the two pumps went. I also notice that the minute hand is not original, it does not seem to be gold, it is a very coppery color. The minute hand is, as for it, in very bad condition, twisted and the black paint tracing the center is missing. Finally, the crown is also not original. I then undertake to look for the original hands. Not knowing anything about this area, I hang around on Google, going from site to site. I finally come across a parts site that sells a 2542 movement with dial (very damaged), original hands, original crown, but also the original box. The watch had to be disassembled to melt the gold and this had been done without taking care, hence the completely deformed dial. It was the jackpot for me. €110 and a few days later, I receive all that. With my low-end watchmaking kit from Aliexpress in hand, I managed to swap the hands. But when it came time to remove the original crown from the winding stem, crack! I broke the stem… With my research, I quickly found a new stem for my caliber. Once the watch was reassembled, all I needed was a nice strap. I chose a royal blue crocodile (in the tones of the original box) with a slightly burgundy brown interior from Camille Fournet. And my quest was over… A beautiful original gold buckle could complete the whole thing, but unfortunately the Zenith bracelets of that era were very thin and the price of the buckles is quite prohibitive. I've had this watch for a year and a half, perfect with a suit due to its elegance, its contained diameter of 35mm and its thinness < 9mm. Even if it doesn't spend much time on my wrist, because the Audemars has somewhat replaced it for special occasions; it still gives me so much pleasure. The research, the restoration steps and the feeling of pride felt at the success of all this, make this watch an important piece in my collection. I recommend not only this watch, but especially the process of buying a 60-year-old vintage.

Looking for an el primero for a long time and after multiple searches, I came across this lesser-known version, the 146 heritage. I love its contained diameter, its magnificent sunray blue dial and its two well-proportioned sub-counters. A little extra detail, the small second at 9 o'clock which seems to float on the dial!

I was lucky enough to be given this Zenith Elite HW for my 40th birthday… With Zenith, it’s a long story that began 10 years earlier when I was looking for a watch for my 30th birthday – ultimately the TAG Heuer Séries 6000 Chronometer which will surely be presented on this platform instead of a Zenith El Primero Rainbow – I came across an ad for 800 euros for this ultra-classic Calatrava-type watch… I was hooked by the brand and then little by little by the model… We met up with the seller at the bottom of his office on the Avenue de la Grande Armée in Paris and we did a deal… I had just been bitten by vintage… But it was another passion that fell on me. And yes, my brother was going to give me a custom-made crocodile strap that would make me fall into leather goods! Long story short, this Zenith has become over time my watch for major events. Ultra-flat and discreet, it’s a perfect combo for this kind of event… but I almost always wear it with its homemade red crocodile strap!