Zenith is celebrating the opening of their only boutique in Switzerland. The location of the boutique is in one of the most symbolic places in Switzerland; the Zenith Manufacture in Le Locle. This certainly is something special not just for the brand, as this location has been regarded as the birthplace of the first vertically integrated Swiss watchmaking site in 1865.
For visitors and customers, the location of the boutique in the Zenith Manufacture could not be any more ideal. It’s the perfect place to find out more about Zenith and their timepiece creations and the brand’s rich history all wrapped into a memorable tour. The finishing touch would be of course visiting the boutique with a better understanding of the timepieces to then potentially wearing one on your wrist!
The Zenith Manufacture offers quite an immersive and educational experience. There is a specific watch clinic where three modules that cater to the individual visitor’s knowledge and interest. The modules can last up to four hours and include a basic course on how mechanical movements work. Included is also a chronograph course and goes into the specifics of the El Primero 3600 1/10th movement and also a course on restoration watchmaking for those with a passion for vintage watches.
When visiting the boutique, visitors are met with warm neutral tones which are contrasted against a stretching central blue element from the floor to the spiraling staircase that has been backlit to give the sense of a starry night sky. This theme of the starry night sky is iconic to Zenith and their “Time to Reach Your Star” philosophy. The “Story Bar” that Zenith has implemented will the visitors to dive deeper into the Zenith universe. There are four objects in the “Story Bar” and when interacted with, these objects will display videos about the importance of these objects and the inspirational stories of individuals in Zenith’s past and present.
To make visiting the Manufacture and Boutique convenient as possible, the visitors can book an appointment in advance through the Zenith website in which they can then also request to see specific models (or purchase models) before arriving at the Manufacture.
As part of the celebrations in the opening of the Manufacture boutique, the Swiss watch brand is releasing a boutique-exclusive special edition, the Chronomaster Original Boutique Edition. The Chronomaster Original Boutique Edition uses design codes from the earliest El Primero Steel chronographs from 1969, with the movement being the latest modern update of the automatic high-frequency chronograph calibre that shows 1/10th fractions of a second.
The Chronomaster Original Boutique Edition comes with a striking blue dial with three silver coloured counters that sits in the same layout as the historical designs. The 3 o’clock counter is the 60 seconds counter, 6 o’clock is the 60-minute counter and the constant seconds counter is located at 9 o’clock. The use of blue on the dial is quite significant as it’s central to the identity of the brand. From the starry night sky that inspired the founder of Zenith 150 years ago or the beautiful blue found in many of its movements and dials, the colour blue is quite special.
The movement used inside is the El Primero 3600 automatic boutique edition. It has a frequency of 36, 000 VpH (5Hz) and gives out a power reserve of approximately 60 hours. To match the stainless steel 38mm case, the timepiece also comes with a stainless steel bracelet. If the bracelet however is not the preferred option, Zenith is also offering a blue calfskin leather strap.
