do you know? Rolex used its movement

Previously introduced the new CP-2 after Zenith, there are watchmates in the background message, want to know more about the history and movement of Zeni, etc., intimate like me, write and write.

The development of this watch brand at Zenith was not smooth. After a number of dramatic ups and downs, the following simple timeline.

In 1865, the 22-year-old Grandfather George Sfafo Jecute opened an original movement machining factory, which brought together scattered workshops and concentrated all work in the watchmaking industry.

Although the watch factory in the first few decades had been difficult to manage, in 1896, Zenith won a gold medal at the Geneva exhibition, opening the prelude to winning prizes in various competitions.

In 1897, the name Zenith appeared for the first time in Zenith.

In 1911 Georges retired and his nephew took over. In the following decades, the company not only produced watches, but also produced special dashboard clocks, desk clocks, bomb timing fuses, and navigation charts.

Since the beginning of World War II, the company has experienced many financial changes.

In 1969, Zenith introduced its most famous movement: El Primero .

The quartz era came in the 1970s, when only the quartz watches were produced at the time when the American company in charge of Zenith announced its true power. The 100-year-old traditional die-casting mold and the metal on the equipment were sold at a price of one ton. They also planned to destroy production tools and sketches for production mechanical movements.

However, an interesting thing happened. The expert of Chronograph Movement Charles Wilmo was a witness to the development of El Primero movement. He secretly stenciled 150 punches with a total weight exceeding 1 ton, technical drawings, and cams. And the cutting tool moved away.

And for each machine, each tool carefully labeled and recorded in the book, production process files are also carefully saved in a folder, the entire movement hidden in the shoe box.

In 1975, Zenith stopped producing the El Primero movement.

In 1984, the El Primero movement was restored.

In 1986, Rolex decided to retrofit the El Primero movement (replace one half of the parts and downconvert it to 28,800) and mount it on its Daytona series until 2000.

In 1994, Zenith introduced another Elite ultra-thin movement .

At present, the brand's self-produced movement has two main series: high-end El primero high-frequency timing and low-end Elite ultra-thin, each with its own characteristics.

If it is said that the high frequency chronograph is famous for its high difficulty in designing, the exquisiteness of polishing, and the uniqueness of the dial design, the ultra-thin is at an affordable price (including the purchase price and maintenance price), practical functions, and stable operation. (It is claimed that the warranty period is only once in ten years) and it is favored by the same beautiful dial design.

El primero high frequency timing

The El primero high-frequency chronograph (5Hz vibration frequency) movement is the signature movement of True Force with a diameter of 30mm. The flagship Happy Series uses a high-frequency chronograph movement, which features a window opening from 9 to 11 o'clock, and a 9 o'clock small second hand made a trident (one of which is luminous for countdown).

The corresponding movement part is hollowed out, and the fourth wheel, escape wheel, pallet fork, and balance wheel are displayed, so that the movement of the small second hand and the high frequency escapement operation of 5 Hz can be enjoyed on the front side.

El Primero means “first” in Spanish, not because it was declared by Zenith as the first automatic chronograph, but because it was the first automatic to measure accuracy to one tenth of a second. Winding chronograph .

This was achieved with its high frequency of 36,000, and the kinetic energy stored value also exceeded 50 hours.

Anyone familiar with watches may know that most of the movements of Rolex and other brands are at 28,800 times per hour.

The multitude of exploits in this calibre is quite evident. The early Rolex's Daytona used to prove its power.

In 1988, Rolex did not produce self-winding chronograph movements at the time, and when they found Zenith, they bought the movement and mounted it on their own Daytona watch.

At that time, Rolex reduced the frequency of the movement from 36000VPH to 28800VPH. Compared with the wear and power consumption of the movement caused by high-frequency operation, Rolex felt that it was not worthwhile because 21600VPH to 28800VPH was sufficient.

Elite slim movement

The Elite movement is also a self-produced movement when it is real power, characterized by precision and ultra-thin. This 6150 movement was released in 2015. It is the first large-calibre 30mm diameter movement of the Elite movement, with a junior needle and long power.

From the list of movements, we can see that in the series of high-frequency chronographs that are known for their complexities, three complex functions: the perpetual calendar, the tourbillon, and the tri-question are all present, showing the extraordinary strength of the movement when it is true, of course. Because the price is more expensive and fewer people are interested, this is also impossible.

When Zenith was smart, it avoided the research and development of large and complex movements. The recent movements of the 4613 and 6150 movements were all simple routes. They were all well-received and many of them started to show that everyone had a genuine innovation. definitely. The trend of popular models is: simple and affordable, with moon phase looks good, flying hard and full.