Bruno.M1
4160
With De Greef to the Zenith manufacture ... a report
Just returned from 2 magnificent days in Le Locle /
Neuchatel/ Geneva
We ( 6 people) received an invitation from Maison
Degreef in Belgium, an chance to visit la Manufacture Zenith. Being a watch
enthusiast and being a Zenith fan this was very exciting news.Our tour started
wednesday at 4 AM in the morning ( I know , way too early LOL). Departure from
Brussels at 5.10 AM and arrived not much later in Geneva.
First thing to do was having breakfast. And the Kempinski in
Geneva was the perfect place.
Then we went to the Zenith boutique in Geneva. Nice
to see a big part of the collection and the food and drinks they offered us were
good
Back into our minivan and straight ahead to Hotel Parc Des Eaux
Vives to have a great lunch.
In the afternoon we went to METALEM, a dial
manufacture. I didn't know what to expect, I've seen more than one manufacture
but always watch manufactures.
This one made only dials. If you think a dial is
just a tiny, unimportant part in your watch ... think again.
I had no idea how much work went into the dial.
Unfortunately we were not allowed to take pictures in this
manufacture.
But if you ever get the chance to visit it, DO
IT
Oh, did I say they make dials for Audemars Piguet,
JLC, Vacheron Constantin, and several others.
They make about 400.000 dials per year. It was nice
to see how they make these typical Zenith chronograph dials with 3
colors.
After the visit we went to our hotel Beau Rivage
Some time to relax but not that long because 1 or 2 hours
later we were expected in restaurant La Bocca
Known for it's amazing wine cellar. Since I don't
drink alcohol I can't tell you much more about the wines but the rest of the
group seemd to enjoy it .... a lot.
I can tell you the diner was very nice. I don't
drink but I love to eat great food ;-). If you are ever in Neuchatel, La Bocca
is the place to be.
Back to the hotel, a few drinks in the bar and time
to go to sleep.
The next day we arrived around 9.30 in the Zenith
manufacture.
So let's start the tour ...
First the R&D department
As you can see, a Christophe Colomb
Afterwards we met the people who made the tools to make
these watches and watch parts
CNC machines at work.
Parts which still need some finishing like bevelling, perlage,
côtes de Genève, brushing, polishing etc
Here we saw watchmakers finishing several parts
And, do you like our fancy shoes ?
These blue plastic bags were necessary to keep the dust out of
the rooms where they assemble the watches
Putting all the parts together ...
Afterwards we had some time to see the whole
collection and sneak previews for Basel 2013.
Some might already know the succesfull TYPE 20 will have some smaller editions ( 48
mm)
Another thing I heard ... the doublematic in pvd or dlc will not go into
production
I have no pictures of all these watches because light circumstances were
not good enoug to take macro pics.
But I'll post a link to pics of their magnificent Christopher Colomb,
pictures I took some time ago at De Greef
The Christopher Colomb
If you're looking for a
great watch, a real manufacture. A watch made with passion and not with
marketing ... consider Zenith!
I' m sure you will find several pieces in their
catalog you like and when you look at the price it will even get more
interesting.
No idea how long they will keep them so underpriced
( compared to other similar brands) but today is the time to buy an amazing
watch at a VERY fair and affordable
price.
I can tell you one thing, I've seen more than one
manufacture. I'm not going to tell you which manufactures I already visited but
I can tell you Zenith was amazing. We saw what we
wanted to see and they answered all our questions.
And I have the feeling zenith was 'more special'
than the other manufactures I visited. It is a big company but somehow I had the
feeling it is different from other manufactures I
visited. I dind't feel like an industrialized mega factory. Everybody I spoke to was full of passion.
And last bu not least .... I want to thank Mr
Hanus (from Zenith) once again for the wonderfull experience he gave us. And
ofcourse Maison De Degreef ( Arnaud and Joke) in Brussels who invited us
for this unforgetable experience.
I hope you enjoyed reading this report.
More posts:
With De Greef to the Zenith manufacture ... a report
Just returned from 2 magnificent days in Le Locle / Neuchatel/ Geneva We ( 6 people) received an invitation from Maison Degreef in Belgium, an chance to visit la Manufacture Zenith. Being a watch enthusiast and being a Zenith fan this was very exciting t...
I particularly liked these photos PLUS a Question?
Bruno, Thank you for your report. I agree that the BIG secret about Zenith is their legitimacy and affordability (relative to others). The oldest Swiss watch factory in its original location and it was Zenith that introduced the concept of everything done...
a few answers
that one picture is probably taken from their own website LOL. To be sure I'll have to ask Patrick. The pictures I used were his. I forgot my camera and I took some pics with my smartphone but these were too terrible, too terrible to post them here. On my...
Nice journey...
You seem to have had a wonderful time there and the places you visited are stunning. Thanks a lot for taking the time to gather all these pictures and make us visit de manufacture with you (or kind of :p ). A brand that deserves more care from fans in the...
yes
I really like those 48 mm Pilot TYPE 20 pieces. ( for the woman there is a 40mm TYPE 20) One will be a LE (500 pce) a 48 mm GMT TYPE20 with DLC I saw so many watches that I almost can't remember which were those for Basel 2013 LOL Good to know that the fi...
A 40mm TYPE 20 for women?
Looking forward to that. My girlfriend absolutely loves my Type 20, but it is way too big for her (thankfully!). Excited to see the novelties coming out of Basel. The Baron Rouge sounds nice....
Zenith visit
Great report, thanks for the photos of your visit to the Zenith manufacture. Regards, ED-209
Bruno THANK YOU ... THANK YOU ... THANK YOU...
THESE ARE THE BEST PHOTOS I.VE SEEN of my FAVORITE WATCH CO....GOD BLESS YOU for posting them........and with the restaurant pictures also>>>WOW<<<<<,,,,,,felt as though i really was there,,,VIVA La >>>>ZENITH<<&l...
