Zenith

Now, it was almost evening: our mind already started spinning like the "Gravity Control" gyroscopic module and our hearts sped up beating like the "El Primero". Yes, the enthusiasm and the authentic gratitude for the Manufacture were absolutely at the top, but our exceptional hosts still wanted to play another card: a dinner at a typical Swiss Jury-style Restaurant.

Well, it seems that a decent Swiss horological tour can't avoid a stop in La Chaux-de-Fonds. And we did it, in a certain way! Our Zenith friends indeed guided us to the Auberge de Mont-Cornu, a restaurant managed by the Lüthi family and surrounded by the typical Swiss countryside, just a few km away from La Chaux.

We lose no time and we soon placed our legs under the dinner table...

In the above pictures you could recognize Monsieur Yves Corthésy - head of movement development at Zenith, Monsieur Marcel Schenk - from the R&D department and Paul Wirth - director of Zenith hospitality. Later, also Monsieur Romain Marietta - Zenith product manager, joined us.

We too, we had some cards to play to honour our hosts. First of all Melvyn Teillol-Foo (MTF), our esteemed CEO, our dear PoT organizer, one of the true PuristSPro's star... Melvyn introduced the dinner explaining why PuristSPro like to organize these kind of factory tours and how much passion they can nurture.

As a token of our gratitude and appreciation the St.Gallen's PuristSPro ABR, one of our club watch, that was offered to Monsieur Wirth by PPro’s Zenith Moderator Magnus Bosse. Magnus explained the meaning of this watch, the reasons why a sibling of it is in the British Museum and how the PuristSPro community had came to its definition. 

Monsieur Wirth, paid much attention to this introduction and appeared to appreciate the present. 

So, that night we had three ABR... MTF, Elio and Mr Wirth!

But - hey men! - tonight we're in for dinner, don't let us distract by timepieces... So... we know you wanted us to share pictures about our Swiss Jury-style dinner, right?

Thus it was required to be properly prepared... by health doses of a Swiss anise-flavoured, colourless, liqueur called "Absinthe". The proper preparation of this drink is using an "Absinthe Fountain Set":

The fountain is made from mouth-blown glass and plated brass, and the set includes four absinthe glasses and four perforated stainless steel spoons. Ice water is slowly released from the fountain over a sugar cube that is held by the slotted spoon as it rests atop the absinthe-filled glass. As the water drips from the four metal spigots, that open independently, it dissolves the sugar into the absinthe, creating the milky, iridescent cocktail favoured by Vincent Van Gogh and Pablo Picasso. The drink went with dry cookies (just like Whisky).

(Magnus: trust me, I have some experiences with mixtures of horology and Absinthe, but I barely remember…)

Starters were some cold cut, typical Swiss Alpine dried meats, to be served with a glass of red wine, of course.

(Magnus: please take note: you never serve red wine, water, juices or concoctions alike with cheese fondue - that's considered committing a sacrilege. White wine or herbal tea - that's it! I have dire experiences with the Swiss part of my family...)

Next, we had the main course: the cheese fondue. Pronounced "fohn-DOO", the word fondue is derived from the French word "fondre" which means "melting". This warm cheese dish originated in Switzerland and more specifically in the Canton of Neuchatel, exactly where we are. The dish consists of at least two varieties of cheeses (usually Gruyere and Emmenthaler) that are melted with white wine, flour, garlic and other ingredients and served communally out of pot called "caquelon" or "câclon", made of a heavy earthenware, put over a portable stove called "réchaud". 

Long forks are used by each guest to spear a cube of bread then the bread is dipped into the cheese and eaten. Yummy!!!

Its absolutely imperative to keep the fondue in permenent ‘8’-shaped movement, otherwise the cheese will get stuck to the caquelon.

There are some traditional rules associated with fondue. The most basic and common one is that those who loose the bread in the melted cheese have to pay for the dinner. 

Other more strict traditions provide that you get stabbed if you loose one and two, and finally submerged in the Lac Léman if you don’t exercise the necessary care a third time (see: Asterix & Obelix chez les Helvetes)… 

(Magnus: I am still alive but - DON'T ASK WHAT I SUFFERED ALREADY...)

Near to the end of the fondue, Mrs. Lüthi cracked eggs into the caquelon and add some teasing French cognac.

The dinner flowed pleasantly, talking about watches: our most loved brands, the most collectible ones, the market evolution of both "traditional" and "avant-garde" Manufactures and especially the Zenith's strategy and positioning. Someone also put on the table the idea of PuristSPro Zenith limited edition... it could be a great idea for the 150th anniversary of the Maison, don't you think?

The last dish was a sweet one: crème brûlée flambée. It's a dessert consisting of a rich vanilla-flavoured custard base topped with a layer of hard caramel. The caramel layer was formed on top of the custard right in front of us: once the crème arrived at the table, Mrs. Lüthi sprinkled sugar onto the custard, then added some kirsch liqueur (cherry brandy) and finally caramelised the sugar with a butane torch. Spectacular!

There cannot be a PuristS meeting without the usual table shot! Now you could be satisfied!

So after now two days fully immersed with expert watchmaking, we are all but grateful for Zenith for their exemplary hospitality. Indulgence and their openness to address all critical requests PuristS may have. 

You left us all deeply enriched with a fully new appreciation of serious watchmaking – thank you all so much: CEO Aldo Magada for making this all happen (although absent that day, regrettably), Mr Paul Wirth for so excellently organising and hosting this day, and the entire Zenith staff for bearing with us and tirelessly entertaining and educating this group. Express thanks goes to Monsieur Yves Corthésy, Monsieur Marcel Schenk and Monsieur Romain Marietta!

Thank you for reading!

Magnus (Ornatus Mundi) & Elio (hearbreaker)

(Article prepared jointly, using images contributed by the authors as well as Melvyn (MTF))

 

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