Zenith hosts international event in Dubai to launch new cutting-edge watches

Luxury Swiss watch manufacture, Zenith watches, recently hosted an international event in Dubai to launch its brand new, cutting-edge timepieces, El Primero Tourbillon Skeleton & El Primero Skeleton. Staying true to the spirit of the timepieces that are described as intense black, the launch event was held at Noire at the Fairmont Dubai. Noire, named after the French word for Black, features a pitch-black dining room thus offering guests the unique experience of dining in the dark. The exquisite event had in attendance Zenith’s VIP clientele along with the brand’s CEO, Mr. Aldo Magada, who was in town especially for the event. 

Two great performers make their stage entrance and reveal their legendary mechanism through a fascinating chiaroscuro openworked design. A wide black ceramic case, an openworked dial and an ultra-technical vibe… spiced up by a sprinkling of crimson. 

They radiate an imposing and distinguished presence. 45 mm of black ceramic frame a skeleton dial, in an impressive architectural display showcasing the intricacies of El Primero mechanisms. These are complicated models with a fiery temperament: the first combines a tourbillon with a high-frequency chronograph, while the second deploys the spirited energy of a classic “El Primero” chronograph.

Stunning view

A new arrival at Zenith, ceramic no sooner enters the collection than it relinquishes the starring role to the legendary ‘engines’ inside: the El Primero Calibre 4035 automatic chronograph tourbillon movement; and El Primero Calibre 400B, heir to the world’s most precise series-made chronograph developed by Zenith in 1969. Both are revealed through a deep black openworked dial enlivened by red accents. Their swift-paced 5 Hz cadence drives the ruthenium-blackened, facetted and luminescent hands sweeping over matching hour-markers. Openworked counters and a minute ring screw-secured to the movement enhance this three-dimensional display.

Black ceramic armour

Fashioned from black ceramic, their 45 mm-diameter case framing a skeleton dial conveys the image of perfectly mastered complexity. The El Primero Skeleton Tourbillon model associates the tourbillon with a high-frequency chronograph in resolutely futuristic mode. The tourbillon carriage performing one rotation per minute is offset at 11 o’clock, while the openworked chronograph counters form a figure eight. Also beating at 36,000 vibrations per hour enabling a tenth-of-a-second display, the El Primero Skeleton chronograph movement powers central hours and minutes, small seconds, chronograph and date functions. Both models have an over 50-hour power reserve.

The strong character of the El Primero Tourbillon Skeleton and El Primero Skeleton is accentuated by a black rubber strap – perforated for the tourbillon version and carbon fibre-coated for the chronograph – fitted with a titanium and black PVD-treated triple folding clasp.

ZENITH:  Watch Manufacture Since 1865

Zenith is a brand that has been bringing style and substance to the wrists of watchmaking cognoscenti all over the world for more than 150 years. Founded in Le Locle in 1865 by a visionary watchmaker, Georges Favre-Jacot, the Manufacture Zenith gained swift recognition for the precision of its chronometers, with which it has won 2,333 chronometry prizes in a century and a half of existence: an absolute record. Having earned fame thanks to its legendary El Primero calibre – an integrated automatic column-wheel chronograph movement launched in 1969 and endowed with a high frequency of 36,000 vibrations per hour that ensures short-time measurements accurate to the nearest 1/10th of a second – the Manufacture Zenith has since developed over 600 movement variations. Zenith remains one of a select group of traditional luxury watch brands to produce all its movements in-house, the industry’s ultimate token of quality. Engaged in several vintage territories such as classic cars, Zenith currently offers a collection of exclusive and ageless finely crafted timepieces designed for sartorially minded men and women.  Zenith’s rich heritage, tradition, passion and pursuit of excellence reflect the legacy of its slogan “Legends are forever”.