Zenith CEO Julien Tornare tells us that the spirit of innovation is alive and well at the manufacture, and that watch firms need to make 21st century watches for 21st century clients
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Mr Julien Tornare, CEO of Zenith
It takes guts to balance on the sashimi knife edge of what is possible in horology, and that is what Zenith has been doing for a couple of years.  Well, to be fair, it has been more than a couple of years, but Zenith is one of those watchmaking brands where it truly is complicated, in that famous Facebook status way.
Most recently, the manufacture promised a revolution in mechanical watchmaking ? not an uncommon affair in Swiss watchmaking. Zenith even adopted a bold mantra under the magnetic leadership of Jean-Claude Biver: The future of tradition. Plenty of watchmaking brands dare to talk the talk, but most just quietly walk away from the spotlight. To its credit, Zenith made good on its motto and promises, delivering the first new mechanical escapement since Christiaan Huygens developed the balance spring in the 17th century. Leading the way is CEO Julien Tornare, a man we have met several times since he took over from Biver in 2017. On this occasion, he was in town to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the El Primero calibre, for which Zenith threw a big party and held an exhibition called ?A Star Through Time? that engaged the public as well connoisseurs. Exhibitions like that one...