In 1865, under the guidance of Georges Favre-Jacot, one of the most mythical manufacturers of quality watches was born. A 22-year old visionary, he was the first to create the very concept of a watchmaking Manufacture. He brought all artisan watchmakers together under one roof, providing them with heat and light, allowing them thus to dedicate themselves entirely to the design of their timepieces. From the hand of the watchmaker, “manus” in Latin, came the etymology of the word “Manufacture”.

One evening, Georges Favre-Jacot perfected a movement which he considered almost perfection. He went out into the silver night and lifted his eyes towards the heavenly sky. And the cosmos spoke to him. He saw a gigantic constellation turning around the Pole star, similar in its complexity to the movements of the pivots and the wheels on their axes. He decided then to call his new movement, and its Manufacture, after the word that designates the highest point in the universe, ZENITH. He adopted the star as a symbol, a shining good luck charm, a celestial guide towards a promising destiny.

From then on, protected by this radiance, the Manufacture with its 2000 golden hands, traversed the 20th century with style. 1565 awards, over 50 mythical calibres, branches throughout the world, from New York to Paris, from Moscow to Tokyo. History is in the making, led by exceptional men and women, who conscious of the treasure they hold in their hands, develop it with love, while keeping true to the founding values: beauty, truth, integrity, precision, and mastery over complexity. Furthermore, not content to simply perpetuate tradition, they reinvent it.

Today, the Manufacture continues to meet its challenge: to combine beauty and mechanical perfection, subtly uniting tradition with modernity. In the heavens, the ZENITH star continues to shine, as if Georges Favre-Jacot, from a panoramic vantage point, continues to look after his heritage, observing the work of his successors.

Rolex was started in 1908 by Mr. Hans Wilsdorf, a German National Citizen. At this point in time, the company was named Wilsdorf & Davis as Wilsdorf founded the company jointly with his brother in law. During that time period, mostly pocket watches were being made by Swiss watch makers. Manufactures at the time had difficulty producing accurate and reliable movements in wrist watch sizes. Hans Wilsdorf was a perfectionist who raised the bar on the standards for watch making. He strived for a smaller more accurate movement, and changed the style and fashion from large pocket watches to smaller and more usable wrist watches. Aegler, a small Swiss watch company agreed with Hans to create movements small enough to be placed inside wrist watches. Wilsdorf produced three main designs: formal, casual, and sporty.

In 1910, Rolex sent their first Rolex watch movement to the School of Horology in Switzerland. It was given the first ever wrist watch Chronometer Award. Wilsdorf saw the need for two requirements in wrist watches: #1 To accurately keep time, and #2 To be reliable. With the Chronometer Award, the accuracy of the Rolex wrist watch was up to par and Wilsdorf started working to improve the reliability of the Rolex watch. One of largest problems at that time was that fine dust and water would get into the wrist watch case and over time it would damage in movement. To overcome this, Hans knew he would need to design an entirely waterproof watch case, which would also defeat the dust problem as well. Water and dust was getting in through the crown and the caseback. Wilsdorf created a screw down crown and a casebook mechanism that screwed down as well. This simple invention revolutionized the wrist watch industry.

The first waterproof Rolex watch was advertised around the world in an ingenious manner. During this time, the general population was a bit skeptical about the watch really being waterproof. However, the new Rolex watch was being displayed all across the world in an aquarium of water in various jeweler windows! This new advertising method created a huge brand awareness for Rolex watches. Since then, Rolex watches have been known by everyone in almost every country. Today most watches are waterproof after following the example of the Rolex watch.

The Rolex Prince Watch was sold in1928, and was a hit with its dual dial and rectangle shaped case. In 1931 Rolex invented the "Rotor" - a semicircular plate of metal that with movement and/or gravity it moves freely within the watch to keep it wound. This is the the kinetic or perpetual (also knows as automatic) movements. The popularity of Rolex watches has grown exponentially since then. Everyone wants a Rolex watch because it’s a symbol of success in life. Rolex is something that you aspire to as is a symbol of wealth.

Officine Panerai, a storied Italian watchmaker that in recent years has emerged as one of the most sought-after brands in the industry (and is characterized by its fiercely loyal following of collectors and aficionados), derives much of its legacy from its historical role as the official supplier of the Royal Italian Navy. Its marquee model lineages - the Panerai Radiomir and the Panerai Luminor - were developed expressly in response to the stringent demand requirements of the Italian divers, submariners, and commandos who would be employing them on critical underwater assignments. The brand's military pedigree is reflected in the understated elegance of its austere black faces and luminous Arabic numerals and sticks that make Panerai one of the most iconic brands on the luxury market today.

Founded on the famed Ponte alle Grazie in Florence by Giovanni Panerai in 1860, the predecessor of what would become Officine Panerai was the first watchmaking shop established in the city and from its inception maintained close professional ties with its prestigious counterparts in Switzerland. Under the stewardship of Guido Panerai, the founder's grandson, the enterprise specialized in building precision instruments and by the turn of the century it had been chosen as the Navy's official supplier and moved to a new location on the Piazza San Giovanni (where the flagship Panerai boutique can be found today)

In the first decades of the 20th century Panerai began experimenting intensively with luminous materials in an effort to make instrument dials, sights, and telescopic devices that could be employed reliably in the dark. They settled on a patented combination of zinc sulphide and radium bromide that was later given the name Radiomir. Perfected by Giuseppe Panerai in the 1930s, a prototype Panerai Radiomir wristwatch was submitted to the First Submarine Group of the Royal Italian Navy in 1936 for approval. The watch was hailed for its performance and by 1938 the prestigious Panerai Radiomir was being employed by elite teams of Italian naval commandos in the field.

The Panerai Radiomir first gained the attention of watch enthusiasts during the Second World War as a result of its association with the audacious operations being carried out by Italian divers in the Mediterranean. The most famous of these attacks took place in December of 1941 when a group of six Italian commandos successfully crippled two British battleships, a tanker, and a destroyer in the port of Alexandria, Egypt. The leader of the squad, Lieutenant Luigi Durand De La Penne, was captured during the operation while attempting to save one his men and was subsequently interrogated aboard one of the targeted battleships. Though he refused to disclose the location of the charges he warned the British captain that he would need to evacuate his ship immediately if he wanted to save his crew. De La Penne and his partner were left in the hold while the ship was abandoned and miraculously survived the explosion that crippled the vessel. The British were so impressed by his conduct that he was later recommended for the gold medal of honour; one British admiral went so far as to describe him as 'the deliverer of the greatest blow that a single man has ever inflicted on a fleet.' By the end of the conflict the limited number of Panerai Radiomirs in circulation had become highly sought after collectors items.

In the early 1950s the venerable Panerai Radiomir was accompanied and later replaced by the Panerai Luminor. Although the Luminor preserved the Radiomir's emblematic watch case and dial it also incorporated several design advances including a distinctive bridge with a unique mechanism for locking the crown (the feature is so unique that it is now trademarked by Panerai) and an 8 day power reserve that greatly reduced the frequency with which the crown would need to be wound.

Panerai's wrist watches were reserved exclusively for military clients until the end of the 1980s. Although Panerai began selling directly to the public in the early 1990s, it was only after its 1997 acquisition by the Richemont Group - the same entity that manages the Cartier and IWC brands - that the brand began to garner wide international attention. Seizing upon the enormous potential of the Panerai legacy, Richemount re-introduced the historical Panerai Radiomir and Panerai Luminor models in their manual form and launched its own contemporary collection of automatic watches inspired by the classic lineages. Today Panerai is one of the most coveted and respected brands in the contemporary watchmaking industry. With its distinctive aesthetic identity, compelling historical legacy, and reputation as a brand favored by sophisticated aficionados it is little wonder that the ranks of Paneristi have grown so dramatically around the world.