Julien Tornare, CEO of Zenith, talks to us on the side lines of Dubai Watch Week about Only Watch, winning the GPHG Chronograph award, and how the popularity of the Chronomaster Sport has resulted in huge strides forward for the brand
Can you tell us about Only Watch where the Zenith x Felipe Pantone DEFY 21 Double Tourbillon sold at CHF 480,000, double its original estimate of CHF 220,000. Were you surprised at the value at which it was sold?
Yes and no; selling a watch at half a million Swiss francs is huge and in one way we did not expect that. On the other hand, 2021 has been such a fantastic year for Zenith at all levels, so I am not surprised. A few days before, we had won the GPHG Chronograph Watch Prize and it has been good news – one after the other.
Another reason is that, at the very beginning of the year, we had done a limited edition of 100 pieces of the Felipe Pantone, and the launch was crazy. We sold all 100 pieces in a few hours literally, and then we could see the prices increasing steadily in the secondary market indicating a huge demand. Nobody expected that we would come back with one unique Pantone watch for Only Watch.
Luc Pettavino, Founder-Organiser of Only Watch, had called me and explained that he was looking for something special; not anything classic. He wanted something fun and exciting because people needed colours, joy – something fun after COVID. That is how I got the idea and called Felipe and discussed it. We decided to make it in a sapphire case so that we could see his work on the dial.
So, you knew Felipe from before?
Yes, I have known him for slightly more than two years now. It was actually a young colleague of mine – around 25-26 years old – who suggested we do a collaboration. For my generation, street artists were people who were put in jails because they destroyed walls. But the younger people love street art; they consider them as great artists now. We met Felipe at the Manufacture and I loved the guy – he is fantastic; we decided to do a collaboration. Of all the collaborations we have done, I have never ever had someone so much involved. He was calling us every week to check the progress of the work. He was very firm about the fact that it was his art that he was putting into the watch, and he was very keen on seeing the rendering. I liked his approach a lot.
Zenith was nominated in two categories – the Chronomaster Revival A386 Manufacture for Iconic watches and the Chronomaster Sport for the Chronograph, and you won the Chronograph award; how does that feel? Personally, I feel that you should have won the Iconic watch prize too as it is a gorgeous watch, even though it caters to a niche market.
There were a few very good watches in the Iconic category, and I was thinking that Vacheron Constantin’s Historiques American 1921 would win. But the winner turned out to be Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak “Jumbo” Extra-Thin; it has a green dial and is very iconic. For me, the most important prize was the Chronograph one because we are a brand known for chronographs. Since El Primero, we have a strong history in that area; that was the prize I really wanted to win, and I am very happy.
What is the status of the Chronomaster Sport that Zenith debuted in mid-2021, was sold out immediately and had a waiting list of six months?
It is still the same; half-an-hour ago, I was talking to the team at The Dubai Mall. They already have plenty of watches on order here. On average, across the world, the wait list is now 4-6 months. The demand continues to rise dramatically; in 2021, we have increased our production capacity by 4 to 5 times from our initial capacity. In watchmaking, we cannot increase production capacity overnight; of course, we will continue to increase our capacity in the next year as well. The Chronomaster Sport is a great success; it combines modernity that is well-balanced with the DNA of the 60s and the 70s, so people really like it as it is a beautiful watch. This particular model is a huge, huge step forward for the brand.
Is Chronomaster Sport the main watch and the main source of revenue for the brand now?
Absolutely, it is in the top 3 or 4 of our revenues this year – as a single reference. Our DEFY Extreme has also been a very big success for us this year. It is behind the Chronomaster Sport in terms of sales, but it is double the value.
