In 1865, Georges Favre-Favre-Jacot founded Zenith at the young age of twenty-two. As legend has it, Favre-Jacot was working late into the night on one of his watches. After he had finished, he went outside to see the night sky. As Favre-Jacot gazed up into the universe, he saw how his creations were imitations of the stars. The way all of the stars revolved around the Pole Star reminded him of exactly how his mechanical pieces functioned. With this idea in mind, Favre-Jacot named the manufacturer after the highest point in the universe, the Zenith.
One of Favre-Jacot's initial goals for the company was efficiency. At the time, each of the skilled craftsmen needed to supply watch parts were spread across the country and stationed in different workshops. In an era without modern day communication techniques, this made it incredibly difficult to run an effective watch operation. In response, Favre-Jacot created a larger and more dynamic setup for his workers. With this idea, he was able to create a company that ran exponentially faster than other companies in that time period. As it turned out, bringing all workers under one roof became an idea that many other watch brands would emulate. Today, Favre-Jacot is credited with inventing the concept of the modern day manufacture.
Soon, Favre-Jacot began enjoying the successes of his watch company. As he continued to manufacture newer and better watches, he won Grand Prix medals for timekeeping precision in Geneva, Paris, Barcelona, and Neuchatel. Favre-Jacot realized that he was a pioneer in watch history at the time. This propelled him to create some of the world's most precise watches. In its history spanning over 150 years, Zenith has received more than 1,595 first-place observatory prizes in chronometry. This makes them one of the most decorated watch companies in the world.