Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Rolex SA
Haute Time Meets For Breakfast At The Four Seasons NYC With Zenith CEO Jean-Frederic Dufour
Upon returning from Basel World 2012, Haute Time had the opportunity to meet with Zenith CEO Jean-Frederic Dufour for a breakfast at the Four Seasons in New York City.
Dufour has been with Zenith since 2009 and implementing innovative new ideas with the company.
Zenith recently put out its new Pilot Collection and while Zenith has been creating aviation timepieces since the first days of flight, Dufour believes it is important to honor and see through that strong legacy. In part of the new collection, Zenith created a limited edition 58mm watch in titanium (250 pieces) and gold (70). Arnold S...
About Jean-frédéric Dufour
Jean-Frédéric Dufour, while serving as CEO of Zenith from 2009 until his move to Rolex, discussed the brand's history and product strategy in several interviews. He described Zenith as a manufacturer that has produced its own movements in-house at its original location in Le Locle for nearly 150 years. Dufour highlighted the El Primero caliber as a legendary and iconic movement, and noted the development of the Christopher Columbus watch, which he said was the only wristwatch at the time able to control the effect of gravity in any position. He also stated that the brand aimed to be contemporary by associating with "modern heroes" such as Felix Baumgartner to inspire new generations. Dufour emphasized the importance of authenticity in watchmaking, cautioning that consumers should verify the origin of components in high-priced tourbillons. He described the brand's pilot watch collection as legitimate due to Zenith's long history in aviation, noting that the company had registered the "pilot" name. Dufour characterized the brand's core identity as one of simplicity and reliability, stating that the original concept of producing precise watches had remained strong regardless of management changes.
Transcript (24 segments)
I
Interviewer0:00
Today's a special day as we're having breakfast with the CEO of Zenith Watches, Jean-Frédéric, from Switzerland. What we'd like to do, Jean-Frédéric, you've been in the watch industry for a long time. I'd love to get the state of the watch industry as you know it. It's been about two weeks from Basel. How was Basel 2012 for the company but also the watch industry?
J
Jean-Frédéric Dufour0:20
This year Basel was very interesting. It was still growing, so we had very good feedback from the markets. And it seems that now Zenith is really on the right track and doing it well.
I
Interviewer0:31
It's been two years since, or actually you've been with the company since 2009, correct?
J
Jean-Frédéric Dufour0:35
That's right, yes.
I
Interviewer0:37
And it's been two years, so now a lot of your goals and movements are starting to come into fruition. Tell us about some of the things that you've implemented. This year you came out with some really interesting watches, one of them was the Pilot. Tell us a little about that.
J
Jean-Frédéric Dufour0:50
It's not only one watch, it's a whole collection actually, and that collection is called Pilot because the name Pilot was registered by Zenith a long time ago. You have to know that Zenith has been in aviation since planes are flying, so it's the brand having the strongest legacy in the history of planes. And we have here a 58-millimeter watch. We had Arnold Schwarzenegger at the booth checking the watch and buying it — he bought one titanium and one gold one. It's a limited edition: the titanium is 250 pieces, the gold one is 70 pieces, limited. And we have another model very interesting in the Pilot collection, which is the world timer and alarm, it's called the Duomatis. And we also have the chronograph big date, which is just called Pilot Chronometer.
I
Interviewer1:44
As the CEO of Zenith, I mean, you're basically known as a watchmaker CEO. And Arnold Schwarzenegger was going to almost every booth — he only bought a couple of watches but he was there to buy special watches. How does it make you feel for him to go and actively pursue the watch and then buy it? It's almost like a vote of confidence. Tell us how that makes you feel.
J
Jean-Frédéric Dufour2:04
It's definitely a vote of confidence, because when you have somebody like Schwarzenegger — we all know that this gentleman has been, if I may say so, the boss or the governor of the seventh academy in the world — so he's really somebody who knows what he does. And actually he selected Zenith, and for me I'm very proud of it. You know, it means that we did that model, we designed, we had the idea, and then at the end you have the customer. And the customer is Mr. Arnold Schwarzenegger, so it's really the cherry on the top of the cake.
I
Interviewer2:36
What makes Zenith such a special brand?
J
Jean-Frédéric Dufour2:39
Many things, but mainly the original concept by the founder, which was to produce the most reliable and precise watches ever, which made the brand awarded almost 3,000 times in its life. And this is a record never broken by any other company. So the history, the way we produce watches, all the patents we registered — you know, the company has been very creative for developing new mechanisms for the watch industry. But on top, what makes Zenith very specific, very special, is that this company has been part of the development of the Swiss watch industry. And without Zenith, today the Swiss watch industry wouldn't be what it is. So it's really — you have to understand that there are many brands in the watch industry, but no other brand has so strong a connection with the watch industry.
I
Interviewer3:32
That's something that's really important because a lot of people don't understand how Zenith — I mean, as of last year, I don't know if things have changed — how you make 100% of your movements?
J
Jean-Frédéric Dufour3:41
We do 100% of our movements in-house in Le Locle. It's a small town located a thousand meters above sea level in the Swiss mountains. It has been so for almost a century and a half, and it will stay for as long as we can. So it's really different actually. You know, many brands have the same insight, and only a few brands can pretend that they master the development of their own movements and then the assembly.
I
Interviewer4:14
That's something that is very, very special, because I think it's only Patek, Rolex, and Jaeger-LeCoultre, correct?
J
Jean-Frédéric Dufour4:20
Thank you. Well, no, I mean, I just think that's why it's nice to put it on the map, because you're right. I mean, we are part of a very selective club.
I
Interviewer4:29
One of the things that I noticed at Basel is everyone's coming up with tourbillons. Every brand has tourbillons now — that's the buzzword. What do you think about that? Do you think it's a fad? I mean, do you think there's a lot of tourbillons on the market that are not quality?
J
Jean-Frédéric Dufour4:43
No, I mean, the brands you mentioned before, including Zenith, we master our own tourbillon. Means that if you buy a tourbillon, or if you spend around $100,000 US on a tourbillon, try to be sure that what is inside the watch is something which is really different. It's like if you were buying a car with a V12 engine — you know, V12 engines you buy them at maybe Aston Martin or Ferrari. But if a V12 was available for the whole car industry, any car could have a V12. And this is the same with tourbillons. If you have one manufacturer producing tourbillons for the whole industry, then there is no difference except the name, which means that those tourbillons will never hold their value. And for me, what is important is when you buy a watch, and this is what makes the difference — it's a manufacturer watch, because if you buy a manufacturer watch, it will hold its value for generations. Check the second-hand markets or the auction houses like Antiquorum or Sotheby's, and you will see the value of the watches is still there. Some of our watches are more expensive now than 40 years ago. So that's a very powerful statement.
I
Interviewer5:56
That makes a big difference. You know, what watch do you wear daily? Tell us about the watch you're wearing right now.
J
Jean-Frédéric Dufour6:03
Right now I'm wearing a Stratos Striking Tenth. So you see, it's a chronograph with a ceramic bezel and a flyback function. And the three colors are originally inspired by the very first chronograph made by Zenith in 1969, El Primero, which is the first self-winding, high-frequency chronograph ever made. So it's really the identity of the brand. And that watch is called the Stratos, which was made on purpose for trying to break the record of the speed of sound.
I
Interviewer6:38
Oh wow.
J
Jean-Frédéric Dufour6:39
Yeah, there you will have an engineer jumping from space and just reaching the speed of sound with his own body, which is something which has never happened ever. And it's one of the last records to be broken on Earth.
I
Interviewer6:55
And out of all the watches, if someone came to you and said, look, I want to buy the most special watch you have on the market, money's not a concern, which watch would you recommend for their collection?
J
Jean-Frédéric Dufour7:05
So we have the Christophe Colomb. You know, on top of our collection, the Christophe Colomb is definitely something different. You spoke about the tourbillon — tourbillon was invented 200 years ago to control the effect of gravity, but it only works in one position, which is the vertical position. With the Christophe Colomb, you control the effect of gravity in any position, and this is the only wristwatch which is able to do it that way, currently speaking. And it's an invention of Zenith. And that watch is just fantastic. It retails for around $200,000 US.
I
Interviewer7:49
And what is the best movement, or the movement you're most proud of with all the watch brands? Tell us about a movement that you take a lot of pride in.
J
Jean-Frédéric Dufour7:54
You know, I mean, we're very proud about — it's not only a movement, it's a watch — it's the El Primero chronograph, because that watch, that movement became a legendary movement of the watch industry. It's considered to be an icon, which means that if you pretend you're a collector or you pretend you love watches, what you need or must have is definitely the El Primero chronograph. It's a legend.