Zenith is owned by LVMH (France, EPA: MC), which acquired the brand on 1 November 1999.[1][2] Zenith was founded in 1865 in Switzerland and was independent until 1999.
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Zeniths El Primero from 1969 was among the first automatic chronographs and remains in production. A watchmaker hid the tooling in an attic when the owners ordered it destroyed during the quartz crisis, which is why the movement survived. LVMH owns it, and the watchmaker who saved the tooling, Charles Vermot, was later honoured by the company whose management had ordered its destruction.
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
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LVMH acquired Zenith, whose El Primero automatic chronograph from 1969 survived only because a watchmaker hid the tooling in an attic when the owners ordered it destroyed during the quartz crisis. The movement is still in production. The price was not disclosed.
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The parent company of Zenith is LVMH, a publicly listed company headquartered in France.
Zenith originated in Switzerland in 1865, but it is owned today by LVMH, which is headquartered in France. So Zenith is a Swiss-origin brand under French ownership.
LVMH completed its acquisition of Zenith on 1 November 1999, after announcing the deal on 1 November 1999.
Zenith was an independent company from its founding in 1865 until LVMH acquired it in 1999.
Yes. As of 8 September 2026, Zenith is still owned by LVMH. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
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