Zenith, an experience

Hello fellow watch enthusiasts!

Yesterday I had the most amazing experience exploring the world of Zenith at Fondaco dei Tedeschi, an high-end luxory shop in the hearth of Venice, Italy.

I am fairly new to the hobby and still making my way around it. I'm not much into luxory (mostly for budget constraints), but I'm attracted to beauty and craftmanship.

By total chance I came across the opportunity of doing a one-to-one session with the shop personnel. Yesterday's session was an in-depth overview of Zenith, a brand I only knew by name before.

After a brief introduction to their many brands (Longines, Hamilton, Glasshütte, JLC, Vacheron and others), I managed to get a closer look on some selected Zeniths experiencing them first hand. It may sound silly but I felt like a baby at a candy shop.

Contrary to other watch shops I went to (mostly for browsing), I felt completely welcomed by the staff. Stefania and Gianluca, the shop experts, were kind enough to answer all of my many (many) questions.

To be clear, high-end watches are ways above my ballpark (my go to watch is a Seiko Speedtimer), hence the chance of having such a closer look on Zenith felt really special to me.

The Zenith El Primero is an absolutely stunning watch. Now that I saw it closely I totally get the hype and why it is considered a classic reference. I didn't have the idea of a grail watch before, but now that I saw it closely I think it might be it.

The defy skyline was similarly impressive. The feeling it gives in real life is one of a very versatile watch which is beautiful in its simplicity. I could definitely see myself using it in a variety of occasions from sporty to more elegant ones (had I the right budget, of course). It reminded me of the Royal Oak, of course, but it had its own standing (essential in a watch).

Other cool stuff I saw were a VC historiques (I finally get the reson of the numbers'position now!), a Blancpain Fifthy Fanthoms and a JLC perpetual calendar. Again, well above my ballpark, but they all felt like art pieces.

I closed the night off peaking at some very good Hamiltons viewmatic, a brand I love for its value for money, quality and history.

That's all fellow watch lovers. I don't have much else to say. I really just wanted to share an amazing experience with you all. Cheers.