Cover Zenith CEO Julien Tornare. (Photo: Courtesy of Zenith)

The watch industry is predominantly a man’s world, but Zenith’s CEO is working to change that

We speak to Julien Tornare, CEO of Zenith, who explains why he wants his luxury Swiss brand to offer more high-end watches for women collectors.

Tell us about Zenith's latest releases.

We’re really excited because, for the first time in several years, Zenith is focusing on women and we’ve come up with some amazing ladies’ models. Our Defy collection has always been very successful, and we really wanted to come out with a contemporary watch that’ll suit today’s modern woman. So, we’ve released several 36 mm models with diamond hour markers and gradient dials.

What’s special about Zenith?

As a brand, we’re always striving to do more. We have a saying: “Time to reach your star.” So, for our new women’s watches, we’ve used a starry sky pattern on the different grey, blue and mother-of-pearl dials. Modern women are dreamers, they are doers, and they want to take charge of themselves and be independent. We want our ladies’ watches to embody these qualities.

How have you done this?

It’s important to me that we didn’t design mechanical watches for men and quartz watches for women, which is something a lot of brands still do. Come on! Stop. It’s wrong. We offer the same movements to both men and women. Plenty of women are interested in mechanical watches.

Especially in Asia…

I used to live in Hong Kong and I’ve travelled to China a lot over the years. Things have changed a lot. Back then, a woman in Hong Kong, not unlike other parts of the world, was gifted a watch by her husband. Now, she buys one for herself.

See also: These Are The Luminous Watches We're Obsessing Over Now


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