Zenith is one of the most innovative fine watchmaking brands in the industry and we at Perpetual Passion had the opportunity to interview Romain Marietta, Zenith's product manager since 2011. Romain has been working for Zenith since 2006 and continues to do so. for 14 years now, holding roles of increasing responsibility. He is constantly in contact with Julien Tornare - CEO of Zenith - and manages the development of all the new watches the LeLocle maison will present and produce, all the special editions and all the collections currently in production. In addition, he is a true watch enthusiast capable of inspiring those who listen to him.
ANDREA FRIGERIO
Romain, tell us about your role in Zenith. Do you also take care of R&D decisions?
ROMAIN MARIETTA
Of course! Every 2 or 3 weeks I organize meetings with the product commission where we formalize the decisions regarding the developments of the various watches. At Zenith, to develop a watch, we always have two approaches available: starting from an existing movement or from a totally white sheet.
ANDREA FRIGERIO
During the Dubai Watch Week 2020 Zenith presented several novelties and now its range of products is very wide and complete. What is the news you are most proud of?
ROMAIN MARIETTA
Answering this question is like telling you who I prefer between my wife and daughter! We have the possibility as a manufacturer to produce our own calibers and to use them as a starting point for developing new collections. When I joined Zenith there were many more production lines (around 12) and we worked hard to simplify the offer. We now have only 4 collections: the Defy, chronomaster, L'Elite and Pilot. I am proud of each of them since they are targeted for different customers and each collection has its own market segment.
The Chronomaster is designed to dominate the chronograph, the Pilot is a sort of "brand inside the brand" because it is a modern watch but with a vintage flavor that is always in fashion, the Defy is our playground where we play with innovations and the Elite is a timeless collection that is always elegant and has little complications.
ANDREA FRIGERIO
There have been many innovations on the Defy collection (double tourbillon, 1/100 second chronograph, Zero G escapement, etc ...), have we already seen the limit of this collection or will we still be surprised in the future?
ROMAIN MARIETTA
There is no limit for the Defy collection! Its purpose is to push the boundaries of innovation and is dedicated to new generations like me or you. A sports chronograph was missing from our offer and the idea of the previous CEO, Jean Claud Biver, was to propose a watch capable of demonstrating that Zenith is an innovative brand that pushes and thinks forward. Zenith has been the benchmark for high-frequency movements for over 50 years, so the next logical step was to move on from being a chronograph capable of measuring a tenth of a second to one measuring a hundredth of a second. The inspiration was very clear and we managed to do it. The possibilities on this collection are limitless and its purpose is to always bring something new and innovative not yet available on the market.
ANDREA FRIGERIO
I was very impressed with the Defy Zero G; Could you confirm that it works better than a tourbillon?
ROMAIN MARIETTA
Yes, basically goes beyond the concept of a tourbillon. While this offsets the effect of gravity on the pulse of a clock, it does Zero-G controls gravity since the escapement always remains horizontal, whatever the location of the watch, and in the best position to do its job. This complication was invented in 2007 and is the miniaturization of a nautical chronometer. It can control gravity and beats at a high frequency.
ANDREA FRIGERIO
What will be the new high-tech materials of the Defy collection?
ROMAIN MARIETTA
Like our competitors, we too want to bring new materials to watchmaking. For the Defy collection we started from titanium, then we introduced the ceramic, forged carbon and finally we used theAeronith for the Defy Inventor. Aeronith is the lightest aluminum alloy on the market and is made from an aluminum foam that is filled with a polymer capable of being both light and very stiff. We are always looking for new technologies and materials, some of which have already been developed.
ANDREA FRIGERIO
How do you test new materials, especially composites, to be sure they resist wear and degradation over time?
ROMAIN MARIETTA
First of all we make sure that our suppliers test these materials and that their quality is such as to meet our standards. Next, we run many tests with the support of the LVMH group trying to simulate different conditions such as heat, humidity, saline environments and their behavior on the wrist. We have a great quality team capable of ensuring that our products can truly stand the test of time, but it is not easy to anticipate what the customer will do with their watch. Furthermore, we are always looking for innovations to improve the properties of our alloys, composites or new materials capable of replacing the old ones.
ANDREA FRIGERIO
Were there any developments or innovations that you have decided not to implement on Zenith watches since, historically, they belong to other brands? Let me explain, Omega for example is famous for the Co-Axial escapement, so such a device is not developed by others.
ROMAIN MARIETTA
In watchmaking there are several brands capable of distinguishing themselves from all the others with their DNA. Zenith is famous for its high frequency and mastery of chronometry; getting out of one's DNA implies losing the connection with customers and collectors. We would love to develop all the new materials, all the new solutions that will be introduced into this world and we fight hard every day to do so. Thanks to our 4 product lines we talked about before, we have the possibility to do research in different fields but we have to keep our identity. If we start acquiring peculiarities from other brands we would no longer be Zenith, we need to keep our DNA.
ANDREA FRIGERIO
Regarding the topic of high frequency, Zenith has developed an 18Hz movement with the Defy Inventor which is even higher than the 15Hz of the Defy Lab. Can you tell us something about the technology behind the Defy Inventor?
ROMAIN MARIETTA
The Defy Inventor is an out of the ordinary watch that doesn't work like a normal one. Since 1675 every watch has been created with an escapement and a hairspring (thanks to the invention of Christiaan Huygens), we have tried to do the same thing differently. The idea was to work with the escapement and the oscillations by replacing the 30 or more pieces of the classic oscillating organ with a single component.
Using new technologies on silicon oscillators, we managed to do it and this is incredible. We have begun to develop the future of watchmaking, it is something never seen before. We don't know if our way will be the right one but at least it's a direction. Moreover, this street is perfectly in in line with our DNA since we are talking about a high-frequency movement and very precise on chronometry. Through the skeletonized dial you can see the silicon escapement as it beats, you may like it or it may bore you, it's up to you, but it's something totally different and it works!
The Defy Lab was introduced in 2017, but now we have industrialized the production process and we can launch the final product, the defy inventor, on the market. We are still learning a lot about this technology, we are following the learning curve and working on how to further improve certain aspects, especially with the support of the LVMH group. This Inventor is something totally unique both in terms of movement and materials (Aeronith).
ANDREA FRIGERIO
What is your opinion regarding tradition and innovation in watchmaking?
ROMAIN MARIETTA
The watch industry and business were not invented by our generation and we must pay tribute to all those people who have invented new complications or solutions for this world during 4 centuries of history. Now we want to push the boundaries of watchmaking forward and try to think differently, they use different approaches. Let's think for a moment about independent brands; they indicate the time in a non-trivial way and use totally new case shapes, but remain perfectly in line with the essence of watchmaking which is based on passion, mechanics and gear trains. Zenith's approach shown with the Defy Inventor is totally consistent with the DNA of the watches, it's just blended with technologies that come from different fields, which is very positive for this world.
“We are thinking outside the box to be able to be more accurate and reliable while staying true to our past. To be consistent with our heritage, we need to think about what our ancestors would have invented with the technologies available today and how they would have imagined the future, this is interesting!"
ANDREA FRIGERIO
What is Zenith's role in the LVMH world?
ROMAIN MARIETTA
We have the ability to maintain some independence within LVMH's watch division even though each brand has a certain role to play. Zenith is the manufacturer that produces its movements since the beginning and for all its collections, this is our role. Zenith somehow legitimizes the role of key player within the watchmaking business of the entire watch division of LVMH. Even though Zenith is the classic manufacture, we can think differently and make sure to build our future. We have the possibility of having 4 product lines dedicated to 4 different types of customers, as if we had 4 brands in the brand that can innovate in different scenarios.
ANDREA FRIGERIO
How do you manage to balance choices based on business or a passion for watches in everyday work?
ROMAIN MARIETTA
It would be great to only launch products that we would like to wear. But this belongs only to the ideal world and this way of thinking leads you to make bad business choices. When you are the designer of a watch you have to think about the position of the end customer and what they would like to have on their wrist. We have a team whose CEO appears to be (Julien To come back), the designers and the commercial director where we constantly discuss about which watches to develop, without ever forgetting the feedback from the market (customers, brand managers, journalists, ...), and with the idea of satisfying everyone.
Through the 4 product lines in our range we are able to do this. Zenith is not a mono-product brand and we have to thank Jean-Claud Biver if we were able to think outside the box and exploit different market segments.
ANDREA FRIGERIO
To conclude our interview, can you tell us which is your favorite independent brand and what are you wearing today?
ROMAIN MARIETTA
My favorite independent brand is De Bethune; this watchmaker is a genius and the design of the watches is amazing.
The watch I am wearing today, however, is the revival of the 'El Primero A386, the father of the Chronomaster 38 mm without an integrated bracelet. It is the very essence of the Chronomaster!
I would like to thank Zenith and Romain Marietta for the great opportunity they gave us in doing this interview and sharing it with all our followers and readers.
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