Zenith CEO Jean-Frdric Dufour Imparts A Little Generosity On A Young Watchmaker, We Pay Attention

One of the beautiful things about the watch collecting hobby is the human element. Behind these seemingly cold, precise miniature machines is a worldwide community of passionate people who build them, wear them, pass them down, sell them, rediscover them, love them and restore them. Web forums devoted to timepieces can be a trove of great human stories.

Last week, one story over on one popular forum captivated many of us with a tale of a young Dutch enthusiast, his efforts to restore a classic chronograph and the generosity of the president of one of Switzerlands great watch marques.

Mick Mooren, aka mickmo92, is an 18-year old Dutch member of WatchUSeek, one of the largest Internet watch forums. Mick recently acquired a rather battered 1973 Zenith chronograph, with the vaunted El Primero automatic movement, arguably the worlds first self-winding chronograph caliber. Mick is a self-taught watchmaker who studied 1950s watch repair manuals and was gifted some tools by an uncle. So he set out to get his classic Zenith back into working order. After disassembling, cleaning, re-assembling and regulating the watch, Mick still wasnt quite satisfied. The dial was badly damaged and needed replacement. So Mick took a long shot and wrote a personal note, explaining his predicament, to Jean-Frdric Dufour, president of Zenith, and recent recipient of the watch presss Man of the Year 2011.

Well let you read the full story on WatchUSeek but, suffice it to say, it has a happy ending and the lovely Zenith has a new lease of life on the wrist of a man half its age. This is a story that crosses countries and generations and renews our faith in the heart that continues to beat in our hobby.

Click here to read the whole thread.

And by the way, if you want one of these unique square 70s El Primeros, we found one for you, an almost identical Movado from the years when Movado and Zenith were producing some fantastic pieces together. Check out the details here.



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