The Art of Innovation and Legacy at Zenith Watches with Romain Marietta

What draws a rebellious watchmaker to defy the odds and preserve a legendary timepiece against all directives? Join me as I welcome Romain Marietta, the Chief Product Officer of Zenith Watches, to unravel the captivating history and cutting-edge innovation behind one of Switzerland's most iconic brands. We journey through the hallowed halls of the Zenith Watch Factory, where traditional craftsmanship meets modern technology, and uncover the inspiring tale of Charles Vermot's audacious effort to save the El Primero watch movement. With every tick of the clock, you'll gain a deeper understanding of how Zenith skillfully honors its storied legacy while innovating for the future.

Our conversation ventures into the heart of Zenith's collections, exploring how the brand artfully balances its timeless DNA with bold new designs. Romain and I discuss the strategic focus on Zenith's four key collections—Defy, Chronomaster, Pilot, and Elite—highlighting the relaunch of the Pilot collection and ambitious plans for the Elite in celebration of the brand's 160th anniversary. We dive into the unique craftsmanship involved in producing high-frequency movements, shedding light on the passion and precision that set Zenith apart from its peers. As we navigate through the world of luxury watch production, you'll discover the emotional connection that fuels both creators and collectors alike.

Finally, we explore the challenges and triumphs of reviving vintage watch calibers, offering a sneak peek into a special project for Zenith’s 160th anniversary. Romain shares the intricate details of translating historical designs into modern masterpieces, using advanced technology to enhance efficiency and performance. We wrap up with heartwarming stories of personal connections and loyalty that demonstrate why Zenith continues to inspire devotion from watch enthusiasts worldwide. Whether you're a seasoned collector or a new admirer, this episode promises to ignite your passion for the art of watchmaking while offering a glimpse into the future of a brand that never ceases to surprise.

Check out Zenith Watches at
http://zenithwatches.com

Chapters

• 0:00 Inside the Zenith Watch Factory
• 9:26 The Evolution of Zenith Collection
• 25:21 Luxury Watch Production and Heritage
• 37:49 Reviving Vintage Watch Calibers
• 43:26 Reviving Vintage Watches and Marketing Strategy
• 57:46 Passion and Innovation in Watchmaking
• 1:12:17 Loyalty and Passion in Watchmaking
• 1:18:55 Interview With Zinna Watch Representative

Transcript

Romain Marietta: 0:08

It's dark. Here in Switzerland it's snowing in Lille-Loc. Oh yeah, yeah it's snowing Like we have now almost one feet.

Blake Rea: 0:18

Oh my god, yeah, yeah, alright, let's get rolling here. Welcome everybody to another episode of Lonely Wrist. Sitting in front of me is none other than Roman Marietta, the Chief Product Officer for Zenith Watches. Welcome.

Romain Marietta: 0:36

Thank you. Thank you for having me. Thank you, Blake. That's my pleasure Second time we're doing it.

Blake Rea: 0:43

Yeah, yeah, yeah, the first time was in person at the factory and thank you so much for giving me a lovely tour, which everybody I do have have to say if you can ever make it to switzerland, you have to check out their factory. They do some tours, uh, they really show you what watchmaking is about and uh, and it was, it was amazing because I didn't really know this, so I got there, but you guys are kind of the first one. You see everybody talking about in-house, this in-house. You guys were the first really brand to kind of bring everything together under one manufacturing compound. Yeah, absolutely.

Romain Marietta: 1:26

That was one of the main ideas of our founder Georges Fajard. He wanted really to establish maybe the first idea of what should be a manufacturer. I mean, he was very much inspired by what was happening in the US, specifically with Ford, with the industrialization of cars assembling, and then also what happens at Valtam and Elgin, so he wanted also to create this kind of manufacturer Everybody, everyone, every single craftsmanship in one roof. So, yeah, we were one of the first real manufacturers and ever since we have tried to stay like this absolutely.

Blake Rea: 2:12

Yeah, I mean. Something I noticed is, obviously I was kind of strapped for time and I'm sure you remember I was just like here, there, everywhere, but you guys have, I think you guys have what is it like? 17 different buildings or something like that.

Romain Marietta: 2:25

Yeah, 18. Yeah, you remember.

Blake Rea: 2:28

Yeah, I mean it was. I think I went in like three of them so I didn't get the full experience.

Romain Marietta: 2:35

A lot of them are empty in reality still, but we could potentially grow and be as we were in, let's say, in the late 50s, beginning of the 60s something like a thousand people working at Zenith at that time and now we are 250. So it's a different bit of a different story.

Blake Rea: 2:58

It was really cool to kind of see like the Defy Lab. I thought was incredible Just the way that you guys put watches through production. You know how you break them up into base plates and then you know the base plates go to like a designated team of watchmakers and they kind of see it through. I thought it was a very kind of intuitive way of thinking about watch assembly and production. Is that something that you guys have preserved throughout the course of your history or is that something that you guys have recently tried to kind of forwardly think about how to develop and assemble watches in a modern idea?

Romain Marietta: 3:43

No, it has always been this philosophy that we tried to follow. As I said, we have been a manufacturer since day one. We have been founded here. We never moved. We are still in the same location buildings, of course. We developed it, we restored it and we have been one of the first manufacturers to open the doors to public visits. So you can really have a look of, as you said, like how a manufacturer look like manufacturers look like, so you can really cruise around, discuss with the people who are working, from the yeah, from stamping the base plate to up all the way up to the auto luxury workshop here. I'm looking at it because it's really next to me, but you can really definitely go through and cruise inside the manufacturer and see really all the different craftsmanship, people behind every single steps of producing and the different people working behind the.

Blake Rea: 4:56

What creates the value of a watcher yeah, something I think was probably, I mean the coolest. Coolest experience for me was going into the attic right I mean it's always for everyone everybody.

Blake Rea: 5:09

Everybody knows this story. You know you guys have have such a unique story about Charles Vermeule and how he kind of brought the brand back and saved the brand. It's just such a cool place to think about. When this happened in the 70s, how things were and just the whole kind of thought process for mr vermo like was just insane. And then, you know, it was kind of a surreal moment when I was walking through and I was filming so you guys could go check out the youtube which we need more views on. Um, it was just kind of surreal to see. I mean, it's like you guys haven't even undusted it, there's just dust. It's just like you guys are preserving it in the most accurate way.

Romain Marietta: 6:01

Yeah, we tried to keep it untouched, as we said we like to say in the watchmaking world. But it's true, I mean it has been preserved like this watchmaking world. But it's true, I mean it's that's been preserved, like this and and and it's. We wanted to keep it as much, I mean, as authentic as as possible, and that's why it looks exactly the same, stuck, stuck a bit in in times like this.

Romain Marietta: 6:26

Uh, so when you have the chance to go there and then you also see the movie, you see how even Charles Vermeul is explaining what he made, because it was a TV reportage explaining his rebel act. So he's just explaining what he did and he got emotional. And, of course, when you look at this, you start to get emotional too, because it's super authentic and it's just like a human being story of a guy who just, uh, just couldn't stand the fact that people wanted to throw everything away what, what he, what he worked on for so many years and and, and, yeah, the, the, the rebel act, he, he did just basically save the El Primero. So the story I mean, everybody knows that, but it's really cool to go in the attic and it's just super authentic and we like this story and this place. Of course, everybody that comes to the manufacturer said normally that it's the highlight.

Blake Rea: 7:33

I think it was one of the top highlights for me. But additionally, at the time when we had met, you know, I asked you what watch you were wearing and at the time it was unreleased. But now the zenith kernermaster original triple calendar, which also was a watch that Mr Vermeule like, like had right, that was a watch that you guys had kind of revived.

Romain Marietta: 8:05

Yeah, when, when? Yeah, when he got retired. He has been gifted a triple calendar and and we we had the chance to also get our hands on one of the prototypes that he was wearing, that he gave to his son, michel, who is still, of course, we are still in touch with him. So now we have it at the museum and it's one of the 25 prototypes ever created. Of the 25 prototype ever created, so let's say, the wear watches that were created to test, to validate the principle, the function, the functions of the triple calendar back then in the 70s. So it's an incredible piece.

Blake Rea: 8:50

So obviously let's talk about you being a chief product officer. I mean, it seems like when I went through the attic, you guys had a lot of the tools. I mean you guys have little rows right With all the caliber like stamping machinery and things like that. How hard is it for you? I mean, you guys, it doesn't seem like maybe I'm speaking out loud here, but it doesn't seem like it's very challenging for you guys to. Doesn't seem like maybe I'm speaking out loud here, but it doesn't seem like it's very challenging for you guys. But okay, look cool, let's just look at our archive of movements and then let's design a watch around it. Like how did what's the, the thought process like when it?

Romain Marietta: 9:25

comes, it's it's. It's, of course, fantastic when you are in our position at the product development team and I mean we're having such a history, legacy, patrimony. Of course, you just need, obviously, to open the books, the archives and see what's inside. We like to stay respectful and we want to pay tribute also to what the predecessors have made, but we also need to build the future. But you can also create a new design, but inspire yourself from from from the past and what has been done, because, of course, it gives value, content, storytelling to to a product that you want to release and, of course, people likes that and it gives value and and and valuation to a product.

Romain Marietta: 10:12

So we are very lucky, we are feeling very lucky to be able to do that. We have nothing to invent in reality, and it's something that I cherish, of course, because I mean having the chance to be able to see in the archives, but also, in a way, to try to twist it, not to reproduce exactly what has been done, but being respectful, of course, but also trying to establish the brand for the next 160 years. We are going to celebrate 160 years next year and we want to. I mean, the brand will, of course, survive us and this is what we have to work on. So, as a creative guy me and my team, I mean it's just a blessing to be able to work with such a brand, with such a ministry.

Blake Rea: 11:09

So you said being respectful is very important to you and your team. You know, obviously. You know, when I look back at the Zenith catalog and you look at some of the collections from like the mid 2000s, you guys kind of had what I would consider a deviation. You know, you guys were getting a little experimental, a little crazy. So when you say respectful, what does that mean for you and your team?

Romain Marietta: 11:37

well, it's going it's being faithful to the roots, to the, the dna, the value. I mean also the design languages that could have been created in the past and that maybe, yes, somehow, as you said, in the mid 2000s, I mean, I was. I'm there since 2006, so I can also discuss about this topic. And when I joined, it's true that we had the DeFi collection, but it didn't look at all at what we have now in the collection. It was just creation, not really looking at the patrimony. I mean, it's, it's a way to proceed, it's a way to also try to build a new aesthetic and your new languages, but at the end it didn't really succeed because it's it's not really faithful, it doesn't speak the truth, it doesn't have the DNA, the values, and that's probably why it didn't, let's say, stood the test of time.

Romain Marietta: 12:41

And for me, the secret recipe is to stay true, of course, to the DNA, because otherwise people, they will not, I would say they will not like it, they will not, I would say they will not like it, they will not support it and the client will not understand it. So that's what we have worked a lot over the last six, seven years at least, even also before yeah, to remain and to maybe come back to our genuine essence, roots, find the right design, aesthetics and languages that are correct and and that speaks to the, to the people that will speak in the future, also to build a collection and in the next developments for the future. So this is what we have worked a lot over the the last yeah, let's 10 years, but more in the last six, seven years.

Blake Rea: 13:36

It seems like recently you guys have kind of been putting your eggs in the Well, if you look at your entire portfolio right, you have the DeFi, the Chronomaster, the Pilot, the Elite, and it seems like you guys have kind of stayed in that defy, chrono, master, pilot like collection and the elite collection or at least from what I've seen. I could be wrong um seems like it's a collection that you guys are kind of, uh, are discovering. Is that accurate? Because I haven't seen you guys have a massive Elite release recently.

Romain Marietta: 14:16

Yeah, for the time being. Yes, we have four collections. This is what we wanted. Once again, when I joined 18 years ago, we used to have more than 15 different collections, so it was absolutely not sustainable in reality. Too many references, too many things to support, too many products to support and then too many releases whatsoever. So the whole idea was to streamline the collection.

Romain Marietta: 14:46

Defi, chronomaster are obviously the two main pillars strategic pillars 75% to 80% of the turnover is made on these two collections, but, of course, pilot is important. Pilot has been relaunched, refreshed last year. It's a very important collection for us, historically important because we have the name belonging to us since more than 20 years. We have a huge legacy in that, and the Elite Collection was basically one of the first we refreshed in 2020, but it was just before the COVID happened, so it didn't really, let's say, have the chance to establish itself.

Romain Marietta: 15:23

We are working on something new. We are going to come back next year strongly with something totally new to replace the elite collection, to start with a new beginning. It's very important for us and we want to do it with the 160th anniversary, so we'll come back with one very strong product that will set the path and the trend the the coming years in that let's say timelessness, timeless dressy collection with a new approach, new signature, more auto focus, so higher finishings, different price positioning. So a lot of things are going, are going to change but once again it's complementary with what we have with DeFi, let's say maybe the more modern one, chronomaster really the roots, the DNA of the El Primero, all about chronograph. The pilot is, I mean, it's really a tool watch. It's a good platform for creating also collaboration. And let's say the new elite collection with the new naming will also be the start of a new, new beginning, a new era yeah, the the portfolio is a very I would say it tight it integrated portfolio.

Blake Rea: 16:46

Because you do have the defy collection, where you guys are kind of having fun right, you're saying, hey, look, here's zenith, right here, here we're fun, right. And then the chrono master collection where you guys kind of stick to your historic, uh like concepts and designs and and you kind of just, uh, you remain faithful right to history in that collection, exactly, um. And now, with the pilot release, which I'm a huge fan of, the pilot, I mean the pilot is an incredible watch, especially the, the flyback with the, uh, the big date, like that's a watch that I mean even just the three-hander you know as a watch that I just want to have in my, in my collection at some point. But but no, I mean, I was genuinely surprised when you guys especially if you look at your older pilots watches like the ones that that were the predecessors to these, I mean they're totally different.

Romain Marietta: 17:45

Totally, yeah, another world. It's a totally extreme, the extreme version of what we had. I mean, it was very much more vintage-oriented. The inspiration came from the 30s, 40s our board chronometer, altimeter, so some of the first, let's say, deck or board instruments that we had. We had it for almost 10 years, 11 years. We restarted pilot in 2012, and we refreshed it in 2023. And it's a new, modern take. So it's completely different, the approach we really wanted to come with something totally new. I agree with you. I think it's a very cool, it's very cool pieces that unfortunately, not everyone is knowing. So I mean it's up to us also to make it happen, to support. But obviously these are really cool product and for the time being, we only have, let's say, two movements. So we have four different skews, four different references and we just released the, the, the porter, the porter, yoshida yeah and in the future we will, we will develop it.

Romain Marietta: 19:03

We want also to come with more movements or new developments, but it takes a bit more. It takes some time to create the, the movement that we want. But it's true, it's a fantastic collection, and defy, as you said, is a playground device where you can really also work with different materials, combination of materials. You can also try some stuff with with the dyes, the texturization, the, the. You can work with sapphire, skeletonization. A lot of things are possible. We have the interchangeable strap system, which also allows us to play and to let also the client play with the watch and Chronomaster is really about the El Primero, so we don't want to change it. We are very much working with the three colors. I'm wearing the A386, the godfather of the old. There's 55 years of difference between the one that you are wearing and the one I have, but they are still remaining very faithful to it. This we will keep. Next year, with the new era coming, with the rejuvenation of the Timeless Collection, we're going to open a new chapter for the, for the collection yeah, I this.

Blake Rea: 20:19

After I left the factory or the manufacturer, I may I? I said I need to get a watch to like mark this event in my life, and I literally went back and forth. I was on the chronomaster original, I was on the chronomaster sport. Um, I think I mean, obviously, I've been wanting a daytona forever, right, but I just felt like this was the, was the more, uh, versatile. Maybe that's, at least for my life, this is the more versatile solution and you know what I actually like about this is so I could only get one right. I can only get a Daytona, I can only get a Chronomaster Sport right or a Chronomaster Original. And look at what I have. But to me it seemed like everybody has a daytona right, you know, and this was the more watch nerd way to go, you know, like, like you can walk, you know, into a boardroom and just see a random guy who doesn't know anything about watches have a daytona, but only a true watch guy is gonna be wearing this this.

Romain Marietta: 21:33

Yeah, I mean, it's a fact. There's a lot of people wearing Rolex in our world and obviously, if you are going to a dinner, an exhibition in a restaurant whatsoever and you look at the wrist, you have a lot of chance and probability that people will wear a Rolex Daytona or Submariner or Day-Date or whatsoever. So, yeah, I mean, we all want to have this kind of successful product. Obviously, I mean, it's not an envy, it's not, but it has to be an ambition to, of course, have this icon, an iconic product such as the Daytona is. So when we have decided to create our own take on what could be a sports chronograph with our own legacy, with our own recipe, we deep dive in our archives, archives. We, we, we try as much as we can to create the watch, the way we think we are looking and what we can bring to the market with our own specificity, with our own feature. So, yeah, the chronomaster is this kind of recipe.

Romain Marietta: 22:46

A lot of people I mean a lot of things have been said to on the chronomasters, on the chronomaster sports, um, that it can look like a Daytona. Obviously, I mean, people are comparing. It's very human to compare with what we know and with such an iconic product, a landmark, a benchmark, specifically in the watchmaking industry. Of course people are comparing to the Daytona, but we have our own specificity the specific bezel, specific scale, specific way of displaying the chronograph, the time we have, the date we have an open case back. Yeah, a lot of things that we try to make it our own way and faithful to what we have done over the last 55 years in the sports segment chronograph product.

Blake Rea: 23:38

Well, arguably, if you look at the modern daytona, the modern interpretations, it really comes back down to like.

Romain Marietta: 23:48

Rolex has to thank you for that, because if you look at, I prefer that you saying you saying than me, but I agree with you, I totally agree with you.

Romain Marietta: 24:00

I mean, if you look at the pre-Daytona or the Paul Newman ones and then the modern one, they're totally different, because they also have work with the El Primero that it does look like this now, work with the el primero that it does looks like this now, uh. So we just I always said, uh, in private, joke, unofficially, that we, we helped them a bit to access to the throne yeah, I mean humble way very humble way something that um that I had.

Blake Rea: 24:27

Well, I guess you may not be able to answer but as I was working on um, like some of my research for my factory tour, and we talked about the caliber 400 um and how I mean you supplied rolex with that movement, um, you know, rolex took the movement essentially kind of like rebuilt it. You know they, they did, I think they did over I mean it was like 30, it was over 30 different modifications from my understanding to the movement. Is that just Rolex being Rolex? Just so that way they can get away with it being their?

Romain Marietta: 25:07

own, to get their hands on it, to, let's say, apply their own way of thinking of development, of how it should look like. I mean, aesthetically they are very similar. Technically, they did some change because obviously they wanted to industrialize it. They wanted to create a lot of watches, they had the idea to produce big quantities. So when you think about this, you have to have an industrial take on, a movement and we were not producing as much as they are, and this is still the case nowadays. So that's also why they did all these uh, these uh, these changes, adaptation. I'm always giving this, this, this scale or this uh benchmark, but we are producing the since 55 years 1969, 2024. We are saying that we have produced 15,000 on average a year. So it doesn't even give you a million watches in a million El Primero in 55 years, and it's not even the annual production of Rolex. So it's still very niche, and I'm including what we have delivered to Rolex in these figures.

Blake Rea: 26:31

It's crazy to even think about, because in, in my opinion, I mean they they took the movement in its unique form right, it was one tenth of a second and they're like no, like, let's just slow that down you know, you know, and it's like I mean, you guys are really the only person to stand behind the one-tenth of it, and now I mean, with the DeFi, the one-one-hundredth of a second chronograph.

Romain Marietta: 26:59

Yeah, ifrequency is something that, of course, is not belonging. But people are associating the iFrequency with us and we are fine with it because, I mean, we are mastering it and we like it and this is the know-how we have. But we can see more and more brands coming on this Grand Seiko is a good example. Even Patek did a, let's say, kind of split-second chronograph tenths of a second. You also have seen Longines on that, chopin going eight hertz. I mean mean, of course, still limited production, but we are. I mean, for us it's a basic, it's a given. We are working on that since 55 years and, yeah, it's one of our, let's say, core difference. I mean how you can really differentiate yourself from the competition, and this is really in our DNA and we want to keep working on that because it's really associated with us.

Blake Rea: 28:02

I mean, you guys were doing, you know, high frequency movements, arguably before anybody else. You know, yeah, we have been the first yeah, I mean, it's like you guys had the the foresight to say, hey look, if a, if a, if a movement has a higher frequency is going to be more accurate, which you know. A lot of these brands, I mean in the other side and the other brands that I've seen they're actually doing the exact opposite. They, they're slowing the watches down. I'm not going to say names.

Romain Marietta: 28:37

Yeah, I mean, obviously, with all the different frequencies, you can be very precise, very accurate. It depends the way you are building the movement, developing it, the way you are assembling it, the way you are setting it, the time you are spending to set the time and the accuracy of a watch, depending also on the scale of the production quantities that you are doing. I mean we can see other brands working on that. Most of them, they are doing some very small quantities. We are also doing very small quantities in reality, compared to the big names. Our annual production is still, and remains still very, uh, very low compared compared to them and people just maybe tend to forget about this. But I mean, we are not producing even uh 30 000 watches. So it's it's, it's, it's um, it's a small scale, it's an industrial scale, but it's still way, way less than Omega, rolex and the others.

Blake Rea: 29:38

Yeah, yeah, I mean, it's really crazy to think about it, because I had an argument with one of my friends. And when you think about scale, right, rolex is producing so many watches and you guys are producing a very small fraction of what they're producing. So, in theory, in theory right, more time, attention and care would go into assembling that. I mean arguably right. This is just a concept, a construct of a, of a thought um, that you guys would put more attention, time, care, love, love into one watch versus somebody who's just, you know, producing millions, you know yeah, that gives the whole value to the watch.

Romain Marietta: 30:32

But I mean honestly also, rolex is he's? He's putting so much of attention, work, care and and and and and and. The qualities, uh, state of the art, I mean there's nothing about about it. I mean you are, they're really at the level that no one is in reality in producing watches at their scale.

Romain Marietta: 30:58

In an industrial way of thinking. So these are the best ones when you're producing more than a million watches a year. But we, as you said, we try to put a bit more in it, like value, care, love, passion. That's uh, that's uh, that's very important, and history also.

Blake Rea: 31:18

But holics also has history so something that um, and I'll probably get murdered for saying this, but so if something weird happens to me, you you know, but no. So, ironically, I got a watch from my friend. We did like a little trade deal. I had a Panerai I wasn't wearing, he had a Rolex he wasn't wearing. So we just traded. You know, we traded, we kept them.

Blake Rea: 31:45

Anyways, you know, I'm the type of guy where once I get my hands on something I want it to be. You know, I'm very you and I see I, I want it to be accurate, faithful, like I want it, like I want a new vintage watch. So what did I do? Naturally, I sent it to rolex and I was like I was hoping rolex would service it. You know, get the because it had um tritium.

Blake Rea: 32:10

It was an older, you know, watch from the 60s, had tritium, so the lume wasn't working. Um, I mean, the dial was like discolored and stuff, you know. So you know I, I knew what rolex was gonna do when I sent it in and I was okay with that. And some people may say, hey, look, you're ruining the watch, you're getting rid of the patina, yada. But I, I wanted it to be like a new vintage watch and rolex sent it back to me without even servicing it and uh, and their reason was we don't have the parts I was like here you are promising these watches will last a lifetime, but you can't even service a 60 yearyear-old watch, or you're refusing to, and to me….

Romain Marietta: 32:57

At least they are honest. Maybe it was a particular watch that you had a particular reference, I don't know. We also…. Our promise and commitment is also to try to do this, to be able be able to restore and and and to refurbish all the watches that are that that went out of the of our workshops. Um, and sometimes, of course, you you could miss some parts, but you can also reproduce them faithfully. Uh, so I don't know exactly what happened with yours but um this it's also a different story, because I mean they're, they're, they're way bigger.

Blake Rea: 33:31

It was a 1601 Datejust, which arguably is one of the most popular Datejusts ever made. This one is I mean, you see them everywhere, you know. I mean if you go into your grandpa's cupboard he's probably got a 1601 Datejust laying in it. You know what I mean.

Blake Rea: 33:51

Like come on um, but jokingly to me. You know that that is something that I take pride in. You know, I want a watch that I know I can carry right and as the push for in-house, you know every, every watch manufacturer is doing in-house, this in-house, that I get scared as a consumer Like I want a watch collection I can hand down to my children. You know, the children that are yet to be born sleep at night knowing in 50 years, 60 years, when I'm long gone, that they'll be able to accurately take care, you know, or should I say confidently be able to take care of the, the watches that I, that I give them you know well, I'm totally in line with, uh, with your, yeah, with this philosophy absolutely, and this is what we want to also be able to provide for clients definitely.

Blake Rea: 34:53

So we talked very briefly and when I was, you know, obviously, like I said, when I was making my purchase which, by the way, I am super happy I can't get it, especially when I go into the rooms of people who have Daytonas.

Romain Marietta: 35:13

I wear this.

Blake Rea: 35:13

Please, do it Please do it In our watch club here, like we'll do a watch event. There'll be like 20 people that show up and like seven or like nine of them have Daytonas, and then here I am the only one. You know. So I do like that. Um, you know, so I, I do, I do like that. But, um, you know, obviously, when I did a bunch of research and we talked briefly, um, about the bracelet and I'm sure people are gonna are gonna ask me why didn't I ask you about the bracelet?

Blake Rea: 35:45

yeah, no problem situation and you know, you guys have gotten a lot of, uh, I guess, negative publicity on the bracelet. Yeah, um, but you guys are apparently listening, right.

Romain Marietta: 35:58

So no, of course. I mean we, we, we have heard the, the, the market, we, we, we know the, we know the situation obviously, and we know that the, the, the bracelet, has some, some, some weakness, uh, specifically on the buckle no micro-adjustments. So we are working on it. We are quite well advanced. It takes a bit of time, as I said off the record to you before, but I mean we need to go around all the patterns that people are specifically Rolex and some others are registering for buckles, the Rolex buckles and people don't know it, but it has so many patterns that it's really hard to get around and we really wanted to create something with our own take and we have found something which we think is, is, is very cool and can bring, of course, I mean, improvements to, to, to what we have now. So we are working on that. We are going to be ready in in in, let's say, a year, year and a half. Totally. It will be also possibly a retrofitable for the people who had the, the, the previous version, obviously. I mean this is how also you are building equity, building also iconicity to your watch. Keep on improving, and this is also what we want to do in terms of design, not only for the buckles, but also for the bracelet.

Romain Marietta: 37:27

We are working on interchangeable strap system. Everything has to be done, it's just a matter of time. All the bracelet? We are working on interchangeable strap system. Everything has to be done. It's just a matter of time, all the time. So, but yeah, we are listening and we know the situation and we are going to update this as soon as we can.

Blake Rea: 37:43

Yeah, which, thank you, thank you from me and from everybody you know. I think that's also something as a consumer, right I? I mean, we're all consumers. We all buy products. Um me being a youtuber I'm sorry I'm looking down at my camera because I'm filming later um me being a youtuber. Like you know, once I buy a product, there's always that concern of like will, will the brand leave me, like, will they no longer? You know, like you, you think about like, like apple, right, when they update the new operating systems or whatever like is it going to be compatible on my phone? So I think a lot about that. Like, um, you know, will the once I've made this purchase, this huge financial purchase, how much further will the brand support me as a customer?

Romain Marietta: 38:37

It's a totally logic way of thinking. As you said, we are also consumers. We are also buying watches. Personally, I'm a watch collector. I'm a geek, like most of your audience. I'm really proud to be one of you and, of course, I don't want to be left behind by the brand any brand that I buy and if I'm working for one brand.

Romain Marietta: 39:03

I have the same mindset and obviously we tend to improve every time we can and to listen to the feedbacks, to listen to the market, to improve every time we can and to listen to the feedbacks, to listen to the market, to try to reach what people are expecting from us. And for me that sounds totally logic and basic. And we are creating some of the less obsolete product in the world the watches because they can be there for the next 200 years and they can still work because they're all mechanical you just need to wind it or you just need to wear it and it's totally self-sustainable. So it's a fantastic product. But we have to be proud of this and to keep on improving and listening.

Romain Marietta: 39:49

And I agree that maybe 30 years ago, 20 years ago, even the world of watchmaking was maybe not that aware. Uh, and everything changed with the internet and people that can source information everywhere. Most of the people that are entering now the shops are more aware and have more and are more knowledgeable than the people behind the counter. So you have to be ready and you have to to to.

Blake Rea: 40:14

You have, you need to have the answers um, something that I'm curious about and you know I don't want to take up too much of your time, I know we're coming here about 20 minutes into an hour. Um, let's talk about something that you know I kind of alluded to earlier but when I was going through the attic. I mean, you guys have so many calibers, you know, and you're combing through the archives probably every day. Um, are there any like calibers that you, that you've seen in the archives, that you're interested in, like you?

Romain Marietta: 40:49

say hey, man this is super cool.

Blake Rea: 40:52

Uh, this needs to come back, and if there is, can you give us a taste?

Romain Marietta: 40:58

no, but of course I mean there are some that you would want to to, to, to revive, because I mean you really think that they are. I mean they have also been very important for the for, for the, for the history of the brand. Some have been really huge steps or a huge part of the big book of the history of the brand that I'm thinking about some of the chronometry ones, and obviously we want to, we would like to revive some ones, and obviously we would like to revive some, but you also need to understand that the investment to reindustrialize a movement from the 40s, 50s, 60s is huge. But yeah, obviously this is something that we are working on and we will do it in the future. The first one will come next year. So the teaser is there.

Romain Marietta: 41:52

I mean, we are going to come back with a movement, revive a movement which is a fantastic one, next year for the 160th anniversary. So this is something that we have worked on for the last four years now. So it takes time. Some are, of course, worth it, some are not. You said it, we have developed more than 500 calibers over the course of the last 160 years. I mean, obviously we will not be able to come back with all of them and we have to select them and some are more important than the others. Some are more, let's say, a really landmark one. But the real, next big things will happen next year with the revival of a Calibre.

Blake Rea: 42:43

Let me kind of I want to peek into your thought process a little bit further. So once you guys decide hey look, this caliber is worth it, we're gonna revive this, um, then what? Like? Like, like, what is the process from taking a vintage movement design and modernizing it? Like, like, how do you guys you know what I mean like, obviously you're not just gonna throw some silicon in there and call it a day, you know? Um, but what, what happens from an engineering perspective to modernize a vintage caliber? Well, I mean, first of all.

Romain Marietta: 43:22

I mean, obviously you can have a movement in flesh. You have to disassemble it. You, you have to measure every single component parts, see how they have been produced back then, how they were, I mean, how it was developed. Obviously, they were not assisted with computers back then, so you also have then to totally rebuild it in 3D, so it takes a lot of time. So you are starting from papers, from technical plans, and then you are putting into computers in 3ds and then you, you have the whole 3d and then you, you, you, you check and you, you see what you can improve, what could make sense, what could be also um, um, what could have been done differently a bit, but still still trying to be a face with the aesthetics and and and maybe some of the iconic components. Or if, for example, you have a big balance wheel, because it was, it was, it was meant to be like this, I mean you obviously want to keep it, but you have also access now to new materials, to new technologies.

Romain Marietta: 44:31

You can do a lot of simulations. You can simulate a lot of things about the gear, trains, the wear, the tear, which was not existing back then. So there's a lot of things that you can do. You can increase the efficiency of a movement. You can work on an increased power reserve, for example, movement. You can work on the an increased power reserve, for example, just because you are just rethinking the kinetic of the gear trains and the efficiency of the, the energy delivery inside the movement.

Romain Marietta: 45:01

So this is how we are processing. And then in terms of design, obviously, when everything is is is in 3d, but then you can start to. You can start to work in the playground, in the kindergarten, and then this is the most epic moment for us, because you can open the books of the archives, but you can also see what's happening on the market nowadays, from every single brand, from low segment to really high haute horlogerie product, because we are looking at everything, what is done now, and you can get inspiration from a lot of things, but still trying to add your own DNA. So this is how we have processed for all the watches that we have revived, because for the time being, we were reviving models. We will go one step further by reviving a movement, which has never happened in the past, but the last example was maybe the 321 from Omega, but it's not obviously happening quite often that a brand is reviving a movement. So this is what we have thought could be a very good idea for the completion of our collection.

Blake Rea: 46:16

Has there ever been an instance where you guys decide, okay, cool, here's the movement we're reviving, here's the watch we're putting it in. And then you guys start getting into it and then by the time you've completed that, you're like holy shit, this is a totally different movement this is we've made so many changes, modifications like um, because I was in your um, your, your lab. I don't know what, what you call it, but your design your design center where you guys were.

Blake Rea: 46:45

You know we were clicking through the movements and he was you know breaking it apart and showing me, um, you know, some of the significant technical changes that you made, specifically in the pilot, the pilot's watch. Um, I mean, I can't imagine that being the only instance where you're like, by the time you get the movement in and start working on it and reviving it, like it's totally changed from the early designs to now.

Romain Marietta: 47:11

Yeah, it can happen. But obviously now with the computers, with 3D, with simulation, you can simulate a lot of things prior working on the real movement in Flash, prior to working on producing the components and then assembling them, and before the movement makes tic-tacs, you can simulate a lot of things. You can first evaluate a lot of things prior to go to prototyping, and then there's a theory in computers where a lot of things are working, and then you have the reality where of course you have to do a prototype, of course you have to see how it works, of course you have to make it assembled by different watchmakers, because they are not doing exactly the same way and and and things can happen when the, the watch is totally assembled that you didn't thought about. And it's specifically specifically happening. Every time, I mean every time you are producing a new movement, there are some let's say, a youth problem that are happening from the time you're I mean making.

Romain Marietta: 48:14

Making a movement makes, I mean doing Tic Tac like two, three, four, five, 10, 10 movement. It's easy. But then producing at the larger scale, like 500 of them or even a hundred of them a month to be able to deliver in the market, it's totally a different thing. So, yeah, it market. It's totally different things, and sometimes we have developed something we thought it was a good idea and then at the end, the final rendering, when you have the watch in your hands, doesn't give you exactly the feeling you had before at the design stage. You also have to accept this You're creating a lot of babies, but not all of them will become adults.

Blake Rea: 48:56

It's exactly the same for movements yeah, um, let's shift a tiny bit and then I'll let you go here. I don't want to spend, you know, I know, I know you. I don't want you to get snowed in right, I'm already stuck in the snow. Okay, all right, all right. Well, if that's the case, we can hang out much longer.

Romain Marietta: 49:14

But, jokingly.

Blake Rea: 49:16

You're starting to see the watch market evolve, right, and what I mean when I say evolve, you know. You're starting to see the younger generations get into watch collecting, you know, get into watch collecting, you know. Um, we've talked to brands, uh, and I think by by now we've already released that podcast, um, but we talked to um, a brand that they really made it their mission to kind of target the younger, like demographics, like the Gen Z, um, uh, and to Zenith, I mean, I don't. I understand that your customer segment is that of very much knowledge, right, you guys are the watch nerds watch brand, you know. But do you guys ever see yourself targeting the newer watch collectors, the newer generations? Is that a priority to you?

Romain Marietta: 50:22

I mean, obviously we have to. You can't just target people watch aficionados. Of course we have this fan base. We have people that know the El Primero by heart. Most of the time the El Primero movement was even more, let's say, famous than the brand itself. This is, I would say, when I joined the company 18 years ago. It was accepted and it was what we had in terms of audience of clients, type of clients, what we had in terms of audience of clients, type of clients. But we wanted, of course, to rejuvenate that, to target a different audience. This is also why we have created the DeFi, the new, modern take on DeFi, because it was allowing us to target a younger clientele, because, I mean, it was more modern in terms of modern and more contemporary, but still very linked to our mechanical, manufactured DNA.

Romain Marietta: 51:22

We are a mechanical and a manufactured brand. Obviously it's a niche inside a niche, if I can say so. But obviously the whole idea for every single brand is to gain risks, market shares and to grow. Obviously we don't want to come from, let's say, 30,000 watches to 3 million, so it's absolutely not the idea. But obviously, of course, if we can rejuvenate and have access to the Gen Z, we are doing it and all the different, let's say, collaborations we did in the past with also Felipe Panton, with Porter. We also tried to think outside our own box and industry to attract different and new clients and obviously we have achieved that because we have been able to now have an average age of customers at around 40.

Romain Marietta: 52:26

And let's say, 18 years ago or 20 years ago, it was more a 60-year-old guy, very knowledgeable about the product and an aficionado of the. El primero was on, knowing the brand and um. Obviously, of course, it's one of the priority of the brand to uh, to um, to have access to younger clients. I'm 42. I would love all my friends to know my, my, the brand I'm working to, I'm working for and, and, and, and, and, and and. The people have the, the watches that we are creating on their wrist. So absolutely it's a priority and then and we always have this focus in mind when we work on the collab, on future marketing and communication uh program, so obviously it's important, yeah wait, not all of your friends wear zenith watches.

Blake Rea: 53:14

Most of them, yeah.

Romain Marietta: 53:15

Okay.

Blake Rea: 53:16

I was about to say.

Romain Marietta: 53:17

But it's not an obligation for them and I won't. I mean, they will still be my friends and I'm also wearing some other brands during the weekend sometimes I mean that's all a matter of fact. But because I appreciate watchmaking and I'm a big, I'm a collector, I love watches and obviously I'm working for a brand, I'm I'm the spokesperson of the product development for the for this brand. It doesn't I know. So, um, I mean, I'm I'm a watch lovers and I want also to to to wear some other watches. So, yeah, what?

Blake Rea: 53:49

what's your? What's your favorite zenith watch ever made, and why?

Romain Marietta: 53:58

I would say the one that I'm wearing, the 386, is definitely one of the most iconic watch we have created, because it's a watch that has been done 55 years ago. It was one of the first equipped with the El Primero. It was the first equipped with this iconic signature that we are still using nowadays. It's the grandfather of them all, where we are still taking a lot of inspiration. So this is the one that I like the most, but it's hard to choose only one because in different aesthetics and there's a lot of other watches that I also want the people to discover in the future, and maybe we will be able to revive them and to at least inspire ourselves from this particular watch and coming back with it. But if I have to choose one, the6 is definitely the the one I uh, I prefer yeah I.

Blake Rea: 54:55

I threw you under the bus there a little bit because I know it's hard to say which one's your favorite child, right, really, um, it's and, as a dad, it's like you are asking me if I prefer my son or my daughter sorry. Sorry for that, but that's fine, but no.

Blake Rea: 55:12

So, uh, we I I know for a fact because whenever we release an episode, we have a lot of watch designers that listen to our episode. They literally reach out to me on a regular basis because I would say that our podcast is kind of turned into like an industry like in, like insiders in the industry listen to our podcasts and I know for a fact there's a lot of young watch designers that are going to be listening to you. Um, so I want to see if I can knock out a few questions about design before we kind of part ways. Um, but also, uh, a challenge what would you say is the biggest challenge in designing luxury watches in today's competitive market? I always come with the hard questions.

Romain Marietta: 56:12

No, but obviously designing a watch is not an easy task. But what is the most important for me, for us, is proportion, our proportion, because if a watch is well proportioned, then normally it should be fine. But then you also have to, of course, think about economy and comfort. But then you also have to, of course, think about economy and comfort, and sometimes people are forgetting this aspect of creation. But I mean, proportion is our key.

Romain Marietta: 56:44

If something is well proportioned, I mean, obviously it will normally be a hit, and designers also sometimes need to understand more the mechanics, the movements. It will, of course, help them to have more constraints in their design and if they have this approach, they would be even more, I would say greater designer. And I have met a lot, and I have one now, even more I would say greater designer. And I have met a lot, and I have one now the lead creative director that we have, sebastian, who has this sensitivity, this sense of being very aware about the movement, the constraint about the movement, listening to the watchmakers and the developers, which they really appreciate, because sometimes the designers are not like this, but it was maybe the previous generation. So, yeah, I would say proportion is key.

Blake Rea: 57:46

How would you say that Zenith stays inspired and innovative in an industry that hangs its hat on tradition?

Romain Marietta: 57:57

Because, we are curious because we are checking everything that is released from the competitors, because we are just passionate watch geeks I'm really talking about. I mean that's the spirit we have at Zenith, at least, and specifically, of course, at the product development, but I'm also including the guys at the movement developments and also the, the project manager that we have and we are working with, because they are they really do love what they do. They are passionate about watches, about craftsmanship and also the watchmaker we have. I mean it's, it's really a, it's really a specific industry. That's, I mean, let's phase it through Nobody needs watches anymore.

Romain Marietta: 58:37

So it's only about passion and you are creating way more than just an object that is giving and tell you the time, and for me, that's the driver for at least being, I mean, willing and having the envy to wake up every day is to us to, because I just love what I do and I just really do love watches and what it does represent as a whole, what it does represent for Switzerland specifically, because I mean it's, this is really something that we, that we are proud of. So, yeah, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's, it's a fantastic industry, honestly, but in reality, nobody really needs it anymore. But that's even more beautiful because it's a bit useless. But that's luxury.

Blake Rea: 59:24

You know, that's how you know I'm a sick person, because I need them.

Romain Marietta: 59:29

Yeah, but I need them too. I need them too. It's not to give me the time, but I need them and I need them all.

Blake Rea: 59:34

I's not to give me the time, but I need them.

Romain Marietta: 59:35

And I need them all. I'm totally like you. It's like catching the Pokemon, it's like catching them all.

Blake Rea: 59:41

Exactly.

Romain Marietta: 59:42

You got to catch them all.

Blake Rea: 59:43

You got to catch them all. Yeah, of course, I can already imagine some of my friends, some of the guys that reach out to me, that communicate, that listen, listen would want me to ask this question to you. Uh, what advice would you give to aspiring watch designers you know, who look up to brands like zenith?

Romain Marietta: 1:00:08

if you, if you, if you want to, uh, to work for, for, for a brand like zenith, you have to. You want to work for a brand like Zenith, you have to have the approach of being very sensitive about the history, the legacy we have Because, as I said, the brand needs to survive us we are just part of the whole history and story of this brand and you have to be sensitive to mechanics, mechanical stuff. I mean, we are a manufacturer, we are doing everything here by hand, so you need to have this curiosity about craftsmanship, every single type of craftsmanship. You have to be very curious. I think that curiosity is the key for a designer, because I mean you are looking at everything, not only what happens in watchmaking, but also in the car industry, in furniture, in fashion, in whatsoever. Everything can inspire you every day.

Romain Marietta: 1:01:04

And I'm the oldest in my, let's say, office here and I'm always amazed by this new generation, curious about everything. They also made me, they are feeding me, and they made me also thinking a bit differently of what I used to be in the past, because sometimes I was a bit the guardian of the temple, which I'm still be sometimes, but I'm also more open-minded and you have to be very much open-minded but still thinking that there's a lot of constraints at that scale, at that level, and in principle something in theory works, but then in reality, when you are starting to produce more, it's sometimes a bit different.

Blake Rea: 1:01:57

Let's get my two final questions out of the way and then I'll let you go home. What, what can fans? I mean, you've alluded to this already, but what can fans as aneth expect in the coming years in terms of design and innovation?

Romain Marietta: 1:02:12

well, it's really part of our dna, so we still try to to make the most beautiful watches possible. Innovation is also key and and we are, we are working on that we, we are, we are a manufacturer. We want to demonstrate this every single time we do a release. I mean you can expect us to be always following what's happening in, I mean Zenit.

Romain Marietta: 1:02:38

The history of Zenit has always been following what's happening in the world, being a witness of the world. So you can expect us to be always on time on this, and we can also expect us a lot of surprises, because we like to surprise people. We like to come where you were not expecting us. So I can promise this. I can also promise that we will stay true to who we are and the basic that we have set, the foundation that we have set over the last 5-6 years, and still keep on growing on that and not changing Once again. We have done that too many times in the past. I have seen on my side six different CEOs and my goal, my position, is also to try to remain on track, even if we are changing sometimes on that level and not changing the strategy. So you can expect us to also stay true to what we have set the last five, six years.

Blake Rea: 1:03:47

One of my friends here at a jewelry store unfortunately they don't carry Zenith, but she is the biggest zenith fan in the world because, uh, at one point, um, she, she was, you know, a representative of the brand. She was at one of your retail partners, yeah, and uh, she told, she told me she'll probably be super excited when she hears that I bring this up to you, but apparently she told me that you guys bought a star and named it after her son. Yeah, yeah.

Romain Marietta: 1:04:27

What's the name of the son?

Blake Rea: 1:04:30

I'll have to text it to you offline, but you guys legitimately gave her a certificate, I think because she sold so many Zenith watches.

Romain Marietta: 1:04:41

Yeah, that's possible. Probably the US team did that. We love to have proximity with our sales representatives because they are really the face of the brand in a way. Of course, they are behind the counters and they are really supporting us and we love them for that. I mean, we are working with retailers. We are not that much into retail I mean our own retail. We are really a wholesale brand oriented. So we like our sales guys, our sales representatives, and I'm curious to know who is she, because there's a lot of competition. So who is the biggest fan of Zenith Worldwide? I have another one in mind.

Blake Rea: 1:05:29

Her name is Sonia and I will get back to you on that for sure. She's so lovely. So when I got my Corona Master Sport, I wore it into their jewelry store and, like I said, they don't carry.

Blake Rea: 1:05:42

I mean, we have a lot of jewelry stores here in Vegas and they're not on the strip, they're not where all the other jewelry stores are, they're out there right In West Las Vegas and I wore this kernel master sport in like the like this was like day two, day three, when I just got it like I'm still breaking it in, you know and she's like, oh my god, I like, like, like, literally, I'm like I said it was my favorite brand, like, like she, she is in love with the brand so much, um, that I have, uh, a vintage.

Blake Rea: 1:06:16

Well, I like to share watches. Like, to me, what's the most important thing is I would not be here sitting in front of you lonely, wrist all this, all this stuff would not exist if I didn't love to share my passion with watches. So I had, like all gold zenith, stelatina, like recently restored and uh, and so the last time I went to the jewelry store I just said, hey, like just borrow this, you know, uh, and she's, she's, she's gonna wear this. I'm gonna let her borrow for maybe like six months or so and just kind of, to me, that's what watch collecting is about. You know, like I've got three or four of my friends watches right now, you know, and they've got three or four of my watches, you know, and no, but of course it's about shared passion.

Romain Marietta: 1:07:00

I mean, this is our, this is why we are here, this is why we are discussing. It's just because we, we, we love that industry, we love that craftsmanship and and that makes us and it's. We have a specific connection with this mechanical heartbeat, and we don't know exactly why, but it's just there. And it's fantastic.

Blake Rea: 1:07:23

Yeah, I will certainly get back to you on that, please. Our final question Drum roll. And I know this is probably going to be the hardest question of the night, but with with you being in your role at zenith, I'm sure you've got dreams that you want to accomplish before you leave the company you know and before you hand it on to the next generation of, of somebody who you know, uh, uh, who, who, who has the ability to step in and take over, because you know, obviously we're not we're not gonna work forever I know of course, um, but what?

Blake Rea: 1:08:06

what would you see what? What would you hope to accomplish at your time, as aneth, before you know to say to say, hey, look, job done, I am done, I have done everything I can in my generation. Uh, what do you hope to accomplish before you leave the brand?

Romain Marietta: 1:08:24

I would not say something that I would, that I would accomplish myself. I think it's it's what the team could accomplish for the brand honestly, and I just think honestly, very genuinely and candidly, that we just deserve to be more recognized for what we are doing. So I would love to see the brand, of course, on more risks with more recognition. We have a lot of people who have, let's say, passion, love. They are very kind with the brand. I mean all the people that I'm meeting every time they always have a story within it. But we are obviously not the number one purchase for a lot of people around the world and I mean this is our job to make it just more. We just want to build more awareness, notoriety and desirability for that brand that just deserve to be more recognized. So, of course, obviously the product that we are doing are there for this.

Romain Marietta: 1:09:27

We have been able to do this fantastic, for example, chronomaster Sport, which we are very proud because it's happening once in a lifetime probably, when you work for a brand, that you have such a tsunami of of of demand on one single watch.

Romain Marietta: 1:09:41

And it happens to us and we were very proud because we have worked a lot on that we worked our ass off in terms of design to to make it happen. So we are very proud of this, but I would not say it's the achievement we have done personally, but as a team, and being able to see each other, maybe in 20 years still being still friends with all the people I'm working with, would be my best accomplishment. And obviously we have some developments here and there that are going to happen, which I'm very proud. And maybe in 10, 15, 20 years I would be very, very proud to look back and say, oh, we have been able to do this. But I mean, at the end, it's the success of the product or the line or whatsoever that speaks for itself. So if you are not recognized for this by the clients the clients are the kings then you it's uh, it's uh. You can say that it's a bit, it's a bit useless, but that would be my unfortunately.

Blake Rea: 1:10:44

Like when you think about like, even um, like construction right, let's just use construction, because I don't think we another analogy would be appropriate but uh, uh, you know you have people clearing out, you know, trees or or or leveling uh areas, and then you have people that are coming and paving the roads, you know, and then people, people literally, will, uh, we'll drive on the road and be like, oh, I'm so grateful there's a, there's a road today, you know, like I'm driving on this road, but you know, the guys who, who cleared that for the road to be laid, yeah, you know, don't get the recognition that they deserve and and uh, and you got.

Blake Rea: 1:11:21

You guys are unfortunately in that position where you guys are the ones that are pushing the industry and then, you know, people catch on later, you know yeah I mean unfortunately, and uh, and I, I think, personally, I mean I obviously it's your, it's your dream to you know, to get more resonance out there and to sell more watches, um, but you know, maybe in in the next 20 years or decade, you know, you guys, I mean you, you had that, that, uh, that um, that reputation now of being forward thinking, you know, and being ahead of your time, right, um, and so obviously, selling more watches is great, but I think you guys are heading in a great direction, yeah thank you.

Romain Marietta: 1:12:18

I mean, of course we try to be ahead of time and forward thinking and maybe in 15 years people will say that, but at the end it's really. I mean, the story of a brand is made by individuals, but at the end it's the brand which is really the king and I really try to stay behind this real belief. I'm really behind the brand that I'm working with because without this, I wouldn't be honestly very happy to wake up every day and to work for that brand. And we have a fantastic history, a fantastic brand with fantastic people working there, a lot of independence within the biggest luxury group in the world. I have to say the image gave us a lot of independence to also create our own way, our own take on this brand. And this is really.

Romain Marietta: 1:13:12

I mean, I have a lot of appreciation for this and people maybe don't know it, but honestly, it's very important. If you don't have like 30 different layers of validation to do something, I mean you do really have an impact on your daily task and on all the watches that we are designing. We can really have an impact personal impact because of our taste, of course, but also by listening to your taste, to the taste of the your friends to inject this into into watches. So this is really dry. That that really drives me every day. Yeah.

Blake Rea: 1:13:50

Yeah, and I, I would say that your, your team here from, from working with your team here in in the us, you know, you guys are doing that really well, because when you guys first released the pilot um, and at that time I was selling zenith, you know, uh, your your rep, uh jessica, was like hey, like I like, let me, let me get a group. She like gathered a group around of all of us.

Romain Marietta: 1:14:15

She's like tell me she's awesome, yeah, she's amazing, uh, she's like she's like.

Blake Rea: 1:14:19

Tell me what you think about this release you know like. What do you like about you know she. You know that was at the time when the, the new pilot, first came and uh, and it's, you know, it's, it's small moments like that that I appreciate that you guys are listening, you guys have you, you know, have your ear out and and you guys really want to deliver a product that that, at the end, a consumer can get behind and they want to buy and spend their own money. Yeah, exactly.

Romain Marietta: 1:14:47

Because spending 10,000 US dollars for a watch is, I mean, it's crazy in a way. So you have to think and respect this project from a client's perspective, to put yourself in his shoes. Spending this amount of money for watches is something. You have to be authentic, you have to be very close to him, you have to listen to him, you have to listen to to him and this is what really I mean we are. We have that mindset honestly and we want to. We want to stay and remain like this, uh, very authentic, and and, and, and, and and passionate.

Blake Rea: 1:15:28

That sounds like that's a good statement to to end this one on. So want I, of course. I want to thank you again for you know doing this again with me. You know you did your youtube. We sat down for we talked a lot about design for the 45 45 minutes. Last time I saw you at the factory the manufacturer, sorry yeah uh, and in our youtube video everybody go check it out.

Blake Rea: 1:15:54

Um, obviously I'm gonna keep my eyes out and I'm gonna make sure you're not doing anything crazy uh and please, if you see something, raise your hands I know, I, um, I I will say and I don't, I don't know how I got this way, but it was my dream and I swear I'm not just saying this because I have three of your watches, I had four, I had a 386 as well and I got rid of it.

Blake Rea: 1:16:30

I don't know why I hate that. I did that an original 386. But it has always been a dream of mine to own a zenith, you know, and uh and that's the best compliment we can get in reality from from someone.

Blake Rea: 1:16:46

I mean that's the best compliment we can have, the best sentence I can hear yeah, it's something that, as a watch collector, I I have dreams to own all these other brands watches and add them to my collection. But you know, once you get them into your collection, it's just like that feeling is over, right, that feeling is over, um, but I, I don't. I don't feel that way towards zenith. Like, like, every time I wear one of your watches, especially the Defy I've got the Defy white ceramic. Like beautiful watch. Like, anywhere I go I'll wear that.

Blake Rea: 1:17:25

And everybody's like dude, what the like, what is that you're wearing? Like, take that off, let me see. You know, like I get so many compliments but it really does resonate for me. You, you know that it was a dream to own one of your watches and now I have multiple and every day I wear them. It never gets old, it feels refreshing, it feels exciting and, uh, there's watches out there that you know I've been on wait lists for to get and I've gotten them and I'm just like, oh okay, whatever, but it's truly an honor. Every day I wear one of my Zenith watches. Wow, what can I say?

Romain Marietta: 1:18:06

Thank you for this. I'm saying that. I'm saying that that's I'm super proud and humble to hear such a thing. It's music to my ears.

Blake Rea: 1:18:17

Thank, you, especially when I go, like I said, when I go to those watch meetups and everybody's got their Daytonas.

Romain Marietta: 1:18:23

Please keep on doing it. I will, I will, and spread the word, spread the good things.

Blake Rea: 1:18:30

I am a self-appointed ambassador, yeah.

Romain Marietta: 1:18:33

I mean, that's what we are searching for. I mean people who are ambassadors. Clients are the best ambassadors because they have their own circle of friends, their own networks, and when you do speak about the things you love with passion, that it's just. I mean, you're just sharing this. It's the best way to spread the word.

Blake Rea: 1:18:54

Contagious.

Romain Marietta: 1:18:55

It's contagious.

Blake Rea: 1:18:56

Thank you, Blake. Thank you so much for spending time with us.

Romain Marietta: 1:19:00

Thank you very much. My pleasure, my pleasure.

Blake Rea: 1:19:02

Everybody. We're going to leave a link to Zinna's website below. Obviously, these are watches you've got to see in person. If you haven't seen them, I'm sure you have. And thank you again for coming on, ramah, I really appreciate you spending time with us.

Romain Marietta: 1:19:17

I'll probably see if we are the audience and if they have any questions, please feel free to um forward them to me yeah, yeah, I'll probably see you soon.

Blake Rea: 1:19:25

I I am coming back to switzerland, uh, at some point, so I'm sure we'll great, you know we'll have the same discussion over some years at.

Romain Marietta: 1:19:33

Some'd love to welcome you.

Blake Rea: 1:19:36

Thank you so much for coming on and we will talk to you very soon, thank you. Thank you, blake.