In
1971, the majority of shares of the company is taken over by the American Zenith Radio Corporation of Chicago, America's largest group for the manufacture of electronic components. One of the reasons, perhaps, were to exclude problems the Americans feared because of the name similarity. Zenith was planned to be used as a base for sales of
quartz movements produced in the U.S. Believing in their imagination of the future the Americans soon lost interest in the mechanical movements and in
1978 ordered the production to be stopped and all movements, fournitures and machinery to be destroyed. It is thanks to the head of the chronograph studios, Charles Vermot, that the 'El Primero' was saved for the afterworld. He objected to the order and hid large quantities of plants, tools, machines, and all design and manufacturing drawings in the attic of the
manufacture.
[1][2]
End of
1978, the Zenith brand was sold to the Swiss Dixi group. With the support of the watch manufacturer
Ebel the production of the 'El Primero' was resumed. First the movements of Ebel were used, but since
1984 there were again watches from Zenith.
