====== Zenith Elite ======
**Elite** is the name of an [[automatic]] watch movement from [[Zenith]] produced since [[1994]]. The name was also frequently used on watches containing this movement.

===== Overview =====
In [[1990]], Zenith set a corporate direction to become a //[[manufacture]]//, with its own mainstream automatic movement to go along with the re-born [[Zenith El Primero|El Primero]] [[automatic chronograph]]. The goal was to create a thin 11.5 [[ligne]] automatic movement with modern features like [[hacking seconds]], bi-directional ball bearing winding, and a long power reserve. The resulting design, developed with assistance from [[Conseilray]], is similar to the contemporary [[ETA 2892-2]].

The Elite movement was launched in [[1994]] to great acclaim, named "Best Movement" at the [[Basel Fair]] that year. The initial models included the conventional [[Zenith 670|Cal. 670]] with date, [[Zenith 680|Cal. 680]] with [[small seconds]] and date, and [[Zenith 670|Cal. 670]] with date, and slim [[Zenith 661|Cal. 661]]. Cals. 670 and 680 would remain in production for over 25 years, and are the basis for the rest of the movements in the series.

The first complicated versions appeared in [[1996]]. Calibres [[Zenith 672|672]] and [[Zenith 682|682]] added a [[24 hour hand]] adjustable using a push button at 10 00 on the outside of the case. This complication would appear on a number of other Elite movements in the next two decades.

A pair of hand-winding movements were released in [[1997]] at Basel World. [[Zenith 650|Cal. 650]] is a simple small seconds movement, but [[Zenith 655|Cal 655]] adds another signature complication A [[power reserve indicator]] between 1 00 and 2 00 on the dial. These would be the only hand-winding versions.

===== External Links =====
  * [[https://reference.grail-watch.com/family/zenith-elite/|Zenith Elite Family]]


{{tag>Zenith Zenith_Elite_calibres}}