While others stack perpetual calendars and minute repeaters, the Le Locle manufacture asks a more fundamental question: what if we could simply eliminate one of watchmaking's oldest adversaries? Gravity. The silent enemy of chronometric precision. The reason watchmakers have spent centuries developing compensating mechanisms, adjustment protocols, and yes, the tourbillon itself. But Zenith's answer isn't compensation—it's elimination.
First unveiled in 2008, by 2018 the ZENITH Zero G was refined with a more compact "Gravity Control" gyroscopic module that now occupies just 30% of its initial volume. This assembly is composed of 139 components housed within a volume of about 1.3 cm³ —13.40 mm x 10.90 mm x 8.84 mm— and it incorporates no fewer than 9 non-magnetic, lubrication-free ceramic ball bearings.
Things to Know About the Watch
As the manufacture celebrates its 160th anniversary, it presents perhaps its most visually stunning interpretation yet of the Zero G technology: two new DEFY models encased entirely in sapphire. One carved from blocks of deep blue sapphire, the other in transparent crystal, each limited to just 10 pieces worldwide. These aren't merely beautiful objects—they're windows into one of watchmaking's most audacious technical achievements.
The 46 mm sapphire cases showcase this mechanical theater from every angle. The blue version glows with an otherworldly luminescence, while the transparent iteration offers unobstructed views of the architecture within. Both feature lapis lazuli dials flecked with natural pyrite inclusions that ensure no two pieces are identical—a poetic touch for watches already singular in their execution. These pieces strike an imposing presence on the wrist.
The openworked dial features a lapis lazuli base with rhodium-plated, faceted hour markers and hands that are generously coated with SuperLuminova SLN C1 for optimal legibility in low light.
Despite the technical complexity and sapphire construction, water resistance reaches 30 meters—adequate for daily wear, splashes and even surface swimming. The watches come on blue alligator leather straps with rubber lining, secured by titanium folding clasps that balance durability with wrist comfort for a watch of this size.
The DEFY Zero G doesn't average out gravitational errors like a tourbillon. It doesn't accept them as an inevitable compromise. Instead, through a miniaturized gimbal-mounted "Gravity Control" module, it keeps the escapement perpetually horizontal regardless of wrist position. Think of it as installing a marine chronometer's stabilization system inside a wristwatch—an engineering feat that took seven years to develop and remains protected by exclusive patents.
Let's talk numbers, because they matter. The Gravity Control module occupies just 1.3 cubic centimeters yet contains 139 components, including nine ceramic ball bearings that require no lubrication. It represents a 70% reduction in volume from the original 2008 design, a refinement that speaks to years of patient iteration. The El Primero 8812S calibre beats at 5Hz—that fierce 36,000 vibrations per hour that Zenith made famous—offering a double guarantee of extreme precision alongside the Gravity Control system.
The dial layout is deliberately asymmetrical: hours and minutes sit at 12 o'clock, small seconds at 9 o'clock, while the star of the show—the Gravity Control module—occupies the 6 o'clock position where you can watch it maintain its horizontal orientation in real time. Power reserve indication appears at 3 o'clock, tracking the movement's 50-hour reserve.
The Movement
Turning the watch over reveals the El Primero 8812 calibre beating at a frequency of 36,000 vph. This manual wound movement features a 50-hour power reserve. The "Gravity Control" gyroscopic module that ensures horizontal positioning of the regulating organ, now occupies only 30% of its initial volume. Inspired by the legendary marine chronometers, this movement is protected by 1 patent related to the Gravity Control cage.
On the Wrist & Price
At this price point, this watch isn’t an impulse acquisition, it’s intentional. You're getting: a genuinely unique technical solution that no other manufacturer offers, presented in one of the most challenging materials in watchmaking, produced in very small quantities. This is the definition of collectible haute horlogerie with a modern touch thanks to its sapphire case. Despite the 46 mm case size the watch wears quite well on a 7.5”-inch wrist size.
For those fortunate enough to secure one of these 20 pieces—each version available in a limited edition of 10 pieces—, you're not just buying a watch, you're acquiring a functioning demonstration of what happens when a manufacture with 2,333 chronometry awards and over a century and a half of heritage decides that good enough simply isn't. You're wearing a timepiece that doesn't just tell time—it defies the very forces that make accurate timekeeping difficult.
The Zero G technology may not be new, but in these sapphire cases, celebrating Zenith's 160th year, it achieves a new kind of presence. It transforms technical mastery into visual poetry, mechanical innovation into wearable art.
Sticker Price USD 207,500. More info on Zenith here.
