Without a doubt, one of our favorite novelties at Watches & Wonders 2024 is the new Zenith DEFY Skyline Chronograph with its dodecagonal bezel, interchangeable bracelet/strap system, and overall timeless look. The Zenith DEFY Skyline Chronograph is fitted with a stainless steel case measuring 42 mm in diameter but that wears slightly smaller and more like 41 mm.
Posts filed under Zenith
From the Editor: What is so Alluring About the Zenith DEFY El Primero 21 Titanium That I Had to Get a Third One
Every time that I’ve let go of the Zenith DEFY El Primero 21, I end up regretting it. This is the third Zenith DEFY El Primero 21 that I own. But, what is so alluring about this particular watch that I keep going back to it? Well, let me go into it. Originally released in 1969, the DEFY line has seen numerous facelifts and at one point it was responsible for almost killing Zenith during the reign of Thierry Nataf as CEO of Zenith between 2002 and 2009. The DEFY line was relaunched in 2017 and since then this model has come back stronger than ever.
Introducing: Zenith Pilot Automatic and Pilot Big Date Flyback Boutique Edition with Blue Dial
Last year at Watches & Wonders 2023, Zenith presented yet another revamped line of their Pilot watches with less of a steampunk look and a more contemporary modern look. Now, Zenith presents the Pilot Automatic and the Pilot Big Date Flyback Boutique Edition in stainless steel with a blue dial.
Insider: Zenith Pilot Big Date Flyback Black Ceramic and Pilot Big Date Flyback Steel
This year at Watches & Wonders 2023, Zenith presented yet another revamped line of their Pilot watches with less of a steampunk look and with a more contemporary modern look. Honestly, we are not sure we like that the brand keeps redoing its watches without much of a real strategy or thought process behind it. To us, the previous line of Pilot’s watches had a very special look that we liked and that we feel captured the essence and substance of the ‘Montre d’Aeronef Type 20’ that gave Zenith Pilot watches such a special aura.
Introducing: Zenith DEFY Extreme E 'Energy X Prix' Limited Edition
Extreme E is an FIA-sanctioned international off-road racing series that uses spec silhouette electric SUVs to race in remote parts of the world. The grand finale of the Extreme E tour is around the corner and after four races on three continents across wildly different terrains, the final electric rally racing showdown of 2022 is taking place in the seaside city of Punta del Este in Uruguay.
Introducing: Zenith Chronomaster Original Pink. Supporting the Susan G. Komen Foundation.
Zenith supports the Susan G. Komen Foundation in the fight against breast cancer by presenting the Chronomaster Original Pink. Available only during Breast Cancer Awareness Month from October 1st to October 31st, 2022, proceeds from the sale of this model will benefit the Susan G. Komen foundation.
Experience: Zenith DEFY El Primero 21 Carl Cox and an Awesome EDM Playlist on Spotify
If you are into EDM, then Carl Cox’s is no stranger to you. Carl Cox was the resident DJ at Space in Ibiza for 15 years until 2016. Born in the UK he is one of the pioneers of house music along with names like Frankie Knuckles better known as ‘The Godfather of House Music’, David Morales and Paul Oakenfold. If you want to see how everything started when it comes to EDM, you must watch the documentary ‘What We Started’ on Netflix. Additionally, there’s some great watch spotting on the wrists of Carl Cox, Afrojack, Steve Angello, Tiësto and others.
Introducing: Zenith DEFY Revival A3642 'Bank Vault'. Another Time Capsule Reissue from 1969.
Zenith is excited to announce a new addition to its Revival series. While 1969 will forever be known as the year of the birth of the El Primero, it also marks the important introduction of the first Defy timepiece. Originally dubbed the ‘coffre-fort’ —bank vault in English—, the new Zenity Defy Revival A3642 is a modern reproduction and a celebration of Zenith’s DNA in a 250-piece limited edition. With its octagonal case and distinctive 14-sided bezel, it showcases the historical source of inspiration of today’s Defy models.
Introducing: Zenith Chronomaster Revival Lupin The Third 'Final Edition'
In 2019, Zenith became the first manufacture to produce a watch directly inspired by a depiction in a Japanese manga and anime series. In the very first episode of the animated Lupin The Third series, Daisuke Jigen, the debonair right-hand man and best friend of the title character Arsène Lupin III, is portrayed wearing a watch based on the A384 with a black, grey and gilt dial that had never actually existed.
W&W 2021: Zenith DEFY 21 Spectrum as Colorful as a Rainbow
Zenith continues to express the theme of high-frequency chronometry through light and colors in the scintillating DEFY 21 Spectrum bejeweled collection. While brightly colored dials have recently enjoyed a comeback in watchmaking, Zenith has taken an unexpected and novel approach in the DEFY 21 Spectrum series, by incorporating striking colors everywhere but the dial.
W&W 2021: Presenting the Zenith DEFY Extreme Collection
Zenith continues to push the limits of performance and design to the extreme for the trailblazers who forge their own path and leave a mark on time with the DEFY Extreme, an all-terrain 1/100th of a second chronograph. Zenith is pushing form and function to new heights with the latest addition to the DEFY line of resolutely futuristic watchmaking with the DEFY Extreme, a new expression of superlative precision and ruggedness. Zenith is going far beyond the conventional to uncharted territories, where those who forge their own path on the road less travelled can leave their mark.
From the Editor: Initial Thoughts on the new Zenith Chronomaster Sport. Better than the Rolex Daytona?
Yesterday afternoon Zenith unveiled the new Chronomaster Sport ‘breaking the internet’ of watches. While I’ve never dared to give my opinion on a watch before seeing it in the metal, I think this is one of those instances where I feel I can and I have to. Equipped with an improved El Primero calibre and a black ceramic bezel, watch collectors around the globe immediately made the expected comparisons against the Rolex Cosmograph Daytona. Capable of measurements with an accuracy of 1/10th of a second, the new Zenith Chronomaster Sport marks the rebirth of a legend.
News: Presenting the Zenith Chronomaster Revival A385
Zenith brings back the first El Primero watch with a gradient dial from 1969, we are talking the Chronomaster Revival A385. Zenith is bringing back one of the earliest and most emblematic El Primero-equipped chronographs from the earliest days of the revolutionary calibre in the form of a Chronomaster Revival model. 1969 was certainly a year to remember for Zenith and would go down in the annals of watchmaking history as the year that forever changed the chronograph. It was the year that the Zenith El Primero, the world’s first automatic high-frequency chronograph, was unveiled to the world.
Insider: Zenith DEFY El Primero 21 Titanium. The Ultimate 1/100th of a Second In-House Chronograph.
The Zenith DEFY line is a collection that has been launched, discontinued, and resurrected several times by our friends at Le Locle through different periods of time. Originally released in 1969, the DEFY line has seen numerous facelifts and at one point it was responsible for almost killing Zenith taking the brand down an abyss from where it had to be later rescued by Mr. Biver's protégée Jean-Frederic Dufour —now CEO of Rolex.
News: Presenting the Zenith DEFY Classic Carbon
Zenith has repeatedly demonstrated its mastery of innovative and exceptional materials in the DEFY collection, expressing its vision of the future of watchmaking with groundbreaking pieces. The DEFY Classic Carbon explores uncharted territory of innovation, with a full carbon fiber construction —including the integrated bracelet— in a 41 mm case. Carbon fiber is prized for its rare combination of lightness and durability as well as its unique and futuristic appearance. Yet its use in watchmaking has been fairly limited.
Insider: Zenith DEFY El Primero 21 Carl Cox Limited Edition
Celebrating British DJ and record producer Carl Cox, comes the Zenith Defy El Primero 21 Carl Cox in a 200-piece limited edition. Carl Cox is one of the founding fathers of House Music along with Frankie Knuckles ‘The Godfather of House Music’ and a resident DJ at the acclaimed Space Club in Ibiza for more than a decade. Featuring a carbon case loaded with superluminova —only visible in dark conditions or under black light—, a small seconds indicator shaped like a record vinyl and a bright red strap, this limited edition is presented in a special numbered box with a set of Pioneer HDJ-X headphones.
News: Presenting the Zenith Defy 21 Ultraviolet
If all the colors that our eyes can perceive are to be considered as frequencies of visible light, then violet has the highest frequency of them all, beyond which is invisible ultraviolet light. It was only natural to pair this intense, energetic color with the highest-frequency chronograph in regular production, the Zenith Defy 21. In past centuries, violet was coveted as the most sought-after color dye for garments, the production of which was a closely held secret by certain civilizations such as the Phoenicians.
Experience: Zenith Journey to the Stars. A 360-degree Immersive Video into the Manufacture.
Today, Zenith unveiled a really cool virtual reality video that takes you into the manufacture and also into that secret attic where Charles Vermot safeguarded the El Primero production equipment, enabling Zenith to begin producing its legendary chronograph again in 1984. A hero, a rebel, and a savior. Charles Vermot was a humble yet exceptional character, who unknowingly played a pivotal role in Zenith’s legacy.
Insider: Zenith Defy El Primero 21 Carbon. A Very Stealthy 1/100th of a Second Chronograph.
If you like stealthy watches that fly under the radar, the Zenith Defy El Primero 21 Carbon is the perfect choice. First released in 2017, the 1/100th of a second chronograph mechanism, continues to prove why Zenith is one of the leaders and pioneers in making reliable and very accurate chronographs. The Zenith Defy El Primero 21 Carbon is one of those watches that ticks al the boxes if you are looking for a underrated, all black, sporty in-house chronograph under $20K USD. After the revival of the Defy line with a case design more in line with the historical Defy watches from the sixties and seventies, the Defy collection brings a breath of fresh air to a brand that has revolved around the El Primero look for most of his modern history since 1969.
Insider: Zenith Defy Inventor. Equipped with a Revolutionary Disruptive Oscillator.
Zenith released its ‘Zenith Oscillator’ system in 2017 and the new Zenith Defy Inventor is their latest watch equipped with this technology. Beating at the extremely high frequency of 18 Hz or 129,600 vph —compared to the usual 4 Hz or 28,800 vph— and endowed with a comfortable two-day autonomy, the Defy Inventor owes its exceptional properties to its disruptive technology. The ‘Zenith Oscillator’ is a single-piece oscillator developed and patented by Zenith that maximizes chronometric precision, reliability and stability. This type of oscillator was conceived to replace the traditional spring balance used for more than three centuries.
