Zenith Elevates Its Defy Watches With Stunning New Look

Zenith Elevates Its Ground-Breaking 1/100th Of A Second Chronograph Movement With Stunning New Cases And Colours

For the past couple of years under the stewardship of the relatively new CEO, Julien Tornare, Zenith has been pushing hard so that the El Primero name can once again be associated with cutting edge innovation as it once did back in 1969. And indeed, the new El Primero movements have become a beacon of watchmaking engineering offering chronographs with the precision of up to 1/10th of a second and even one that is capable of recording to 1/100th of a second with the El Primero Defy 21. To this day, this 1/100th of a second chronograph is the only one of its kind.

Building on the success of these movements, this year Zenith is committed to creating aesthetic elements to match the legendary status of the movements. Offering a brand new, redesigned case for their 1/100th of a second chronograph with the Zenith Defy Extreme. And also a new spectrum of colours with the Zenith Defy 21 Spectrum.

Zenith Defy Extreme

After years of development to introduce the world’s first and still the only 1/100th of a second chronograph, they have now decided to create a new case worthy of this edgy, tradition defying movement. The result is a bold and dynamic Defy Extreme case with a 45 mm dimension, more pronounced edges, and an overall silhouette that exudes robustness. To go with this new rugged look, the watch will now also come with 200 m of water resistance.

Zenith’s new Defy Extreme is as modern and dynamic as its name suggests.

The case is with its more angular design and faceted bezel also comes with a striking 12-sided ring under the bezel, which extends to the 12-sided caseback. Even with the larger 45 mm diameter, the watch is still kept comfortable on the wrist thanks to the lightweight titanium material used. To further accentuate its modernity, this titanium is also sandblasted for a matt finish.

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In conjunction with the launch of the watch, Zenith has also found the most suitable partner for the Defy Extreme by becoming the official timekeeper and founding partner of Extreme E, a new off-road electric racing championship. This partnership also highlights the ZENITH IS GREEN initiative that began two years ago which is the brand’s effort to build a more sustainable future for the company.

Zenith Defy 21 Spectrum

Yet another way Zenith is bringing aesthetic changes to the Defy collection is through the use of striking and bold colours. The way they see it, colour is yet another form of frequency, it is the different frequencies of light waves that produce the different colours that our eyes see. And frequency is also what enables the 1/100th of a second chronograph to work. The Movement of the Defy 21 has to beat at a frequency of 50 Hz or 360,000 VpH to be able to have this 1/100th of a second indication.

Colour is just another frequency, the frequency of light.

Zenith’s clever use of colour however is not applied to the dial or directly on the case. Instead, through a clever pigmentation process, they can incorporate vibrant colours onto the movement itself. These new striking colours are then mirrored on the bezel with precious stones of the same brilliant hue.

Colour Is Just Another Frequency The Frequency Of Light 1