Results for Zenith Defy

First Look – The Zenith Defy Chronograph USM, A 1960s Design Icon Reimagined

The year 1969 is etched in Zenith’s history as the birth of El Primero, the world’s first high-frequency automatic chronograph calibre. It was also the debut year of the Defy, a rugged sports watch nicknamed the “vault” for its robust construction and avant-garde angular design. Over the past few years, Zenith has revisited these late-1960s […]

First Look – The new Zenith Defy Extreme Diver and Defy Revival Diver Shadow Editions

One of the pillars of Zenith’s collection, the Defy is a descendant of late 1960s models known for their sturdy construction and angular design. Marketed as the Time-Safe, the collection included a full-fledged diving version, the Defy Plongeur (Ref. A3648 and its variations), a 600m water-resistant watch equipped with a unidirectional rotating bezel. Following the […]

First Look – The new Zenith Defy Skyline Chronograph Skeleton (incl. Video)

The Defy Skyline is Zenith’s answer to the trend of elegant sports watches with integrated bracelets. Introduced in 2022, it has become one of the pillars of the brand’s collections. With its octagonal case and dodecagonal bezel, its design is a modern nod to the 1969 Defy. The Defy Skyline chronograph joined the lineup in […]

Introducing – The Roaring Tiger Version of the Zenith Defy Extreme Jungle

Following the trail set by the Desert and Glacier editions, Zenith sends its Defy Extreme into the jungle to complete its trilogy of hostile environment-inspired models. The boldest, most robust and technical-looking model in the brand’s collection roars loudly with tiger stripes and lush green jungle accents. Zenith’s Defy Extreme collection, released in 2021, is the […]

Video – A Closer Look at the Edgy Zenith Defy Revival A3648, Rekindling that 1969 ‘Everything is Possible’ Spirit

The year 1969 proved to be pivotal for Zenith. The manufacture introduced the El Primero automatic chronograph, which would become one of the most influential movements ever made. Besides that monumental feat, it also launched the formidable Defy collection that year. This sporty series of watches had an unprecedented design, with an octagonal case topped […]

First Look – A New Silver Dial for the Zenith Defy Extreme Diver (Incl. Video)

Zenith stole the headlines in 1969 with the world’s first high-frequency automatic chronograph movement, aptly named ‘El Primero’. With less fanfare, Zenith also launched its heavy-duty Defy watch with an angular octagonal case, groovy orange bakelite bezel, and impressive water-resistance. Nicknamed the ‘vault’, the Defy Plongeur ref. 3648 was a monster of the abyss capable […]

Introducing – The New Zenith Defy Skyline Chronograph Boutique Edition

An important range for the brand, Zenith keeps enlarging its Defy collection. The name of the collection dates to Zenith’s 1902 line of robust pocket watches bearing the name ‘Defi’, which popped up again in 1969 to distinguish the toughest member of the first El Primero references known as the A3642. The Defy Skyline sub-collection appeared […]

Introducing – The Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone Edition

For their latest collaboration piece, Zenith and Felipe Pantone are teaming up once again, bringing a fresh burst of colour and artistic innovation to the brand’s collection. Pantone, renowned for his electrifying kinetic art that merges dynamic colours with geometric patterns, first collaborated with Zenith in 2020, when he transformed the Le Locle-based manufacture’s façade […]

The Zenith Defy Skyline White Ceramic Skeleton is Summer-Ready

The Zenith Defy Skyline Gets the White Ceramic, Skeleton Dial Treatment

I’ll be upfront here: I love the Defy. All the Defys. I’ve said many times to many people that the Defy is probably my favorite sports watch line of all time. It’s certainly my favorite corner of the Zenith catalog, and vintage Defy references are some of the coolest you can own, and somehow still represent a great value compared to comparable sports watches from other brands. To me, these watches have historically been exactly the right combination of avant-garde design and sports watch functionality. A Defy, unlike a Submariner, for example, can be both an art piece and an everyday wearer. They are also consistently interesting from a materials perspective, particularly when they get into colored ceramic, as they have with the newest Defy introduced today, a successor of sorts to one of my favorite watches from last year.  The Defy Skyline White Ceramic Skeleton is in some ways a predictable, natural evolution of the current generation Defy. It takes the ceramic case and bracelet we saw in last year’s black model, turns them white, and gives us the skeleton dial treatment that debuted early last year. It’s a similar trajectory to the Defy Classic releases from several years back, which started in titanium, with colorful skeletonized ceramic versions to follow.  This new reference is a little different though for how it plays with contrast. Against the stark white of the case and bracelet, we get a skeletonized blue dial and a movement in a matching shade. Tha...

First Look – The Zenith Defy Skyline White Ceramic Skeleton

Released in 2022, the Defy Skyline collection was Zenith‘s answer to the large demand for sports watches with integrated design and bracelet. Since its initial introduction, we have seen multiple new editions of this watch, including compact versions, ceramic models, a chronograph and even a high-frequency tourbillon. But one of the most impactful models was […]

Introducing – The France-Only Zenith Defy Skyline Edition Paris

Released in 2022, the Defy Skyline was Zenith‘s answer to the growing demand for sports watches with integrated bracelets. Blending historical cues of the late 1960s Defy model with modern mechanics and design elements, it fuses the styles of the Defy Classic and Defy Extreme into a new interpretation of a luxury sports watch. As […]

Dive Watches are Back in the Zenith Defy Collection

Here’s a thing you may or may not know about Watches & Wonders: there are very few genuine surprises once we hit the Palexpo floor. Almost every brand (Rolex, Tudor, and Patek are the big holdouts) send press releases to media weeks before the show so coverage can be prepped. By the time we walk into a meeting with virtually any brand exhibiting, we already have the key information on their new novelties and are just looking for additional context, hands-on impressions, and an opportunity to get those all important photos. But sometimes brands hold back a release or two, and this will sometimes result in the kind of extremely welcome surprise I experienced when I visited Zenith early this week. One of my favorite brands has dive watches again.  We already told you about the Defy Skyline Chronograph, but in addition to that watch Zenith had an even bigger (literally and figuratively) Defy up their sleeve. The new Defy Extreme Diver represents the brand’s long awaited return to the dive watch category, and they’ve done it where you’d expect: within the highly technical and sometimes brazen Defy range. The new Extreme Diver has an imposing 42.5mm titanium case with the characteristic 12 sided bezel common to other Defys, and outside this fixed bezel we get a ceramic dive bezel. The case is rated to an extremely unnecessary 600 meters, which is the same depth as the original Defy diver, the A3648, from 1969.  The dial utilizes the star pattern that has become standar...

First Look – The New, Ocean-Ready Zenith Defy Extreme Diver

In 1969, Zenith launched the Defy series, aiming to enhance its collection with robust and reliable timepieces tailored for specific purposes. Seeking to expand its Defy line with a watch capable of conquering ocean depths, the brand swiftly introduced the Defy Diver. Among its most iconic iterations was the A3648 reference, boasting an impressive water […]

Introducing – The Zenith Defy Revival A3648 Brings Back The 1969 Original

1969 was a milestone year for Zenith watches with the brand’s launch of the world’s first high-frequency automatic chronograph movement. Although the El Primero stole the headlines, it was not the only model Zenith had up its sleeve. With slightly less fanfare, Zenith also launched its heavy-duty Defy family with its angular octagonal case, crazy […]

First Look – The Highly Anticipated Zenith Defy Skyline Chronograph (incl. Video)

Introduced in 2021, the Defy Skyline is an important sub-collection within Zenith’s contemporary Defy series. Since its inception, the collection has flourished to encompass over 20 references spanning time and date, skeleton, and tourbillon-regulated models. These come in various sizes and are adorned with various colours, materials, and even precious stones. Despite its rich offerings, […]

Introducing – The Latest Zenith Defy Skyline Comes with a High-Frequency Tourbillon

Zenith’s Defy family is represented by seven sub-collections, including the recent Defy Skyline range. The name of the collection dates to Zenith’s 1902 line of robust pocket watches bearing the name ‘Defi’ only to pop up again in 1969 to distinguish the toughest member of the first El Primero references. For the Defy Skyline collection, […]

Hands-on – The Profoundly Dazzling Zenith Defy Extreme Mirror

With some watches, you get an immediate sense of how they would look and feel on the wrist based on press images, but in some cases, getting hands-on can drastically change the perception of a watch. I’ve had it happen to me several times before, to the point I loved a specific watch and bought […]

Introducing – The Wildly Reflective Surfaces of the Zenith Defy Extreme Mirror

Camouflage dials have been a big hit in the past couple of years, and we’ve covered several combat-ready models. Zenith pushes the camouflage concept to the extreme, giving its Defy Extreme a radical makeover with a reflective mirrored surface. Undoubtedly the boldest take on its high-performance 1/100th-of-a-second chronograph, the latest manifestation blends into its surroundings […]

Zenith Defy Skyline: A Steel Time-Only Sports Watch With An El Primero Movement Sans Chronograph

Let us be honest; there are already quite a few high-end, time only watches in stainless steel with an integrated bracelet design to choose from. So what possesses a brand to enter this market with yet another model? I have no idea, but Martin Green is glad Zenith took this bold move last year with the Defy Skyline.

The Zenith Defy Revival A3690 Gets Historic Teal Dial

There was one watch we saw at the LVMH Watch Week still under wraps, and it was also one of our favorites, even though it’s based on an existing model. The perfectly odd Defy Revival welcomes the new A3690 reference, with a brilliant teal dial with vignette effect that darkens towards the perimeter. If you’ve followed the first two releases of this Defy Revival, you won’t be surprised to hear that this is also based on a historic reference from 1969. This is a dial color that saw usage throughout the Defy collection of the era, another example of which you can see in this Affordable Vintage spotlight on the Defy from 2015. Side note, when are we getting the Revival treatment on the A781, A782, and A783? There’s not much left to say about the A3690 from a technical perspective, as it’s identical to the A3691, and A3642 we’ve seen released in recent months. The 37mm octagonal case and 14 sided bezel piece remain as funky as ever, and if you liked it on the other references, you’ll likely find a lot to love with this one. The dial is the biggest departure here and it makes just as big a statement as the case. While the teal dial thing has kind of jumped the shark at this point (hasn’t it?), Zenith gets a pass thanks to the historic reference point, and the fact that the Defy was doing integrated bracelet sport watches since the ‘60s. Plus, this is a great teal dial. It stands up to the bold design of the case and the accordion hour markers demanding equal at...

Zenith Defy Revival A3691 Gets Throwback Red Dial

Around this time last year, Zenith introduced a new watch to their Revival series focused on the A3642 Defy “Bank Vault”, a particularly stylish example of the brand’s willingness to skirt conventional designs. The Revival perfectly captured that watch’s charming size and smokey aesthetic, and this year they are returning to the platform with the Revival A3691, honoring the first Defy model with a vividly colored dial, released in 1971. The newest Defy Revival A3691 gets the same deep red dial as the original, and keeps all the funk of the design in the process.  The late ‘60’s and early ‘70’s were a pretty wild time for watch design, and Zenith was among those at the forefront of pushing the boundaries. Seriously, check out some of their old Port Royal and Defy designs and marvel at their oddity. As far as I’m concerned, we could use a bit of the same thinking today. These Zenith Revival watches are an apt reminder of their creativity, both then and now. Not only do the Revival watches do a great job of looking back, they balance against other Defy watches that are looking to push ahead, such as their latest Defy Skyline range. Or their collaborations with the likes of Felipe Pantone. The Defy Revival A3642 featured a dramatic smokey gradient dial that faded from light to dark, and the latest A3691 retains a bit of this quality within the rich red hue, with a gentle shift from light to dark at the dial’s edge. The oversized hour markers look a bit lik...

First Look: The Zenith Defy Revival A3691 at LVMH Watch Week 2023

At LVMH Watch Week 2023, Zenith did not only unveil new novelties for the Defy Skyline collection, but added a second revival model of the original Defy collection from 1971. The Defy Revival A3691 is a follow-up to last year’s limited edition remake of the genre-defining A3642 “coffre-fort”, now with a glossy red dial with […]

Introducing the Zenith Defy Classic Fusalp

New: Zenith DEFY Classic Fusalp limited edition

Zenith's latest collaboration is with French skiwear brand Fusalp. Previous known collaborations were with Range Rover and Cohiba.