Worn & Wound
A New Twist on the Ocean Inspired Dive Watch LE from Zenith and Topper
The last few weeks of the year are usually pretty quiet on the new release front, but there have been a handful of last minute limited editions come across the wires recently that are definitely of at least some interest. We just brought you news of a new Doxa LE from our friends at Topper Jewelers in Burlingame, CA, and in what amounts to an insanely quick turnaround, they’re back again with what surely has to be their final release of the year, a new collaboration with Zenith. This watch does one of my favorite things a watch can do, which is to completely hide its coolest feature most of the time, only allowing it to be visible under very specific conditions. It’s the same reason I love the less obvious and more subtle Grand Seiko dial textures – it’s the watch equivalent of a secret handshake. The Defy Extreme Diver Topper Edition is built on Zenith’s contemporary diver platform, an overengineered, 600 meter diver in the Defy line. Zenith has done a nice job of building out their diver selections in the last year or so, almost to the point where it’s hard to believe that they went so long without a true diver in the collection. At the moment, enthusiasts have the choice between the Defy Extreme Diver like the one seen here, or an only slightly more sedate “Revival” diver that’s essentially a one to one recreation of a vintage reference. The shared DNA between the two is obvious, and the way Zenith has positioned these watches within their own cata...
