Ornatus-Mundi provides a hands-on look at the Zenith Defy El Primero 21 in red gold, introduced at Geneva Watch Week 2018. He highlights the significance of this luxury variant, noting how the red gold beautifully accentuates the case's intricate finishes and signals Zenith's confidence in the Defy collection's market acceptance.
Zenith's Defy collection, presented only last year, is slowlly but steadily growing up. The introduction of these new
red gold variants is one telltale sign of this:
The addition of a red gold case option is a signifcant one from two aspects: First, it signals confidence that the Defy collection with a luxury
option will be accepted by the markets, and second, it is just a lovely
material to exhibit the subtleties and finishes that Zenith has granted
to the case design, better than any other:
I find the juxtaposition of brushed and finely polished surfaces immensely attractive, as this carves out the finesse of the case design like a sculptor would. Note particularly the flow of the polished edges in the image above, and contrast this with the sharp flange forming below:
Naturally, this watch features a display back to admire the Zenith's new performance engine called
El Primero Cal. 9004 (I have to admit there is not
that much to see on the back side...):
One thing to note here in the image above is the rubber inner side of the crocodile leather strap. It is indeed a more advanced construction than one would initially think: The rubber inner side is to protect the precious leather from moisture and sweat. In contrast to conventional constuctions where the strap is coated with rubber on its inner side, Zentih opted for a composite construction where the crocodile leather is mounted into a specially formed rubber carcass. This way, the rubber is (i) thicker: thus offering also more mechanical protection (note here particularly the rubber inserts around the pin holes), (ii) longer lasting than a rubber coating and (iii) also shielding the vulnerable sides of the strap. Such a construction requires special attention and care when designing the mould for the rubber carcass (I had a fascinating discussion on this topic recently with a representative of a rubber strap manufacturer).
The deployant clasp is exactly the one used by Hublot as well, with Zenith logos at the closure as well as on its arms (see image of the case back above for a hint) - as Jean-Claude Biver put:
"this is the most comfortable deployant clasp we know, thus we want as many of our customers to profit from it".
Interesting to see such a warm glow on an otherwise extremely technical watch:
One of the highlights of Zenith's Pre-Basel show in January was certainly the new metal bracelet for the Defy collection, with its simple yet beautiful structure,
with H-shaped outer and rectangular inner elements. I have written about it in more detail before (see
report here ), therefore I leave it with a few images of this version for now:
All I can say is that this bracelet is very well designed and made, its comfortable and looks pleasant. One caveat though: the prototype shown in Geneva was not (yet) crafted from red gold, but only gold coated. I therefore cannot comment on the likely weight penalty of this bracelet nor on the weight distribution of the entire watch, on-the-wrist. This has to wait for later once Zenith is ready to ship this watch.
So, here we are with two certainly attractive watches, on which, Zenith has demonstratedly invested a lot of thought. Taking a 'puristic view one could argue that in general, precision tool watches clad in precious metal seem somehow disconnetcted from their very purpose, However, I know from several manufacturers that there indeed is (huge) demand for such. The acceptance of such 'pimped' instruments can also be read as a testament of the wider watch collectors' scene can be intepreted as validation of such pieces beyond their intended use. Zenith has done a tremendous job in creating the two versions here, and I really have to admit: I like them,
a lot!
Well done!
Thanks for reading,
Magnus
