Comments:
New Zenith Defy Extreme looks extremely familiar đ¤
First the Chronomaster Sport/Daytona and now the Defy Extreme/RO Offshore 44? It appears Zenith is doubling down on drawing inspiration, to be diplomatic, from other brands designs.
Squaring the case sides while adding the twelve/octagonal under bezel and changing the pusher integration like this? Iâm disappointed in Zenith. Extremely.
I'm getting very confused with this industry lately, which is generating on me a degree of frustration and disappointment
I guess that every product has its target audience...
What else they can do?
Letâs face it, vast majority of these brands sell absolutely minuscule amounts of product. On one hand you have Rolex, on the top Patek Philippe, and Apple cornering the smart watch market and murdering all mechanical watch competitors sub-1000$.
Only brands that can survive this are the ones that have grail watches (AP), or have really small production numbers (ALS). Even then itâs not easy - you can make a case all the aventurine dials of ALS are clearly targeted at the Asian market, which is exactly what Thierry Stern warned about when he said a lot of companies are relying too much on China.
You make a very good point. It is a difficult situation, maybe it's too much to hope that it would lead to inspired deisigns, like AP and Genta acheived during the difficulties faced during that era.
No message body
Zenith as many brands need an iconic watch
El Primero is not it, itâs a movement and people are looking for recognisable shape. Right now unless you are super high end you will struggle without a stainless steel sports watch - even Lange recognised that
If Zenith was super niche making less than 1000 watches a year they can survive on anything, but not in the current climate. I wouldnât be surprised if we will be hearing about lots of layoffs happening soon in those Tier-2 brands.
If Zenith was super niche making less than 1000 watches a year they can survive on anything, but not in the current climate. I wouldnât be surprised if we will be hearing about lots of layoffs happening soon in those Tier-2 brands.
Nice observations, youâve summed up very simply and eloquently what Iâm sure many people think...with the possible exception of the market up to $5k or so, and some select Indies, I think you drew a very realistic picture of the current situationđ
No message body
I have to agree, almost the whole industry is copy/paste what Rolex, and Patek does even AP with the new releases.
I guess no more designers left in the industry, all dough I must say that most of the great Iconic designs were produced when the industry was in crisis, so for now, a little âinspirationâ here and there still sells!
i feel like this is a repeat of the past
where there were price increases after price increases and everyone got greedy, then the bottom fell out. bizarrely the pandemic did the opposite of what most thought and is fueling this resurgence.
Zenith has been mismanaged and don't have a team passionate about it....
thats what happens when number driven management types run a brand. Zenith has a depth of history, innovations and design,Just have to go back to the 50s, 60s, 70s for inspiration.
S
S
Agree 100%
Just see what Longines have been able to do. I felt that had lost their sheen in the 90s-10s apart from a few interesting continuing models (LLDs and the like). But their recent Heritage offerings have carved out a great niche for them at the sub $5k mark. I wish Zenith would find an analogy.
disagree 100%
Don't know if you know Mr Marietta but he is very passionate. I don't know Julien Tornare ( CEO) but I dare to say he's passionate too.
fantastic brand and I bet they're doing very well right now
The thing about going back all the time is imo wrong. If everyone goes back al the time we'll get nothing new. If in the 1970's everyone went back all the time we still would have 33 mm watches for kids as the standard diameter and the Royal Oak, Nautilus and others simply would not exist
fantastic brand and I bet they're doing very well right now
The thing about going back all the time is imo wrong. If everyone goes back al the time we'll get nothing new. If in the 1970's everyone went back all the time we still would have 33 mm watches for kids as the standard diameter and the Royal Oak, Nautilus and others simply would not exist
Ok đ donât go back but what theyâve done isnât new. Theyâve gone back to other brands designs instead.
Thatâs the worse of both worlds.
Icons and Inspiration
Zenith as I wrote "Just have to go back to the 50s, 60s, 70s for Inspiration." the key word is inspiration much in the way the Royal Oak inspired the Royal Oak Offshore line or the constant evolution of the Rolex Submariner, the Cartier Tank and Santos (developed first in 1904) , the Omega Speedmaster, the Patek Nautilus and so on, Iconic designs that resonate with customers.
Zenith has been around long enough that it can go back into its history and identify a design that could inspire a new iconic design.
S
Zenith has been around long enough that it can go back into its history and identify a design that could inspire a new iconic design.
S
I was disappointed too. When I ears about the announcement I was excited then I realized itâs a a defy 21 with a different dress...was hoping for more after the defy inventor last year...
No message body
A non blackened version and a black and rose gold version. Nothing else today.
No message body
Just found this post, this is a pretty tough crowdâŚ
âŚanyone out there purchase one?
GP Laureato?
I see more GP than AP in the bezel of this piece, but the pushers do look very much like some Offshores.
Iâd like to see Zenith do more with the inventor movement. Their strength is their movement innovation. If they would market heavily and bring down the price to the $5K range, I bet an attractive Inventor could do well. Look at how Bvlgari rose from the dead with the Octo line.
Iâd like to see Zenith do more with the inventor movement. Their strength is their movement innovation. If they would market heavily and bring down the price to the $5K range, I bet an attractive Inventor could do well. Look at how Bvlgari rose from the dead with the Octo line.