Zenith has become the latest luxury watch brand to announce its participation at WatchTime New York, now just over three weeks away. At this year’s Baselworld, the brand capitalized on its reputation as the king of high-frequency with the introduction of the Defy El Primero 21; Zenith will be showcasing this groundbreaking chronograph at the event.
The new movement inside the Defy El Primero 21, automatic caliber El Primero 9004, has two escapements: one for the timekeeping, beating at 36,000 vph (5 Hz), and one for the chronograph, beating at a frequency of 50 Hz, or 360,000 vph, allowing the watch to display hundredths of a second on the central dial.

The standard frequency in watchmaking is 28,800 beats per hour, or 3 Hz. The most celebrated modern example of a high-frequency movement is the original Zenith El Primero, beating at 36,000 vph, or 5 Hz. Developed in 1969, it is still used today and represents the standard in high frequency. Back in the 1940s, Observatory Chronometer competitions in Switzerland awarded prizes to the most accurate watch movements, and the winners (Zenith holds the record, with 2,333 chronometry prizes) were inevitably the movements with the highest frequencies, but the high speed created a lot of wear on the delicate components of a watch escapement. Today, advancements in component materials have helped solved that. Silicon hairsprings and balance wheels, titanium components and other secret weapons make it possible to create escapem...