One of the things I?ve most admired about Zenith over the past few years has been their ability to find balance between their heritage focused offerings, and their desire to push (sometimes within the same families) into unashamedly modern territory. Consider the Defy Revival A3642 released last year, and the Defy Extreme pictured in this article, each on opposite ends of that spectrum, yet each representing the very same ethos, some 60 years apart. Perhaps most impressively, the brand?s design language remains intact through this transition, which we also observe within the Chronomaster collection. Helping them push further into the contemporary are collaborators such as Argentinian-Spanish optical artist Felipe Pantone. 

Zenith first partnered with Pantone last year with the release of the Defy 21 Felipe Pantone, which included a clear, double tourbillon variant for the Only Watch auction (which achieved CHF480,000 for the charity). The watch featured a vibrant multi-color scheme integrated within the movement and dial in a novel way that even included a set of ?glitched? hands that created an effect similar to the artist?s other work both 2 and 3 dimensional. You can read more about that watch and its place amongst other art watches from Zach Kazan right here.
Felipe Pantone

This year, the partnership with Felipe Pantone is moving to the Defy Extreme collection, and it brings a similarly colorful palette to the highly layered dial and case for maximum effect...