A781 (red), A782 (turquoise) and A783 (silver with blue subs). In addition to the time-only Defy, Zenith made the Defy as an El Primero automatic chronograph, as well. Hands were a modified dauphine style with an orange luminous paddle on the second hand.

Rarer is this same gradient design in red or turquoise. Zenith Defys came with a number of dial combinations, but the most common is a coffee-colored gradient with large square applied markers. This high beat 28,800bph movement with the date at 4:00 was set in a thick rubber housing inside the case, to give it extreme shock protection. The movement that was found in this watch was the manufacture 2562 PC. It has a semi-integrated bracelet design, resembling thick armored plates. The octagonal case is 37mm and came on the Gay Freres ladder type bracelet and the tonneau case is 39mm. The Defy was produced in a range of interesting designs, but the two which are the most popular and true to form are the octagonal case and the tonneau case.īoth of these case designs feature a screwed-in domed mineral crystal with beveled edges, a screw back and a screwed down crown. When the Defy came out, It was billed as “Il casaforte del tempo” the “safe of time.” This concept of a precise timekeeper housed in a durable fortress of a case describes the watch perfectly. Zenith watches have traditionally been popular in Italy, where great design is well understood. A watch that was as shock and moisture resistant as it was beautiful in design and construction, the Zenith Defy beat the Genta designs to the market and deserves more attention from collectors than it gets today. Overshadowed by the tour de force El Primero, the Defy was equally intriguing.

Three years earlier, the Zenith Defy debuted. There is no doubt that he created some beauties, as his Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Patek Nautilus have been in continuous production and held up as the first watches that combined dress and sport.Īs far as I know, the Royal Oak didn’t come out until 1972. Who is the most influential watch designer? I think this is a loaded question, as the only watch designer anyone knows of is Gerald Genta.

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