Le Locle, September 10th, 2024 – Unveiled during Watches & Wonders 2024, the DEFY Skyline Chronograph completes the Manufacture’s edgy all-occasions line with an El Primero chronograph model, endowed with a 1/10th of a second function. For its first-ever Boutique-exclusive edition, ZENITH is giving it a unique palette of contrasting slate grey and gold tones.
The DEFY Skyline collection simply wouldn’t be complete without a chronograph line. For over 50 years, ZENITH has incorporated its most emblematic El Primero calibre into the design-forward DEFY collection. This year, the long-awaited chronograph version of the DEFY Skyline was finally unveiled, combining the bold and contemporary form of the DEFY Skyline with the latest generation of the El Primero automatic high-frequency chronograph calibre, complete with a 1/10th of a second function. Now, the DEFY Skyline Chronograph takes on slate grey and gold tones in its first-ever Boutique Edition.
Conceived as an architectural and geometric object with intricate yet ergonomic facets, the DEFY Skyline Chronograph’s 42mm steel case is a modernized take on the earliest DEFY’s octagonal case with a multi-sided bezel. It retains the same DNA of robustness and durability as its predecessors while bringing an edgier and more contemporary aesthetic and proportions. In the DEFY Skyline Chronograph, the pushers follow the sharply drawn lines of the case, while the screw-down crown emblazoned with the star emblem helps ensure a water-resistance of 100 metres (10 ATM).
Exclusively for the Boutique edition and continuing the chromatics of the DEFY Skyline and DEFY Skyline Skeleton Boutique editions, the latest DEFY Skyline Chronograph’s dial is done in a metallic slate grey colour, with the signature starry sky-patterned dial featuring engraved four-pointed stars in a gold tone. This contrast adds a different impression of visual depth and warmth, matched by the applied markers and hands. A true El Primero, the DEFY Skyline Chronograph Boutique Edition features the calibre’s signature layout of three counters and a date window at 04:30 – here in the same slate grey tone as the dial. Three slightly oversized and overlapping counters show the elapsed seconds and minutes of the chronograph, as well as the constant running seconds. The flange ring with the 1/10th of a second scale has twelve facets, following the contours of the dodecagonal bezel and serving as extensions of the hour markers.
An exceptional feature that’s unique in the world of watchmaking and offered across the DEFY Skyline collection is the 1/10th of a second function measurement. In the DEFY Skyline Chronograph, it takes on the form of a 1/10th of a second chronograph function, with the central hand completing a revolution in 10 seconds and accurately displaying each tenth of a segment. This mechanical feat is the result of the El Primero 3600 calibre’s high-frequency rate of 5Hz (36’000 vibrations per hour), visible through the display back. Its open star-shaped oscillating weight with bidirectional winding efficiently provides a power reserve of 60 hours.
One of the highlights of the DEFY Skyline is its integrated quick strap-change mechanism integrated directly into the case, allowing for effortless versatility without requiring any tools. With the simple push of a button, the three-link steel bracelet can be swapped with the supplied star-patterned black rubber strap with steel folding buckle.
The DEFY Skyline Chronograph Boutique Edition was revealed at the grand opening of ZENITH’s new boutique at TRX in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and is available exclusively at ZENITH physical and online boutiques around the world.
