In July 2019, the company unveiled the Zenith DEFY Classic model in a white ceramic case on a rubber strap, and now they're welcoming the DEFY Skyline for July 2024. The stakes have been raised this time round: now not only are the case and bezel are made of ceramic, so is the bracelet.
The crisp white ceramic looks even more impactful thanks to the blue details on the openworked movement. This combination has already been seen on Audemars Piguet's Royal Oak Flying Tourbillon Openworked watch, originally made for the Only Watch charity auction.
The sale was postponed last year, and when it was finally held, this model wasn't among the lots offered for auction, but it sure made an impression when it was first announced.
Zenith Defy Skyline Skeleton White Ceramic
The designers at Zenith started out with more traditional options. When the DEFY Skyline Skeleton line was first unveiled to the public at the beginning of this year, a steel case framed skeletonized black and blue movements.
Now a 12-sided faceted white bezel has been matched with the openworked bridges of the high-frequency El Primero 3620 movement. Running at a frequency of 36,000 allows the 1/10th of a second counter to race at 6 o'clock. It completes one full rotation every ten seconds.
The caliber based on the 3600 has a 55-hour power reserve. Zenith's skeletons have an army of fans who are bound to appreciate this novelty buzzing with summer vibes.
One of these fans is the Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who sports Zenith's DEFY Classic Skeleton "Night Surfer" released in collaboration with the Time+Tide watch-media platform. It'll be interesting to see whose wrist we spot the DEFY Skyline Skeleton White Ceramic on.
And what makes it all the more interesting is the case size chosen for the novelty — 41 mm in diameter — which is a fairly subtle size that suits many wrists. The case height is 12.2 mm.