By Kien Lee
As the festive season approaches, Zenith invites us to embrace a vision of celebratory opulence through a quartet of radiant new timepieces crafted entirely in precious metal.
The DEFY Skyline collection undergoes a breathtaking transformation into the realm of high jewelry horology, appearing for the first time with integrated bracelets composed of solid yellow or rose gold. Drawing inspiration from the daring octagonal geometry of the earliest DEFY models, these contemporary icons reimagine a storied past with a renewed sense of energy and light. Each piece in this gilded series serves as a testament to the manufacture’s enduring legacy in Le Locle, blending architectural precision with the warm, incomparable allure of precious gold.
The collection offers a spectrum of horological mastery, beginning with the yellow gold DEFY Skyline which pairs a substantial 41mm case with a sunburst olive-green dial. Beneath its engraved four-pointed star motif beats the El Primero 3620 calibre, a high-frequency movement that powers a distinctive 1/10th of a second indicator at the nine o’clock position.
For those drawn to the warmth of rose gold, the DEFY Skyline Chronograph makes its debut with a gradient slate-grey dial that dances under shifting light. Its legendary 5 Hz movement provides a dynamic visual expression of precision, with a central chronograph hand that completes a full rotation every ten seconds to track time with absolute finesse.
The artistry reaches a crescendo with the DEFY Skyline Skeleton and DEFY Skyline Tourbillon models, where transparency meets technical brilliance in rose gold form. The rose gold DEFY Skyline Skeleton reveals its mechanical heart through an openworked dial finished in matching gilded tones, while the DEFY Skyline Tourbillon rises to new heights of poetic engineering with a carriage shaped as the Maison’s double-Z star.
This extraordinary tourbillon features a deep brick-red dial that pays tribute to the historic architecture of Zenith’s home manufacture. Designed for a modern life in constant motion, each timepiece features an ingenious quick strap-change mechanism that allows the wearer to effortlessly alternate between the refined gold bracelet and a supplementary rubber strap.
