Results for Zenith

Speedmaster vs El Primero: Hands-On Review of Two Iconic Chronographs

Weeks of real wrist time settled the Omega Speedmaster vs Zenith El Primero debate. Find out which chronograph proved more livable long after the honeymoon phase faded.

A Look at the Novelties from Tiffany & Co., Gerald Genta, and Daniel Roth for LVMH Watch Week

Among the new releases at LVMH Watch Week this year were a series of novelties from brands that casual observers might sometimes forget sit inside the LVMH portfolio. Tiffany & Co., Gerald Genta, and Daniel Roth all unveiled new pieces this week to varying degrees of fanfare. And while these boutique luxury brands are very different in shape from the likes of TAG Heuer, Zenith, and Hublot, which really form the core of the LVMH watch business, it says a lot about the power and reach of LVMH as an entity that these brands fall under their purview. All three brands are recent additions to the LVMH stable, with Gerald Genta joining upon its relaunch in 2023, TIffayny & Co. when the sale of the company to LVMH went through in 2021, and Daniel Roth in 2011, when LVMH acquired Bulgari, then caretakers of Roth’s brand (LVMH relaunched Daniel Roth as a separate entity in 2023). These three brands also seem arranged in the LVMH ecosystem to compete directly with high end independent brands, particularly Daniel Roth, a name once seen as preeminent in the world of independent watchmaking.  Let’s run through the key releases from each brand at this year’s LVMH Watch Week. Tiffany & Co. debuted the Tiffany Timer, a three register chronograph with El Primero movement that flies under the radar, perhaps, in a few ways. First and foremost, that white metal case is not steel or white gold, but solid platinum. And the indices at each hour are baguette cut diamonds, which seems like a...

Zenith Updates References Across the Defy Skyline Collection

Earlier this week we brought you news of the latest in Zenith’s ongoing Revival series, but the big news for the brand coming out of LVMH Watch Week is a big expansion of the contemporary Defy collection at all levels. As a certified Defy-head, this move has my full support. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the Defy has long been my favorite sports watch line, full stop. I’m a huge fan of the way the modern Defy combines a funky, avant-garde design sensibility with real sports watch chops (these watches are truly built like tanks, and have been since the 1960s). The latest Defys to enter the collection span the breadth of Zenith’s range as a watchmaker, from the simple and straightforward to the highly exotic.  We’ll start with the simple. The Defy Skyline 36 has a pair of new variants, with silver dials joining previously issued versions in blue, ice blue, green, and pink. You can have your silver dialed Defy Skyline 36 with or without a diamond set bezel. As with earlier versions of the Defy Skyline in this size, the option for a diamond bezel reveals that Zenith hopes to market these watches to the women’s market, but 36mm is actually a great size for an integrated bracelet sports watch for just about anyone. Watches in this style tend to wear a little bigger than their dimensions would suggest, and there’s something inherently appealing and comfortable about a watch like this that’s a little undersized, anyway. Like other Defy Skylines, thi...

First Look - The New Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon Skeleton

This week, alongside the monochromatic Chronograph in Black Ceramic and the Skeleton Black Ceramic & Gold, which added an interplay of black ceramic and gold-toned mechanics to the Skyline collection, Zenith revealed the Defy Skyline Tourbillon Skeleton. This powerful new reference pushed the collection’s architectural design language into the realm of high luxury and complication. […]

Zenith doubles down on Defy at LVMH Watch Week 2026, from black ceramic to a rose-gold tourbillon

Zenith goes hard on the Defy to start 2026, offering a six-watch release that moves from stealthy black ceramic to precious metal spectacle.The post Zenith doubles down on Defy at LVMH Watch Week 2026, from black ceramic to a rose-gold tourbillon appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.

Introducing: Zenith Expands The Defy Skyline Line At LVMH Watch Week 2026

Ceramic, skeletonized, tourbillon, and 36mm versions expand the Skyline range.

New: Zenith Defy releases for LVMH Watch Week 2026 (live pics)

Zenith adds Defy Skyline Skeleton and Skyline Chronograph, both in ceramic for LVMH Watch Week. Lve photographs and commentary in italics.

First Look - The Zenith Defy Skyline Skeleton Black Ceramic & Gold

At the 2026 LVMH Watch Week in Milano, Zenith presents its latest creations alongside fellow LVMH brands, with a spotlight on the Defy collection. Among the highlights is the new Defy Skyline Skeleton Black Ceramic & Gold, a striking elaboration of one of Zenith’s most distinctive contemporary models. The Defy Skyline is Zenith’s modern take […]

Zenith Introduces Six New Defy Models During LVMH Watch Week

For Zenith, the start of 2026 is all about the Defy collection. Now, as a big fan of the brand, I found this move surprising. The Le Locle-based watchmaker celebrated its 150th anniversary last year, and the commemorative releases showed the great diversity of styles within Zenith’s collection. I suppose I expected the first new […] Visit Zenith Introduces Six New Defy Models During LVMH Watch Week to read the full article.

Introducing - The New Zenith Defy Revival A3643

For LVMH Watch Week 2026, Zenith persists in its journey through the archives with the introduction of the Defy Revival A3643, a faithful recreation of one of the earliest Defy references from 1969. Following the Defy Revival A3642 from 2022 and the A3691 and A3690 evolutions that brought bold colour and character to the line, […]

Hands-On: New Zenith DEFY Skyline Skeleton In Black And Gold

A new take on the classic ceramic DEFY Skyline Skeleton. Black ceramic meets a gold-toned, high-frequency movement for a watch that’s as technically impressive as it is visually striking. Modern, architectural, and unmistakably Zenith! What We Love Full black ceramic case and bracelet combined with the gold dial make it aesthetically appealing! The constant 1/10th of a second sub-counter showcases the complexity of the movement underneath. Quick strap change allows for easy change between a ceramic bracelet or rubber strap for daily versatility. What We Don’t Would’ve liked to see the minute track, but more subdued. In white, it can make the dial seem even busier. While the 1/10th of a second chronograph is great for aesthetics and show of technicality, it doesn’t serve a real purpose. Even though it’s a skeletonised dial, most of the El Primero 3620 SK movement is still closed off. Overall Rating: 8.7/10 Value for money: 8.5/10 Wearability: 9/10 Design: 8.5/10 Build quality: 8.5/10 The world of ceramic watches isn’t what it used to be a decade ago. Advances in materials and manufacturing mean that ceramic timepieces are no longer niche or fragile experiments, but a genuine part of watchmaking. While crafting bold colours in ceramic can present its own challenge, the more classic tones like black, white, or blue are becoming far more achievable, allowing brands to explore the world of ceramic not as a limited edition or one-offs, but as a refined material for e...

First Look - The Zenith Defy Skyline Chronograph in Black Ceramic

Introduced in 2022, the Defy Skyline series quickly evolved into one of Zenith’s core collections, to include time-only, skeletonised, and tourbillon-regulated models, all distinguished by their faceted geometry and star-patterned dials. The launch of the Defy Skyline Chronograph in 2024 finally united the brand’s most iconic complication with the collection’s distinctive angular aesthetic. Now, following […]

LVMH Watch Week 2026: Zenith Drops a Defy Quintet

Introducing: Zenith Defy Revival A3643

A 1969 Defy classic returns, as Zenith revives the A3643 in a faithful 37mm steel reissue for LVMH Watch Week 2026.

Zenith Introduces the Defy Revival A3643 for LVMH Watch Week

Once again, LVMH Watch Week is upon us. For those of us who work in watch media, this week has become something of what you might technically refer to as a “big deal.” It’s the beginning, in earnest, of the new release season, which peaks with Watches & Wonders week, and is now just months away (yikes). Over the past several years, LVMH has carved out this period in late January to debut new novelties ahead of Watches & Wonders (which all of the brands making announcements this week participate in) and get a jump on the competition. Usually the LVMH Watch Week releases are a little more consumer oriented and less ambitious than those that debut at Watches & Wonders a few months down the road, but honestly that just makes this week all the more interesting to us here at Worn & Wound. We’ll have a bunch of news on the latest from TAG Heuer, Hublot, and Bulgari later in the week (as well as hands-on coverage of the new novelties) but we start with Zenith, which has designated LVMH Watch Week 2026 as a Defy centric experience.  There are several new Defy references dropping this week in the Skyline category that range from modest sizing updates to some pretty bonkers watchmaking, but we’ll start with this year’s Revival piece, the A3643. Zenith, in recent years, has done an outstanding job when it comes to raiding their own archives for inspiration, and always offer tasteful reinterpretations of classic references that are pretty much one to one recreations, at le...

Year in Review: the “Sleeper” Watches of 2025

How does one define a “sleeper” watch? We put together a guide a few years ago and basically came to the conclusion that a sleeper watch is one that is great but not obvious about it. A better framing might be that these are “if you know, you know” watches. They all have some attribute that makes them incredibly special but it’s not always readily apparent or widely understood.  Honestly, I love a sleeper and always have. I think it’s a natural focus for a collector, and as you see more and more watches, it paradoxically becomes more difficult to identify the sleepers, because nothing really “sleeps” when you’re highly engaged in a hobby like this.  Zenith G.F.J.  The Zenith G.F.J. is a sleeper because it’s so specific and so hard to see, it’s just not really out there all that much in the broader watch media landscape. But man, it’s great. It’s a tribute of sorts to Zenith’s history as true pioneers in chronometry, but the appeal for this watch to me is purely aesthetic. It’s a study in blue, with multiple tones in multiple materials and finishes. From a distance, it’s nice looking enough, but you really have to examine it close up, with a loupe, to get a sense of the contrasts and how special the use of lapis lazuli is in particular.  And then there’s the bracelet. The G.F.J. is rendered in platinum, and the case is fantastic, but on the full platinum bracelet (which effectively doubles the price of the watch) it really makes an impr...

A New Twist on the Ocean Inspired Dive Watch LE from Zenith and Topper

The last few weeks of the year are usually pretty quiet on the new release front, but there have been a handful of last minute limited editions come across the wires recently that are definitely of at least some interest. We just brought you news of a new Doxa LE from our friends at Topper Jewelers in Burlingame, CA, and in what amounts to an insanely quick turnaround, they’re back again with what surely has to be their final release of the year, a new collaboration with Zenith. This watch does one of my favorite things a watch can do, which is to completely hide its coolest feature most of the time, only allowing it to be visible under very specific conditions. It’s the same reason I love the less obvious and more subtle Grand Seiko dial textures – it’s the watch equivalent of a secret handshake.  The Defy Extreme Diver Topper Edition is built on Zenith’s contemporary diver platform, an overengineered, 600 meter diver in the Defy line. Zenith has done a nice job of building out their diver selections in the last year or so, almost to the point where it’s hard to believe that they went so long without a true diver in the collection. At the moment,  enthusiasts have the choice between the Defy Extreme Diver like the one seen here, or an only slightly more sedate “Revival” diver that’s essentially a one to one recreation of a vintage reference. The shared DNA between the two is obvious, and the way Zenith has positioned these watches within their own cata...

Fratello’s Top 5 Chronograph Watches Of 2025 - Featuring Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Zenith, And More

Another Friday, another list! This week, we continue the series highlighting our favorite watches of 2025. It’s time for our favorite chronographs. Whereas last week’s list of GMT watches wasn’t easy to compile due to a lack of spectacular options, we were not left wanting this week. If anything, 2025 has given us an abundance […] Visit Fratello’s Top 5 Chronograph Watches Of 2025 - Featuring Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, Zenith, And More to read the full article.

Sunday Morning Showdown: Zenith Chronomaster Original Vs. Omega Speedmaster FOiS

It’s Sunday morning, which means it’s time for a warm cup of coffee and a battle for the ages. In today’s Sunday Morning Showdown, we’re pitting two modern versions of iconic chronographs against each other. Both also come with beautiful blue dials. One is the current Omega Speedmaster First Omega in Space that came out […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Zenith Chronomaster Original Vs. Omega Speedmaster FOiS to read the full article.

The Latest “Chroma” Release from Zenith Has Arrived

Anyone who reads this site on a regular basis already knows that I can’t resist a Zenith Defy. I’ve long claimed the Defy collection is the great overlooked sports watch line in watchmaking, offering an unparalleled mix of creativity, robustness, and history that no large brand can compete with. It’s evident throughout the collection, even in the most run of the mill, bare bones Defys that Zenith makes. They are inherently weird when you consider the case shapes, styling, and high frequency movements. It’s no surprise, though, that as you get into the higher tiers of the Defy lineup, things get stranger and cooler, and that’s what we have here today with the new Defy Extreme Chroma Limited Editions.  We return to the Defy Extreme, the most exotic take on the Defy, for the second time in less than a month. These Chroma executions are admittedly a bit less “extreme” in some ways than the lapis lazuli accented edition we told you about in November, but they’re honestly probably a little better for it. The Chroma concept is not new for Zenith – it allows them to play with color in a very specific way, using a spectrum of bright colors across a very busy dial to great effect. The Defy 21 chronograph received the Chroma treatment last, but now it’s the Extreme’s turn in two limited edition variants: a blacked out titanium as well as a lighter version in titanium and white ceramic.  These watches exist, effectively, as two sides of the same coin, with the ...

Introducing: Zenith Expands The Defy Extreme Chroma Series With Two New Limited Editions

A pair of 45mm Defy Extreme models joins the Chroma line, each powered by the El Primero 9004 and produced in runs of 100 pieces.

First Look - The New Zenith Defy Extreme Chroma Editions

Zenith continues to evolve its high-frequency El Primero chronograph platform with two new references that combine the brand’s core technical identity with a sharper, more architectural use of colour. The Defy Extreme Chroma Limited Editions mark the next phase of the Chroma concept, introduced in 2022 with the Defy 21 Chroma and followed by the […]

TAG Heuer Carrera ‘Glassbox’ vs Zenith El Primero A384: Which Heritage Revival Got It Right?

Discover how the TAG Heuer Carrera ‘Glassbox’ stacks up against the Zenith El Primero A384 in design, movement, and authenticity to find out which revival wins.

How a Summer Job While Pursuing a Degree in Anthropology Turned into a Decade-Long Career as Heritage Director at Zenith

Laurence Bodenmann has served as the Heritage Director of Zenith for a decade. She’s also a member of the scientific committee for The Watch Library, a non-profit public interest foundation established in 2021 to document, preserve, and share watchmaking archives. While Bodenmann has become a staple of the industry, her role in watches was mere happenstance or rather came out of necessity. It spurred from a summer job at the International Museum of Horology in La Chaux-de-Fonds while trying to earn some extra money during her pursuit of a degree in anthropology. “I was always interested in logic – when I was young, I first thought I wanted to be a math teacher,” she recalls. “But as I got older, I realized what interested me most was how different people approached reasoning,” Bodenmann continues, “and how factors like cultural context and economical or sociological diversity informed their thought process. I found it fascinating to observe how one person would approach an object or problem in one way and another person would do it completely differently.”  While Bodenmann didn’t initially expect to find herself in the world of horology, we can see why it’s been such a natural fit. The entire watch industry revolves around her astute observations as a teenager. Every person within a manufacturer – from the watchmaker sitting at a bench to the executives running the brand – is faced with the same object – a timepiece – and many of the same probl...

Introducing - Zenith Applies the Full-Gold Midas Touch to Selected Defy Skyline Models

Launched in 2022, Zenith’s Defy collection bridges the past and future in one fell swoop. The name dates to 1902 and refers to a line of robust pocket watches known as Defi. Following the launch of Zenith’s world-first high-frequency El Primero automatic chronograph movement, the Defy name was resuscitated for a line of hyper-robust, bulky […]

Introducing - The Zenith Chronomaster Revival Daisuke Jigen Edition

Zenith returns to the world of Japanese manga with the Chronomaster Revival Daisuke Jigen Edition. This new limited series once again turns an animated fantasy into a very tangible El Primero chronograph. The brand’s connection with Lupin the Third goes back to the early 1970s, when Daisuke Jigen, the sharp-suited marksman of the series, was […]

Zenith Continues Its Lupin The 3rd Series With The Chronomaster Revival Daisuke Jigen Edition

Talk about releases you didn’t see coming! When Zenith released the third model of the much-praised Lupin the Third series in early 2022, it looked like the remarkable trilogy was complete and the series had concluded. But more than three years later, Zenith surprises us with a fourth model! The new Zenith Chronomaster Revival Daisuke […] Visit Zenith Continues Its Lupin The 3rd Series With The Chronomaster Revival Daisuke Jigen Edition to read the full article.

Introducing - The New Zenith Defy Extreme Lapis Lazuli

A powerful trend sweeping across the watch landscape is stone dials. Featured on everything from elegant dress watches to complications, there is no doubt that watches are living a second Stone Age. Celebrating its 160th anniversary, Zenith jumps on the stone dial bandwagon with its most technologically advanced and avant-garde chronograph, the mighty Defy Extreme, […]

Zenith Introduces a Limited Edition Defy Extreme with a Lapis Lazuli Dial

I love the Zenith Defy. I never miss an opportunity to tell people that it’s my favorite sports watch line of all time. I’m guessing that I’ve had a version of this conversation so many times over the years that my colleagues and watch-friends can feel it coming at this point. I can sense that eye roll is not far behind me going over once again how the Defy has always represented the ideal meeting place between the avant-garde and true sports watch engineering. Look, I make no apologies. If you can’t see that the Defy has been a subtle influence on everything from the Royal Oak to the most generic Rolex sports watches, well, stay tuned for my long threatened multi-part solo podcast series unpacking my personal obsession with these watches.  One of the things that has always fascinated me about the Defy is how it can be anything. The watches in this collection have never fit neatly into a specific mold, and unlike, say, the Rolex Submariner, which has basically looked like the same watch since its debut, the Defy has always been a shapeshifter. The only thing steady about the design has been that it could always morph and change into something radical and different, and often something that is not to everyone’s taste (even longtime fans of the collection). That’s basically what’s been on my mind since learning of the new Zenith Defy Extreme Lapis Lazuli, a maximal take on the sports watch that latches on to some current trends.  This is a Defy Extreme, so it...

In-Depth: The Zenith Chronomaster Sport, With The El Primero Caliber 3600

The new Chronomaster Sport Chronograph brings a slew of technical updates to the El Primero caliber.