Horology giants Hublot and Rado, to name a few, have already been working with artists/designers for ground-breaking timepieces. Making a move of its own, Zenith has for the first time entered a collaboration with artist Felipe Pantone for a limited-edition watch, which is spectacularly vibrant in its own right.
Dubbed Defy 21 Felipe Pantone, it is the first collaborative effort for Zenith and a first watchmaking venture for Pantone. That said, the collaboration between the two is not new; Pantone who started off as a graffiti artist, eventually earned name painting buildings and conducting exhibitions, was commissioned by Zenith to paint the facade of its main building last year.
A vivid rainbow for the wrist
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Born from the idea of transforming a spectacular watch into wearable work of kinetic art – the Zenith Defy 21 Felipe Pantone watch – comes across as a thrilling timepiece with rainbow colors on the subdials, hands, bridges and rotors of the chronograph movement.
Limited to only 100 pieces, the Defy 21 Felipe Pantone features a 44mm black ceramic case, which houses a skeletonized dial featuring chronograph, power reserve indicator, small seconds, hours, and minutes hands.
Playing with frequencies
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The limited edition timepiece defined as “wearable piece of kinetic art” by Zenith is powered by in-house El Primero 9004 automatic movement that beats at 360,000 vibrations per hour, which pushes out the Defy 21 as Zenith’s highest-frequency chronograph. The movement offers 50 hour power reserve as and gives the watch an accuracy of 1/100th of a second.
Zenith Defy 21 Felipe Pantone features an open caseback and it is water-resistant up to 100m. The excitingly colorful display is paired with a black rubber strap featuring a folding clash buckle. The watch is expected to be available starting March 15 for CHF 18,900 (approx. $20,340).