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
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
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).