The brushed titanium case with polished edges measures in at 44mm x 14.5mm but wears a bit smaller. While I can agree that Jean-Claude Biver’s influence is definitely all over the LVMH brands, I think that the look and feel of the new Defy El Primero 21 fits a landscape that’s appealing to collectors who tend to sometimes overlook Zenith, with myself included. While they are all fitting into vastly differing price points, the designs do all feature a common design language. Hublot, Tag Heuer, and now Zenith have all re-done and released skeletonized chronographs in the last couple years. LVMH has long been weaving common DNA threads throughout three of their pillar brands. One thing I need to give credit for on the Zenith Defy El Primero 21 is that the watch simply looks and feels modern, if not futuristic. The Defy El Primero 21 marries the best features of the original El Primero, with the other-worldly design DNA of the classic Defy models. When Zenith announced that they were debuting a re-vamped El Primero Defy with a new movement, a new look, and a new attitude, I got excited even though the new Defy was a total step out from the original design (which later came without the unique case shape at Baselworld 2018 with the Defy Classic). The Defy models have progressed, a few residual models were released, but nothing has been as interesting as the original design.įor me, it held a certain charm that I found appealing even almost 50 years later, and the “first mechanical chronograph” charm of the regular El Primero rode itself out for me. It was a very cool 3-hander (look familiar?) with a date window at 4:30 that I’ve come to find isn’t as easy to obtain as one would think. Followed shortly after came the Zenith Defy, a watch that was definitely a step out of normality for a brand.

For the most part, it lived up to the hype I had for it.īefore we delve into the watch, let’s discuss a bit of the history behind Zenith, the context of the Defy model, and why this watch was exciting (for me at least). Introduced in 1969, the El Primero was arguably the first fully integrated automatic chronograph. When I got the opportunity to review the titanium model, I jumped. Functional chronograph? Check. Modern movement? Check.

In fact, it was among my favorite watches from last year. Rewinding back a little over a year to Baselworld 2017, there were really just a handful of watches that grabbed my attention and the Zenith Defy El Primero 21 ( Hands-on here) led the pack.

Zenith el primero defy 21