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, this new silver dialed version features the now familiar star motif that is common to this line, and it runs on an Elite 670 automatic movement with a 50 hour power reserve. The retail price is $12,800 with diamonds, $9,000 without.
Next up, the Skyline Chronograph gets a new entry, with a new all black ceramic edition. This release follows the Zenith new release playbook that we’ve seen in the past, with new watches first being introduced in steel (or titanium) and then expanding to ceramic and skeletonized editions in various colors in the ensuing release cycles. I’ve personally been a bit slow to warm up to the Skyline Chronograph, as it’s just a little unwieldy for my taste (the case is 42mm, but as mentioned above, watches in this style wear big), but I like black ceramic and subtle black fume dial looks great. The retail price on this one is $22,600, which is both objectively a very expensive watch, but also priced far below comparable ceramic integrated bracelet chronographs from the likes of Audemars Piguet, and others.
My personal favorite among the new novelties is the Defy Skyline Skeleton in black ceramic with a gold toned movement that has been skeletonized. The black and gold here looks great, and Zenith is among the best at this kind of open dial, skeletonization effect (they’ve been doing it for years). Again, this release feels very much like part of the playbook for Zenith, but they’ve landed on a winning combination here that just works. This Defy Skyline uses the El Primero 3620 SK calibre which operates at 5 Hz and features a running seconds hand at the 6:00 position (which is not really a “seconds hand” given that it makes a full rotation every ten seconds – a fun quirk of this caliber). Retail pricing on this one is set at $18,200, which again feels fair given the comps, but is still pricey when you zoom in.
Finally, Zenith introduces the new Defy Skyline Tourbillon Skeleton this week, which marks the first time we’ve seen a skeletonized tourbillon in the Defy Skyline range. The case is crafted from rose gold and measures 41mm, with an openworked dial that has been skeletonized in a style distinct from other skeleton dial executions within the Zenith catalog. Here, the openworked areas highlight the large barrel (the El Primero 3630 SK movement has a 50 hour power reserve) as well as the tourbillon, which makes a full rotation once every minute. The Defy Skyline Tourbillon Skeleton is a limited edition of 50 pieces, with a retail price set at $99,400.
More information on all the new releases from Zenith can be found on their website here.
Zach Kazan
2026-01-21 18:00:00