Zenith defy21 pantone 01

Zenith enlists artist Felipe Pantone to design limited edition Defy 21

Zenith is following its LVMH stablemate Hublot into collaborating with a global contemporary artist for the creation of a special edition watch.

Zenith is following its LVMH stablemate Hublot into collaborating with a global contemporary artist for the creation of a special edition watch.

Hublot has a successful ongoing partnership with French sculptor Richard Orlinski and Zenith will be hoping that working with Argentinian-Spanish artist Felipe Pantone on limited editions will do the same trick.

Mr Pantone’s first commission was not for a watch, but for a dramatic façade of its building in Le Locle  in 2020.

Now Zenith has revealed a version of its Defy 21 with Mr Pantone’s influence seen in the use of vivid rainbow colors across the chronograph’s hands, dial, bridges, rotor and movement.

Defy 21 felipe pantone

Zenith calls it a wearable piece of kinetic art that is all about playing with frequencies — visually and mechanically thanks to the El Primero 9004’s movement beating at 360,000 vibrations per hour to give its chronograph accuracy to within 1/100th of a second.

Defy 21 felipe pantone movement back

“I’m thrilled and humbled to be able to give my personal touch to a watch for the first time, and especially with a manufacture that I deeply admire for its innovation and daringness,” says Mr Pantone.

“From the start, the concept was to transform this spectacular piece of watchmaking into a wearable work of kinetic art, where time and light converge into a single object. I couldn’t be more thrilled with the result.”

The black ceramic watch, limited to 100 pieces, is on sale for CHF 18,900.

Defy 21 felipe pantone macro

Defy 21 felipe pantone back case

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