The Return of the Zenith Defy

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Replica Zenith Watch Chronomaster Original 03.3200.3600/22.C908

The Return of the Zenith Defy

In the 1970s, the advent of quartz replica watches triggered a crisis for mechanical watchmakers, who seemed poised for decline. The Defy proved its worth. It survived the quartz era, albeit undergoing some evolution and ultimately transitioning to battery-powered watches. In 1999, Zenith and TAG Heuer were merged into the luxury goods conglomerate LVMH, where the brand remains today and has grown into a significant manufacturer.

But first, the brand’s style underwent a dramatic shift, and the Defy collection was no exception. Thierry Nataf (CEO from 2001 to 2010) wanted to awaken Zenith, the “sleeping beauty.” He achieved this goal with the Defy, establishing it as a standalone sports luxury watch line in 2006. One of the Defy’s signature elements was its then-unique combination of gold with titanium, carbon, steel, and rubber.

These watches initially enjoyed considerable success. However, it soon became apparent that their ornate designs lacked the substance needed to become an iconic brand. In 2010, Jean-Frédéric Dufour took over as CEO of Zenith and Rolex. He led Zenith—and the Defy collection—back to a more tranquil landscape, returning to a bold, sporty aesthetic anchored by superior mechanical performance and more accessible pricing. Zenith thus reaffirmed its place among true watch connoisseurs.

In 2017, Julien Tornare succeeded Dufour as president of the brand. With a completely redesigned collection, he ultimately set the Defy on the path to success.

The Defy El Primero 21, launched in 2017—A Triumphant Return
The Defy El Primero 21, unveiled at the 2017 Baselworld Watch and Jewellery Show, marked the beginning of this remarkable success story. Thanks to its new high-frequency calibre 9004, featuring two independent oscillating and escapement systems, it became the world’s first series-produced high-frequency wristwatch capable of automatically measuring time to an accuracy of 1/100th of a second. This 50Hz movement, equipped with a dedicated chronograph mechanism, is housed in a 44mm case. Available in several versions, the titanium and skeletonized dial versions are particularly popular among watch enthusiasts.

In 2018, the Defy collection’s success story reached a new stage with the release of the titanium Defy Classic. This three-hand model with a date display is available in a skeletonized version with a skeletonized dial or a sealed version with an elegant sunburst dial. All models are powered by the brand’s in-house 670SK automatic movement with a 48-hour power reserve. The 41mm case, with a sapphire crystal caseback, also features a skeletonized, blackened movement with a silicon pallet fork and escape wheel in the sealed dial version.

In 2020, fake Zenith also launched the Defy Classic Carbon, the brand’s first watch made entirely of carbon fiber. Weighing a mere 65 grams, it features an integrated bracelet for comfort.

Chopard LUC

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2005: Chopard LUC Lunar One, the first modern perpetual calendar watch with orbital moon phase

Matching legibility with design is often one of the great challenges faced by watch designers when using precious perpetual calendar complications. After all, it is a good line to fit the day, date, month, and leap year in a dial with a diameter of more than 40 mm while maintaining the internal code of the design.

Chopard first experienced perpetual calendars in the 80s and 90s, when it first started to develop its own perp cals. The earliest example of its full calendar watch is the Luna d’Oro series, which is a complete calendar with moon phase display, date and month windows, and date hands. What’s interesting is the brand’s experiment in case materials: bimetallic titanium and gold models are some of the references created.

Chopard replica and Sven Andersen
Independent watchmaker Svend Andersen is known for his creation of the Perpetual Secular Calendar, which is accurate to 400 years. what does this mean? Most perpetual calendar watches are accurate to the year 2100. In fact, this is not a leap year because it is a century-old year that is not divisible by 400. Andersen’s perpetual calendar is accurate to 2400 years.

However, in the 1990s, Andersen hoped to industrialize another perpetual calendar, the retrograde date perpetual calendar. The date display on the retrograde display will jump back to “1” when it reaches the end of the month, whether it is the 28th, 29th, 30th, or 31st. Really impressive design.

Chopard obtained the rights to Andersen’s design and developed it with Frederic Piguet’s basic movement and adjusted it according to its standards. This became Luna d’Oro, a special edition with a golden moon and a limited series. Released gold and platinum versions of watches. Other variants of Luna d’Oro also introduced a 48-month leap year indicator.

Chopard goes further on the road of complex timepieces. Refer to 36-1224. This is a chronograph and perpetual calendar driven by Jaeger-LeCoultre 889/1 movement, with overlapping indicators. Although the dial is complex, it can still Keep it clear and easy to read. After all, if you can’t decipher them, what is the point of wearing all these instruments on your wrist?

All these developments led Chopard to launch its own LUC 96 QP perpetual calendar movement in 2005, which is based on the brand’s 1.96 automatic base movement. A large date window, together with a date and month counter, make the watch very easy to read. What’s more noteworthy is that the calendar operation is an instantaneous jump display. The day and night indicator and the orbital moon phase display make the watch more interesting. You can choose the northern or southern hemisphere constellation on the moon phase.

The 2012 version of Lunar One introduced new improvements. The LUC 96.13-L automatic movement has the Geneva Seal and COSC certification, a 70-hour power reserve, a moon phase display accurate to one day in 122 years, and an instantaneous calendar display. There are many styles of this watch, including gem-set styles.

However, the most surprising release of the Chopard perpetual calendar may be in 2016, the last leap year, when the brand launched the steel watch LUC Perpetual Twin with a 43 mm stainless steel watch and double hair Bar box (hence the name)) and provides a 65-hour power reserve.

In the same year, the brand also released the LUC Perpetual Chrono, which combines two of the most popular complications in the industry-a vertically coupled flyback chronograph and a perpetual calendar, and a Fairmined gold case equipped with a manual winding movement, LUC 03- 10-L. This dual-certified movement uses a familiar dial design, with the chronograph disc stacked on the display of the perpetual calendar to ensure clarity and legibility.

Recently, the 2017 version of the Lunar One platinum watch has a dark blue sunray finish, which adds beauty to the watch. This is an eye-catching timepiece, and is still a rare industry standard because it is self-winding and has an chronometer and Geneva seal certification.

It has been several years since we saw Chopard’s perpetual calendar, although other models of the brand have added complications. However, for perpetual calendar lovers, Lunar One is a model worth admiring, especially considering that the brand has not only kept the name of the Discount watch unchanged, but its design and style have been steadily evolving over the years.