Hands on New Zenith Defy Revival A3648

In 1969, Zenith achieved a milestone with the debut of the world’s first high-frequency automatic chronograph movement, the El Primero. While the movement garnered considerable attention, it wasn't the only model Zenith had in its repertoire. The brand also unveiled its Defy collection, featuring an angular octagonal case, and 14-sided bezel. One exceptional release from that era was the “Defy Plongeur A3648” which was nicknamed the ‘vault’ since it could withstand depths of up to 600m.

During Watches And Wonders 2024, Zenith Revived the 1969 diver watch, and released the Defy Revival A3648, which revives one of the brand's first diving timepieces and the first diving watch to be resurrected as part of Zenith’s revival series.

The new release maintains an identical size of 37mm diameter and a thickness of 15.5mm, crafted from steel with the same distinctive orange hue as its predecessor. It features a unidirectional rotating bezel, topped by a 14-sided fixed bezel, with the screw-down crown positioned at 4:30. The case ensures 600m of water resistance, mirroring the feature of the old model, the original's high-cambered plexiglass crystal has been replaced with a modern bubble-cambered sapphire crystal in the new iteration. Similarly, the plexiglass bezel cap of the original has been exchanged for a contemporary sapphire crystal, tinted orange to preserve the original aesthetic. The use of the orange hue, a hallmark of Zenith's diver watches from that era, remains prominent in the color scheme of the new release.

The orange hue extends to the chapter ring of the dial, which features white indices treated with Super-LumiNova coating that emits a green glow. Set against the matte black central area of the dial, the arrow-tipped minute hand, hour hand, and central seconds hand are outlined in orange and treated with Super-LumiNova to ensure optimal legibility. The date window is positioned at 4:30 with a white background. 

The original 1969 model came with caliber 2552 PC, operating at 21,600 vph (3Hz) and offering 46 hours of power reserve. However, the revival is powered by the automatic Elite 670, which increases the frequency to 28,800 vph (4 Hz) and extends the power reserve to 50 hours. The watch comes with a five-link steel bracelet inspired by the original bracelet crafted for the 1969 reference. The folding clasp can be adjusted to accommodate diving activities without the need to add or remove additional links. The Defy Revival A3638 is priced at CHF 7,400, equivalent to AED 30,000.

For more information please visit Zenith’s official website.