Choose Your Rebellion

From the summery chic of white ceramic to the enticements of retro-style designs, Zenith's latest Defy watches are an exercise in horological democracy.

- Alvin Wong

IN A BUSINESS where taking the less-trodden path is often discouraged, Zenith takes pride in upsetting the watchmaking hegemony. Be it its founder Georges Favre-Jacot's pioneering drive towards large-scale production at a time when watchmaking was based on a network of small cottage businesses or the brand's epochal innovations in the fields of chronographs that remain unmatched to this day, Zenith has been challenging the status quo for the past 159 years.

It is little wonder, then, that Zenith was just as apt at naming its watches to project a subversive spirit. Case in point: the Defy A3642. Launched in 1969, the watch looked ahead of its time, sporting an unusual multifaceted case and a special ladderstyle bracelet. However, the curious aesthetic belied its old-school, workhorse-like performance. Incredibly robust and water-resistant to 300m, the early Defy watches were even put through insane field tests, such as being strapped on a motorcycle's wheel spokes during a speed contest at Wembley Stadium in 1971.

Today's Defy watches, while more dressed up, have lost none of the collection's appetite for adventure. To appreciate what it was like, however, the new Defy Revival A3648 serves as a blast from the past.