Photos by Jake Witkin
Earlier this year, Zenith introduced the Defy Extreme Diver at Watches & Wonders Geneva 2024, and while a dive watch is typically a cornerstone offering in many brands’ catalogs, the Defy Extreme Diver is actually a significantly different offering from anything else in the Swiss manufacturer’s modern lineup. For the most part, Zenith tends to focus on chronographs, pilot’s watches, and integrated bracelet sports models, and for many years, a contemporary three-handed diver was notably absent from the brand’s modern collection. The Zenith Defy Extreme Diver properly fills this void, and while the model originally debuted with the option of either a black or blue dial, the Swiss watchmaker has just added a new version with a silvery-white dial for its latest release of 2024.
Just like the original duo of Zenith Defy Extreme Diver models we reviewed earlier this year, the new silver-dial version (ref. 95.9600.3620/01.I300) is a burly and unapologetically modern time-and-date dive watch that features an angular titanium case that measures 42.5mm by 15.5mm thick. While the vast majority of the case receives a linear brushed finish, small high-polished accents appear on the bevels that run down either side of the watch, and these polished elements are mirrored on the facets of the thin twelve-sided ring that sits between the watch’s flat sapphire crystal and its black ceramic rotating timing bezel. Additionally, rather than being part of its middle case, the chunky oblong crown guards on the Defy Extreme Diver are separately attached components that are each secured by a set of screws, and between the two guards resides a star-signed crown that screws down to the middle case to help ensure a rather generous 600 meters of water resistance.
Given that saturation diving would more than likely be a part of any activities that would result in a person even getting remotely close to the upper limit of its depth rating, the Zenith Defy Extreme Diver is equipped with a helium gas escape valve, which appears as a small circular plug on the 9 o’clock side of its case. While most people will never actually require the functionality of a helium escape valve, it’s still a detail that a lot of collectors want to see on a no-compromises dive watch, simply because it is an obligatory feature for watches designed for the very highest levels of ocean exploration. That said, despite possessing all of the features of a purpose-built diving tool, the Defy Extreme Diver is still a luxury timepiece, and along with benefiting from a high level of overall finishing, the screw-on caseback is fitted with a sapphire display window to offer a view of its high-frequency internal movement.
Zenith is synonymous with its legendary El Primero chronograph movement, and the brand has more recently been using the core architecture of the El Primero to create a new lineup of in-house calibers. Powering the Zenith Defy Extreme Diver is the brand’s El Primero 3620 SC automatic movement, which is a time-and-date version of the El Primero that features a centrally-mounted seconds hand. Unlike the standard El Primero 3620 that can be found inside the brand’s full-size Defy Skyline models, the El Primero 3620 SC has a traditional central seconds hand, although it offers the same specs with an operating frequency of 36.600vph (5Hz) and a power reserve of 60 hours. While the Zenith El Primero 3620 SC is essentially a standard time-and-date movement, its 5Hz frequency stands out among the various 3Hz and 4Hz calibers that are most frequently found within the industry, and it spiritually connects the El Primero 3620 SC to Zenith’s original self-winding chronograph movement that first debuted in 1969.
Given that the new silver version of the Defy Extreme Diver and the original black-dial model are both fitted with black ceramic bezels, the key difference that separates the most recent iteration from its siblings is its silvery-white metallic dial. From a fundamental design and layout standpoint, the new silver dial is identical to its black and blue counterparts, and it features applied luminous hour markers, a date window at 3 o’clock, and bright orange accents punctuating its hands and minute track. Similarly, the dial features the same four-pointed star pattern engraved into its surface, and the handset appears to be entirely identical to what can be found on its black and blue siblings, right down to its star-shaped counterweight and orange accents. Since Zenith’s Defy Extreme Diver models have calendar discs that are color-matched to their dials, the date wheel is now silver with black numerals, although the primary difference is that the dial is now a pale hue of silver, rather than black or blue.
Just like the black and blue models that debuted earlier this year, the silver-dial version of the Zenith Defy Extreme Diver comes with an interchangeable strap/bracelet system that consists of a rubber strap, a fabric NATO-style strap, and a stainless steel H-link bracelet. The Defy Extreme Diver features an integrated-lug design, although the fabric strap includes attachments that give it traditional lugs, and the straps and bracelets can easily be disconnected by pressing the two buttons located on the underside of its case. Similar to the black version, the new silver-dial model is paired with a black rubber strap, although its fabric strap is white with black accents, rather than being black with gray accents like the fabric strap that comes with the black-dial model. While the rubber and fabric straps offer a fairly utilitarian appearance, the stainless steel bracelet provides the watch with a noticeably more refined aesthetic that visually connects it to the rest of Zenith’s modern Defy lineup.
The Zenith Defy Extreme Diver serves as an excellent example of a thoroughly modern dive watch, and it provides all of the hallmark features of a purpose-built underwater timepiece in a package that feels definitively contemporary in its overall appearance and execution. Given that Zenith isn’t especially known for its dive watches, it was important for the brand’s modern offering within this category to be distinct, and the Defy Extreme Diver delivers with a modern and highly intentional design. I’ve been a big fan of the Defy Extreme Diver since I first saw the model at its inaugural launch in Geneva, and while a silver-dial rendition is hardly a revolutionary concept, the new colorway undeniably helps round out the lineup. The black and blue dials offer superior contrast and legibility, although they are very much two expressions of the same flavor, and the silver dial fitted to this latest version provides the watch with a noticeably different aesthetic that arguably feels even more modern than either of its siblings.
Since the differences between the three Zenith Defy Extreme Diver models are limited to the colors of their components, the new silver-dial version (ref. 95.9600.3620/01.I300) costs the exact same as its black and blue counterparts, and it has an official retail price of $11,300 USD and will be available exclusively at Zenith boutiques. Zenith does a fantastic job balancing heritage-inspired models against thoroughly modern timepieces within its catalog, and while watches such as the Defy Revival A3648 represent the history and heritage of Zenith’s underwater timepieces, the Defy Extreme Diver is the modern expression of a Zenith dive watch, and it adds an entirely new facet to the brand’s growing Defy collection. Rather than creating a dressy diver designed for everyday life, Zenith has put forward a no-compromises expression of this fan-favorite style, and the new silver-dial version of the Defy Extreme Diver is easily one of the most unapologetically modern timepieces in the brand’s entire lineup. For more information on the Zenith Defy Extreme Diver, please visit the brand’s website.
