For the fourth time since 2021, Zenith has teamed up with contemporary artist Felipe Pantone to create a collaborative watch. The first was the Defy 21 in 2021 followed by the one-off Defy 21 Double Tourbillon for that year’s Only Watch charity event. 2022 saw the release of the Defy Extreme Felipe Pantone, and now, for 2024, we have the brand-new Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone watch, featuring the artist’s signature prism of colors and limited to just 100 examples.
The watch maintains the Defy’s signature silhouette, which is to say a 41mm steel angular case topped with a 12-sided bezel and alternating satin-brushed and polished finishes throughout. The star-decorated winding crown is of the screw-in variety and the case is water-resistant to a respectable 100 meters deep. Zoom in on the case and you’ll spot F, P, T, and 1 engraved on each of the four corners, denoting “Felipe Pantone Tourbillon #1” — in case you forgot what you’re wearing.
The brushed effect of the case carries on throughout the integrated bracelet, also crafted from stainless steel and furnished with a folding clasp. The Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone watch is also accompanied by an additional black rubber strap, decorated with the familiar Zenith star pattern.
Felipe Pantone’s work on this Defy Skyline watch is concentrated on the dial and movement. Crafted from a sapphire crystal disk, the entire dial is iridescent and features a micro-engraved concentric circle pattern emanating from the tourbillon aperture at 6 o’clock. The motif resembles Felipe Pantone’s favorite moiré effect whereby contrasting colored lines create movement, just like those optical illusion Magic Eye books and posters that were big in the 80s and 90s. In another retro throwback, the resulting rainbow-producing effect of combining the tinted sapphire crystal dial plate with the laser-engraved texture is meant to echo the back of a CD. There’s also a vignette effect with a darker periphery that gradually gets lighter toward the center of the dial.
The applied hour markers are not only colorful but all except for those at 3, 9, and 12 are distorted (another Felipe Pantone signature visual effect), resembling mini lightning bolts. Similarly, the pair of bent hands at the center are also rendered in a multitude of colors via a 3D PVD technique, as are the lightning bolt-shaped tourbillon bridge and four-point-star tourbillon cage. Although Zenith affirms that this flash form represents “some kind of graphical glitch,” between the Skittles color palette, zany shapes, and nod to nostalgia, all I can think about is the Lisa Frank notebooks that were the must-have stationery when I was a kid at school.
The back of the Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone is similarly saturated with a spectrum of shades thanks to the five-point star-shaped oscillating weight that’s finished with the same metallic rainbow PVD finish. The rotor belongs to the El Primero 3630 movement, which operates at a speedy 36,000 beats per hour (5 Hz) and supplies approximately 60 hours of power reserve. The one-minute tourbillon comprises 56 components.
The Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone Limited Edition watch is artistic, colorful, and cool in that 1990s kind of way. For fans of Zenith, Felipe Pantone, and tourbillons, this watch checks off all the boxes without concerning itself with mass appeal (there are plenty of other Zenith Defy Skyline models for that). You’ll have to hand over a hefty $62,300 USD to own one and wait until September 12 at 14:00 CEST for them to become available online, at Zenith boutiques, and select retailers. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.
