Horlogerie en Rose: Introducing The Zenith Defy El Primero 21 Pink Edition
Zenith delved into unconventional colors in its Defy collection with the introduction of the purple-tinged Defy 21 Ultraviolet earlier this summer. With the new Defy El Primero 21 Pink Edition, the manufacture has created another flamboyantly colorful timepiece, this one distinctly devoted to a worthy cause. The watch features the world's first pink-PVD-treated movement, created in association with Pink Ribbon Switzerland, to spread positivity and hope to countless women worldwide who are battling breast cancer.
The Pink Edition comes in a 44-mm-diameter, rose-gold case set with 288 white-colored brilliant-cut diamonds of varying sizes, with 44 baguette-cut pink-hued sapphire stones on the gold bezel. The openworked black-and-gold dial reveals the metallic-looking, pink-tinted movement, which uses the color (obtained through a PVD coating) on its skeletonized bridges as well as on the signature star-shaped oscillating rotor on the back.
Like its Ultraviolet predecessor, the watch is powered by the lightning-fast El Primero 9004 automatic chronograph movement, whose integrated chronograph measures elapsed times up to 1/100th of a second thanks to the movement’s two escapements — one for the watch (beating at 36,000-vph, or 5 Hz) and a second one for the chronograph (beating at 360,000 vph, or 50 Hz).
The dial's faceted gold-plated hour markers and hands are both coated in Super-LumiNova SLN C1 (which is roughly 31% brighter than the more commonly used Super-LumiNova C3) with the chronograph power-reserve indicator at 12 o'clock, hours and minutes in the center, small seconds at 9 o'clock, central chronograph hand and 30-minute counter at 3 o'clock, and 60-second counter at 6 o'clock.
The Defy El Primero 21 Pink Edition (Ref. 22.9004.9004/73.R598) is presented on a black-rubber-and-neon-pink coated alligator strap with a gold-and-titanium double folding clasp. It retails for $64,900 and will be available at Zenith boutiques and retailers worldwide as of October 2020, with a portion of the proceeds from the sale to be donated to Pink Ribbon Switzerland to help spread awareness around those battling breast cancer. Zenith will also participate in the Pink Ribbon Switzerland Music Gala, held on September 26 at the Dolder Grand in Zurich, as an auction partner to help raise funds. It will offer a unique execution of the Defy 21 "Pink Ribbon" edition for a charity auction in which all proceeds from its sale will finance the Vision I project of the non-profit organization The Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK), which has been conducting clinical trials in oncology since 1965.
| Manufacturer: | Zenith International SA, Rue de Billodes 34-36, CH-2400 Le Locle, Switzerland |
| Model: | Defy El Primero 21 Pink Edition |
| Reference Number: | 22.9004.9004/73.R598 |
| Functions: | Hours, minutes, seconds, 1/100th-second chronograph, small seconds at 9 o’clock, central chronograph hand, 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock, 60-second counter at 6 o’clock, power-reserve indication at 12 o’clock |
| Movement: | El Primero 9004, automatic, skeletonized, with pink PVD finishing, 50-hour power reserve |
| Case: | Rose gold, 288 brilliant-cut diamonds, 44 baguette-cut sapphire stones, water resistant to 100 meters (3 ATM) |
| Strap & Bracelet: | Black rubber strap coated in pink alligator leather, gold-and-titanium double-folding clasp |
| Dimensions: | Diameter = 44 mm |
| Price: | $64,900 |
For an in-depth review of the original Defy El Primero 21, with details on how its groundbreaking high-frequency caliber works, click here.
