Zenith and contemporary artist Felipe Pantone recently unveiled a special edition of the Defy Skyline Tourbillon. Here are the details about the watch, including live photos and pricing.
When a brand introduces a new variation of a familiar model, you can already imagine in your mind how it will look in person. But there are watches that definitely need to be seen in real life. When Zenith invited me to check out the new Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone, I knew this was one of those watches. And I wasn’t wrong. The new collaboration between Zenith and Felipe Pantone is a real party on the wrist.
Zenith and Valencia-based optical artist Felipe Pantone have unveiled several watch projects: a limited-edition series of the Defy 21 in 2021, a unique rendition of the Defy 21 Double Tourbillon in a sapphire case that set an all-time record for Zenith at the OnlyWatch 2021 charity auction, and a sequel series in 2022 with the Defy Extreme Felipe Pantone. In September 2024, they presented their latest project, the Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone. This is the last watch they will create together, as a Zenith representative mentioned during the presentation.
Different to what previous Zenith X Felipe Pantone creations have featured, the entire dial is iridescent in the Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone. Crafted from a sapphire disk, the dial features a micro-engraved pattern of concentric circles, recalling the moiré visual effect ever so present in Pantone’s artwork. The back of the sapphire dial features a mirrored metallic finish that, combined with the micro-engraving, produces a striking display of colours in a manner that’s reminiscent of a CD. To add even more depth to the dial and bring out a touch of retro nostalgia, the sapphire dial disk packs a vignette effect that darkens towards the outer edges.
The combination of sapphire crystal with a mirrored back, a micro-engraving pattern and a vignette effect is a highly complex and unprecedented feat – both technically and visually. The hands and applied hour markers are no less complex and captivating. In Felipe Pantone’s signature style of visual distortion, the hands as well as the hour markers (except the cardinal “crosshair” markers at 3, 9, and 12 o’clock) are distorted down the middle, like some kind of graphical glitch. Matching the tourbillon at 6 o’clock, the hands and markers are finished in a gradient of rainbow tones.
The tourbillon bridge takes on the shape of a lightning bolt, a recurring element in Felipe Pantone’s extensive body of work across different media. Finished in a gradient of metallic rainbow tones that was originally pioneered in the duo’s first collaborative output in 2021, the 3D PVD technique on the tourbillon bridge and cage in the form of a four-pointed star further highlights the artist’s distinctive aesthetic.
El Primero 3630
Powered by the El Primero 3630 high-frequency automatic manufacture movement with a power reserve of 60 hours, the Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone incorporates the artist’s chromatic signature touch even on the movement, in the form of a star-shaped oscillating weight with a rainbow PVD finish matching the tourbillon cage and bridge as well as the other metallic elements on the dial side.
The Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone is a limited edition of 100 pieces, available through Zenith’s online and physical boutiques, as well as select retailers. Price: 65,000 EUR (including VAT).
More details about Zenith watches on www.zenith-watches.com
