Zenith's New Defy Skyline Tourbillon Collab is Colored in 90s Nostalgia
Zenith and the critically acclaimed artist Felipe Pantone have teamed up again to create another highly collectible timepiece, and this one is for the 90s kids or, at the very least, those of you obsessed with 1990s media.
If you were to spot today's Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone in the wild, your eyes would be drawn immediately to the timepiece's dial.
Pantone's primary canvas in the collaboration, concentric circles have been engraved on a sapphire disk to create a moiré visual effect across the face of the watch.
It's one of those watches that you absolutely have to see in person, as the effect of the dial evokes the same trippy iridescence that I see on the back of my old SWV R&B CDs or my holographic Blastoise Pokemon card.
This is intentional, as Felipe Pantone's colorful signatures and use of distortion center around the way we consume information. And these references relate directly to his own internet-heavy upbringing.
The Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone hour markers have also been given a colorful makeover. With the 3, 9, and 12 indices also including another Pantone signature, a glitchy lighting bolt - a shape that I am sure has populated a few of the margins of your elementary school books.
Of course, at the six o'clock marker, you'll find a tourbillon bridge also saturated in a spectrum of colorful shades.
The Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone is powered by the Swiss watchmaker's storied El Primero 3630 movement, which moves at an impressive 36,000 beats per hour and offers about 60 hours of power reserve. And if you're wondering, yes, Zenith's eye-catching movement star rotor has also gotten the Pantone treatment.
As for the rest of the watch, the retro-futurism juxtaposes nicely with the Defy Skyline's stoic and industrial stainless steel body, making it a strong contender for a daily driver.
I feel that Zenith's Defy Skyline is deeply underrated in the realm of sports watches, offering a premiere movement with a sharp and sleek minimal form factor.
This next collaboration is sure to draw more attention to the Defy Skyline. But maybe that's a bad thing. This watch was so good that I was tempted to gatekeep it.
Nonetheless, the watch will be hard to get your hands on, limited to only 100 pieces and retailing for a hefty $62,300.
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