Zenith is having one of their strongest Watches & Wonders in recent memory, and that’s saying a lot if you’ve been paying any attention to the brand over the past few years. We’ll explore the full gamut in person later this week, but there’s one particular that caught my eye immediately, and that’s a new Extreme Diver. This represents the brand’s first proper dive watch in generations, and they’ve managed to capture a new personality within their Extreme collection right out of the gates. There are two colors, lots of angles, big textures, one helium release valve, and 600 meters of depth resistance.
The Extreme Diver falls within the Defy family, and is released alongside a Revival variation (the A3648) that paints a picture of where the design DNA is rooted. The original design ports beautifully into a modern platform, accepting the wide waffle pattern on the dial, the 12 sided bezel piece placed within a rotating bezel structure, and a serious set of hands. An orange chapter ring placed at the outside of the dial references the original color scheme and serves to add another dimension to the already thick levels of personality captured here.
Zenith has gone with titanium here for the 42.5mm case, and thanks to the lugless transition to the bracelet the lug to lug is about the same. It’s not a small watch but it should present little issues on most people’s wrists. We’ll get a definitive answer on that when we see the watch in person this week. Titanium seems to be having something of a moment this year, with a number of premium brands opting to use the material in their new releases, certainly enough for an upcoming roundup.
Inside resides Zenith’s El Primero in time and date trim thanks to the caliber 3620 SC which offers 60 hours of reserve. An exhibition caseback offers a view of the movement, which is an unusual feature on a watch boasting a 600M depth rating. It’s a great, historic movement of course, but without the chronograph compilation, and in such a unique dive platform like this, it’s a feature I could do without.
The case, dial, and bezel each feature big, loud elements, yet the overall look manages to wrangle everything together in a satisfying manner that I suspect will be polarizing among enthusiasts, which is a great quality these days. We are spoiled for choice when it comes to well executed classic divers on the market (including some introduced just today), leaving an open spot for more unique perspectives on the genre.
Zenith’s rich history provides the perfect opportunity to exploit their unique perspective on a dive watch, and the result feels like a breath of fresh air. There are two variations of the Zenith Defy Extreme Diver being released, one black dial and one blue dial. Prices are set at $11,300. Keep an eye out for full thoughts and hands-on impressions coming soon. Zenith
Comments
One response to “Zenith Gets Back Into the Dive Watch Game with Defy Extreme Diver”
Cool watch, good review, as a child of the 80’s I just can never get past the brand name being the same as my old TV. But I like the watch . . .