Being able to produce an El Primero movement with a vibration frequency of 36,000 per hour without the help of high-end equipment and exquisite machinery 50 years ago, Zenith watches, although not the hottest styles on the market, have long been recognized and respected in the watch industry for their craftsmanship. Innovation and boldness have always been essential nutrients in the ZENITH brand’s DNA. The brand recently launched the first revolutionary watch with a purple El Primero 21 movement, and the actual watch has finally arrived in Hong Kong.
Why purple?
Perhaps not everyone knows that if we define all colors perceived by the human eye based on the visible light spectrum, purple has the highest frequency, and once it exceeds this frequency, it becomes ultraviolet light. Throughout history, from the ancient Roman Empire to the royal family of Queen Elizabeth I of England, the value of purple dye even surpassed that of gold. With its rarity and unique color, purple has always been an exclusive color for royalty. Even thousands of years later today, purple still symbolizes mystery and rebellion, and its special temperament still captivates many people. Purple has a unique personality, occasionally favored by industries such as fashion and automotive, but strangely rarely seen in the watchmaking industry. However, it is precisely because of this that ZENITH has embarked on another bold attempt.
This timepiece is named Ultraviolet, with the body being the Defy El Primero 21 watch. The dial continues to feature a design with openworked chamfered plates, with a small seconds subdial, 30 and 60-minute chronograph subdials. The clock scales and hands are coated with Super-LumiNova®SLN C1 luminous material, while the highlight purple movement can stand out in the gray bezel and three small chronograph dials. The Defy 21 Ultraviolet chronograph has an accuracy of up to 1/100th of a second, with a high frequency of 50 hertz. The white-tipped hundredth of a second chronograph hand rotates around the dial once per second, demonstrating that ZENITH continues to maintain its mechanical performance at the expected level.
The new Defy 21 Ultraviolet watch features a 44mm gray case with a matte sandblasted finish, creating a striking contrast with the deep titanium shine and purple movement; for the strap, it is paired with a rubber strap in purple and black, creating a woven effect. The Defy 21 Ultraviolet is also the brand’s first watch with a skeleton dial and closed chronograph subdials, a configuration previously only available on the standalone Defy El Primero 21 watch or the earlier El Primero 50th Anniversary model.
Although the Defy 21 Ultraviolet is still based on the iconic Defy 21 watch, this time ZENITH has broken through by using a purple movement to create the watch. Therefore, this new piece should be considered for collection or appreciation. If you have not seen the introduction, you should pay attention. If you want to truly appreciate ZENITH’s purple special edition creation this time, you should flip the watch over and admire the appearance of the El Primero 21 with the Ultraviolet new outfit from the bottom cover, with its iconic star-shaped bridge fully revealed. In terms of price, ZENITH lists the Defy 21 Ultraviolet for HK$103,000, and it is now officially on sale.
