This year on November 6th, ZENITH will participate in the 9th Only Watch charity auction, which is once again sponsored by Prince Albert II of Monaco in collaboration with the Monaco Association against Muscular Dystrophy, with a total of 54 brands participating. ZENITH, which has been invited for the ninth consecutive time, has announced earlier that they will be presenting a special DEFT 21 watch for auction, which has been transformed by the brand into a piece of “art”.
This year’s auction, ZENITH has selected an iconic DEFY 21 watch designed in collaboration with brand friend and partner Felipe Pantone, combining ZENITH’s watchmaking spirit with Felipe Pantone’s artistic vision to modify the watch in a way never seen before. Felipe Pantone first interprets the movement decoration and openworked dial, using the principle of interference colors on the coating of the bridge, adorning it with a gradient iridescent color representing refracted light, and for the first time applying innovative silicon microparticle three-dimensional PVD coating on the dial, creating a “full spectrum effect.” Additionally, the entire movement is fixed in a metal container that presents the same rainbow effect, allowing the rainbow PVD coating on the bridge to be admired through the case back, and one of the bridges under the black star-shaped oscillating weight is also engraved with the words “Unique Piece.”
Carefully looking at the dial from the side, you will find that the central hour and minute hands with twisted lightning shapes also echo the design elements repeatedly appearing in Pantone’s works. In addition to each hand being coated with a gradient rainbow PVD layer, each hour marker also expresses different colors, using delicate laser engraving and precise paint craftsmanship to create fine black and white alternating stripes, creating a ripple visual effect on the dial, making the entire watch more layered and transparent.
To cater to this “light and shadow color spectrum master’s” pursuit of the ultimate spectrum, ZENITH specifically used a fully transparent sapphire crystal glass to make the case of this DEFY 21 watch, aiming to allow the internal structure’s colorful light to project more unique colors under more light. The synthetic sapphire crystal glass used in this watch, from casting three-dimensional components to fine processing, polishing, and other processes, are all handled by the ZENITH factory.
As for the movement, as the representative work of ZENITH and with the significant meaning of this event, the watch factory intentionally assembled it with a “double tourbillon” structure. The watch is equipped with two independent tourbillons, with the rotation speed of the 5 Hz tourbillon at 60 seconds, used to adjust the timing function of the movement; and the rotation speed of the 50 Hz tourbillon at 5 seconds, used to adjust the timing function of 1/100 seconds. This significant engineering feat makes this special edition DEFY 21 the most advanced and precise chronograph watch from ZENITH to date, and naturally selected as the unique treasure to appear at this year’s Only Watch auction.
Last December, Felipe Pantone gave the ZENITH headquarters in Le Locle a “new look” with a diverse art installation, combining vibrant color palettes and digital patterns to design a large-scale piece covering the entire exterior of the building. This time, Felipe Pantone specially created a painting for ZENITH called “Optichromie 135 Z,” measuring 170×120 centimeters, using enamel and UV paint on aluminum to showcase the artist’s iconic artistic style. Additionally, this painting was reproduced in miniature on the packaging of the DEFY 21 Felipe Pantone edition watch, making this DEFY 21 double tourbillon special edition watch truly a timepiece resembling a work of art.
The watch will be auctioned by Christie’s in Geneva on November 6, 2021, and all proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Monaco Association against Muscular Dystrophy.
資料及圖片來源：ZENITH
