- Zenith and USM Modular Furniture have collaborated on a quartet of colourful Defy sports watches
- The timepieces feature dials bathed in shades associated with USM’s seminal Haller System
- The collaboration marks the first time the Defy Revival sports watch has appeared as a chronograph
- The timepieces are priced at $18,400AUD and limited to 60 examples per colour
Unexpected, under-the-radar collaborations are something Zenith does well. From the Lupin The Third Chronograph to the Chronomaster Revival A3818 in collaboration with Revolution and The Rake, the Swiss manufacture knows how to nail a niche release.
Even bearing that in mind, the manufacture’s latest collaboration still comes out of left field. Zenith has teamed up with USM Modular Furniture for a collaboration that fuses both Swiss brands’ heritage. Nodding to seminal releases from both brands during the 1960s, the collaborative Zenith Defy Chronograph USM references the creation of the USM Haller modular system in 1965 and the debut of the Zenith El Primero chronograph movement in 2969.
Using the manufacture’s original late 1960s Defy as a base, the collaborative capsule collection comprises four colourful chronographs. A timepiece defined by angularity and shape, the Zenith Defy features an octagonal case with a 14-sided bezel atop it, presented on the manufacture’s singular Gay Frères–designed ladder bracelet. The timepiece features alternating brushed and polished surfaces, with the interplay between geometry and textures one that reflects the commitment to clarity, structure, and strength that USM puts forward.
While the design of the Zenith Defy Chronograph USM boasts undeniable throwback appeal, it marks the first time a Defy Revival piece has been fitted with a chronograph movement — although contemporary Defy models are available in chronograph configurations, the original was never produced as such.
Each timepiece arrives in a compact 37mm stainless steel octagonal case with a 14-sided bezel, with pump-style chronograph pushers on either side of the screw-down crown at 3 o’clock. On the dial is where the collaborative element shines; each of the four dials references a key colour from the USM Haller range. There’s USM Green, USM Pure Orange, USM Golden Yellow, and USM Gentian Blue. Applied square hour markers with grooved surfaces nod to the modular aesthetic of the USM Haller system, while lume-coated rhodium hands ensure eligibility. The three overlapping chronograph subdials are rendered in silver and decorated with a fine azuré pattern, while the central chronograph seconds hand tipped with a miniature lume-filled USM ball joint acts as an easter egg for design aficionados.
Beating at the heart of each timepiece is the El Primero 400, an automatic movement that builds on the legacy of the El Primero 3019 PHC, the world’s first automatic high-frequency chronograph calibre. Visible through the exhibition caseback, the rotor is decorated with an open star motif, flanked by the logos of both brands.
Each timepiece is limited to 60 examples each, comes presented in a custom-designed USM Haller watch box.
Price: $18,400AUD
Availability: 60 examples each
Model: Defy Chronograph USM
Case size: 37.3mm
Movement: El Primero 400 (automatic)
Water resistance: 10ATM
Functions: hours, minutes, small seconds, chronograph, 12-hour counter, 30-minute counter, date
Power reserve: 50 hours
Words by Theo Rosen
