Zenith Gives the DEFY Extreme Two Bold New Personalities

Zenith’s DEFY Extreme has always been the brand’s most assertive home for contemporary chronograph engineering.

The latest additions push that identity in two very different directions, pairing the collection’s high-frequency El Primero 9004 calibre with lapis lazuli, carbon, microblasted titanium and violet-toned sapphire.

Both watches keep the DEFY Extreme formula intact, but each gives the architecture a distinct visual charge.

At a glance

• Zenith has introduced two new DEFY Extreme chronographs, the Lapis Lazuli II and Ultraviolet.
• Both use the El Primero 9004 dual-escapement calibre, capable of measuring elapsed time to 1/100th of a second.
• The DEFY Extreme Lapis Lazuli II is limited to 25 pieces, while pricing and broader availability details have not been stated.

The DEFY Extreme formula stays unapologetically technical

The DEFY Extreme is built around a large 45 mm case, 200 metres of water resistance, an openworked dial and the collection’s signature octagonal bezel.

It’s a watch family that leans into presence, not understatement, and these two versions don’t try to soften that stance.

At the centre is Zenith’s El Primero 9004, a selfwinding calibre described as a modern development of the manufacture’s 1969 movement architecture.

Its defining feature is a dual-escapement setup, with one regulating the timekeeping display and the other dedicated to the chronograph.

The chronograph escapement runs at 360,000 vibrations per hour, allowing the watch to measure elapsed time to 1/100th of a second.

That performance is displayed with a direct-drive hand that completes a full rotation in one second, turning the chronograph into a visible piece of mechanical theatre.

The separate timekeeping escapement beats at 5 Hz, while the movement offers a 50-hour power reserve.

Lapis Lazuli II brings stone, carbon and gold tones together

The DEFY Extreme Lapis Lazuli II is the rarer of the two, issued in 25 pieces.

It combines titanium with carbon, using the latter for its distinctive material character and visual depth.

The model’s most decorative gesture is found on the counters, which are made from lapis lazuli.

That deep blue stone gives the openworked dial a more mineral, almost architectural quality, especially against the technical framework of the DEFY Extreme case.

Yellow gold-plated hands and markers add warmth, creating a sharper contrast with the blue counters and darker carbon elements.

It’s an unusual mix for a modern sports chronograph, but it suits Zenith’s willingness to treat the DEFY platform as both a technical object and a material study.

Ultraviolet sharpens the titanium case with purple accents

The DEFY Extreme Ultraviolet takes a different route, building its character around microblasted grey titanium and violet-hued sapphire.

The effect is colder, more graphic and more overtly contemporary than the Lapis Lazuli II.

Zenith pairs the watch with a matching rubber strap, giving the colour treatment a more integrated feel.

Legibility remains central to the design, with hands and markers treated with white SLN C1 Super-LumiNova.

That contrast matters on a watch with an openworked dial, where depth and transparency can easily compete with basic readability.

Here, the luminous white accents work as visual anchors within a deliberately high-contrast composition.

Details & Specifications

For collectors drawn to Zenith’s most technical chronograph language, these two DEFY Extreme models offer a useful split in personality.

The Lapis Lazuli II is the more precious and limited expression, while the Ultraviolet turns the same high-frequency platform into something colder, sharper and unmistakably modern.