Style and substance come together seamlessly in the new DEFY Classic Black Ceramic, marking the first time the ultra-hard and inherently black material makes its way to the DEFY Classic collection. With an intriguing display of micro-mechanics and the kind of superlative performance that has become synonymous with the Zenith manufacture, the DEFY Classic Black Ceramic resonates with the style-conscious urbanite.


The DEFY Classic has made its mark as Zenith’s expression of neo-futuristic watchmaking in its purest form. With the DEFY Classic Black Ceramic, its distinguishing features are brought to life from its subtly nuanced darkness and the sense of volume it conveys through balanced geometry and a unique, visionary architecture – inside and out.

Forged from wear-proof black zirconium oxide ceramic, the DEFY Classic’s faceted 41mm case features a combination of polished and satin-brushed surfaces, emphasizing its geometric and resolutely contemporary case inspired by the original Zenith DEFY collection first launched in the 1970s. The angular, silhouette of the case is softened by the perfectly circular bezel that haloes above it.


The centrepiece of the DEFY Classic Black Ceramic’s is its avant-garde open dial. Taking on a stellar form with ultramodern angles, the multi-layered element seamlessly blends the neoteric display with the movement.

In broad daylight, the faceted hands and applied markers appear as one with the blackened complex of the open dial and visible portions of the movement, with their polished ruthenium-treated surfaces gleaming through the darkness for surprisingly easy legibility. Come nightfall, they emit a subtle green glow from the Super-LumiNova® SLN C1 coating, recalling the night-lights of a city that never sleeps.


Visible through the open dial as well as the sapphire case back of the DEFY Classic, the automatic Elite 670 manufacture movement beats unerringly. A staple movement in Zenith’s lineup for decades, the DEFY Classic represents the first time the Elite caliber has been openworked. Its entire anatomy has been reimagined – not just aesthetically, with its restructured and open bridges with cutting-edge finishing – but also in its performance, as the Elite caliber in the DEFY Classic features a silicon pallet-lever and escape-wheel.

Perfectly integrated with the contours of the case and following the structured lines of the dial and movement, the DEFY Classic Black Ceramic is fitted with a black unistructure rubber strap, offering sporty, casual elegance and comfort in all situations an urban explorer may encounter.


Since 1865, Zenith has been guided by authenticity, daring and passion in pushing the boundaries of excellence, precision and innovation. Soon after its founding in Le Locle by visionary watchmaker Georges Favre-Jacot, Zenith gained recognition for the precision of its chronometers, with which it has won 2,333 chronometry prizes in just over a century and a half of existence: an absolute record. Famed for its legendary 1969 El Primero calibre enabling short-time measurements accurate to the nearest 1/10^th of a second, the Manufacture has since developed over 600 movement variations. Today, Zenith offers new and fascinating vistas in time measurement, including 1/100^th of a second timing with the Defy El Primero 21; and a whole new dimension in mechanical precision with the world’s most accurate watch, the 21^st century Defy Lab. Energised by newly reinforced ties with a proud tradition of dynamic, avant-garde thinking, Zenith is writing its future… and the future of Swiss watchmaking.