Zenith

The watch is the 'rich sister' of the titanium version which I had presented earlier: www.watchprosite.com

And just like that, it comes with exactly the same combination of a massive case construction combined with a boldy skeletonised movement and colour-constrasted subdials:

There is, however, one significant difference which can directly be attributed to the choice of materials: The rose gold on the bridges exhibit a magical glow which lends a special aesthetic delight to the watch. The contrast in colour and surface structure, both functions of the materials, is much stronger than with the titanium version.

Aptly, the module is placed in the center of an imaginary Zenith star:

Central to the allure of the Zero-G is the new handwound Zenith calibre El Primero 8812S which comprises of 324 components (139 of which are assembled in the gyroscopic mechanism). The gravitiy control module could be miniaturised to less than 1/3 of its original volume. Not only is this an amazing technical feat by the watchmakers at Zenith, it also has a tremendous practical advantage: the module requires much less space in the z-axis, allowing it to fit between the two crystals of the watch without the need of the characteristic bulge the previous version were known for.

A weight is affixed to the bottom of the module, carrying the famous Zenith star:

Zenith’s Defy Zero-G in red gold is a pleasant and contemptorary luxurious watch to wear. The new reduced gravity control module decidedly enhances the wearing comfort (I have to mention that I never had any issues with the older, larger one either, but this does not hold true for all of us) while taking nothing away from the technological mastery that this development embodies.

It would be a tough choice for me to make between the red gold and the titanium version: using a purely technical judgement, I find the combination of a lightweight titanium case with the reduced gyroscope module a compelling and conceptually consistent watch. Aesthetically however I prefer the red gold version by a (very) small margin offered by the enhanced contrast I mentioned.

As I said, this is a tough choice to make...

I shall soon travel to Le Locle to inspect the gravity control module a bit closer and also learn more about the secrets which made its miniaturisation possible.

Cheers,

Magnus

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