# Personal Review: Zenith Defy Classic Skeleton / Full Open



## NTJW (May 28, 2019)

Lets start off with me admitting a few things. I have always been a Zenith fan-boy since quite sometime ago, and I was especially smitten when they first released their "open heart" watches. I find that not only they achive a horological milestone, but also a great work of art that is very very pleasing to the eye.

Moving on - the DEFY collection, in the past, was hideous. Sorry - it's my personal opinion and I'm totally entitled to say what I think about it. I think whoever designed the Defy line, was either drunk, or have no sense of taste, or probably both. I have always balked at the sight of those wierd bezel, wierd link combination, strange dial, and so on and so on. The only great thing about the watch, was probably the movement, but it was a complete eyesore that I don't even want to lay my hands on one - LOL.

Fast forward to recent days - when Zenith announced their revamped Defy line - I surely wasn't interested. I didn't even bother to search or click on the headlines, because I thought - wow, I thought that line died already and they brought it back to life? For what???

Bereft with ignorance and arrogance, I never thought how different it actually is today. Until one day I saw an image of the watch, and I asked myself, wow, what IS THAT? And it turns out, it's the new Zenith Defy line. I was laughing to myself, and I was probably a year or two late in knowing. Since then, I was smitten, and promised myself if I can find one preowned locally - I would buy it.

By chance a Defy Primero 21 1/10th came up, and I was for sure, certain, that I will make that purchase. But alas - my puny wrist was completely overridden and I came back disappointed - not because of the watch, but because I don't have the wrist to pull it off. So my quest for the Defy Classic started. Days come and go, and the blue classic appeared, but I thought it was too blue for me, and I persisted on wanted the skeletonized dial. Then came the full blue ceramic version - and of course, I thought it was too blue.

And finally, just before the year ended, a freshly bought (I purchased it from the guy 2 days after he made the purchase), it came up. So it was basically new, unworn, and bought it 33% off his purchase price. I OF COURSE couldn't say no.










So here it is, the Defy Classic, with a fully open-worked dial, and is the watch I have been longing for since the beginning of the year. It literally has been one full year since I wanted one in January, with a few occassional flings with other open worked models from Zenith throughout the year that never made me make the purchase. But this one, is the one.

I know some people may think I could have easily gone down the buy it at retail route, but being a cheapskate I guess, and since I buy and sell watches quite often, I have a mindset if I can get one preowned, why buy at retail? I'm sure many will disagree, but again, different people different preferences.

And I couldn't be any happier, 2 days off the original purchase, and it's mine. So it's basically a preowned new watch. Haha.










I'm going to start off with the box. I have always been annoyed with expensive watches not giving a proper presentation box for us to "unbox". While I do agree that we will not use the box in later date, but I find that if we are going to get a box, for what it's worth, it should at least be a nice one.

Buying preowned is a different matter by the way, box or no box is no issue for me as long as the price is befitting. So back to the Zenith. I find the box is very nice, and there little box/compartment in the middle, is actually a travel case. So You can lift it up, and fold it into a smaller box and take it with you for travelling or what not if you should decide to take more than one watch with you.

This is very thoughtful, and just like Breitling who started it - I find it very nice, while I probably won't use it anyway, I know many people who would. And that small gesture of thought is all that matters that they went a little extra and give you something for your troubles later on.

The outer box is somewhat leathery - woody - I'm not sure what it is, but is a discreet black box with a rounded Zenith mediallion on top.










Now lets get down to business. The watch measures 41mm width from 9 to 3, but the actual inner circle is a little bit smaller. As you can see there is a slight protrusion from either side of the watch that makes up for the length. In reality I think the watch is around 40/39mm. Which is a perfect size for daily wear for almost any wrist be it big or small. The bezel is of balanced size compared to the dial and the rest of the watch. I find that the size of the bezel is always important in designing a watch, if it's too thin then the dial will look too big, while too thick will make the watch look a bit wierd. Not many people bother about it, but I do.

The watch is very very light, as it came with a strap, and the case is made of solid Titanium, I find that the watch is super comfortable to wear all day all night. It never felt like it was a burden, and I sometimes even "forget" that its there.

One notable feature of the watch is the lugs - or lack of. You see that the case is almost cut off directly where the normal lugs are, and this creates an even more compact watch, as it only measures around 45mm from lug to lug. The watch wears very nicely due to this.










The star of the show is definitely the dial. Lets get this straight, if you are worried about legibility, you shouldn't be even thinking about getting this watch. Get the blue classic instead, you can read the time clear as day.

Without having a covering of a dial, the template of the watch becomes vastly different and very fun to me. You can see many of the working components of the watch fully on display, and is of course, finished nicely too, as opposed to a non open dial (because you don't need to finish it as nice as no one sees it). But having an open dial, then they need to finish it nicely as you will be staring down at it very often, and you definitely wouldn't want an ugly finish on it.

While in fact it is a simple watch - time and date function only - the open dial makes it look much more complex than it actually is. You can see the skeletonized date wheel, gears, the balance wheel, and etc ect.

Zenith incorporates many of the star emblem on the dial of this watch, you can see a cutoff star shape bridges that radiates off from the centre of the dial, then you can see the counterweight of the seconds hands, and you can also see a purple star on of their gears as shown below.










I think Zenith carefully thought about how to present this watch, and they excuted it very nicely. While it is not an elegant finishing, I find it on the industrial and mechanical side, which is great for me, and great for day to day use.

You can also see that the inner seconds ring is coloured in blue, but this infact is very subtle and changes colour depending on the light, it never became overly blue if anyone is worried about it.

The choice and usage of colour is also brilliant in my opinion, while the watch is prominently grey, they are of a different shade. And I think that adds depth and chartacter to the watch, and makes it much more fascinating as you look at it as layer upon layer of mechanics instead of just one individual chunk.










The back of the movemnt is almost as interesting as the front part, it maintains the industrial look, and to me, the movement is actually quite small for the watch this size. Zenith is using the Elite calibre, which I don't know the number, I think cal 670, but I wish they could use a larger movement to make it a bit fuller.

Another thing that I find a bit disappointing, but not a deal breaker, is the 50 hours power reserve. Most watches in recent era are already at 72 hours. One may argue "whats with 22 hours difference", well in practical terms it's not much of a big deal, it's just the feeling that we could have gotten a better movement, why not? Afterall - these are what draws us as watch nerds in the first place.

You can also clearly see the star on the rotor, and well thats that.










Moving on to the strap - I think this is one of their smart moves. While having it with a regular springbar, the strap is made to sit flush with the case, and made to look like as if it is integrated. And I think this adds a real different look to the watch. I will compare it to a more "common" strap later on, as many people, including me, will wonder how it would look without it's "proprietary" strap.

The strap is of nice alligator material, coloured in blue, and lined with rubber. This ensures longevity of the strap, and prevents it from most of the daily wear and tear, and most importantly sweat.










You get a deployant clasp with it, again with the star logo on one side, and the indentation of the star logo on the other. So when you close it, they conform with each other. Neat - but not overly neccessary to me. It's a nice touch - very Biver.










Pardon the plastic Stickers as I don't plan on removing it just yet - but you get a titanium clasp, with again the star logo, and needs to be double pressed from both sides. So accidentaly removal is extremely slim should you worry about it.

The clasp is actually a little bit uncomfortable as the bottom part presses against my wrist. Its not creating pain or anything, its just the shape of my wrist that doesn't bode well with deployant clasps (almost all deployants), so I need to actually flip the strap around so when I close and open the clasp it flips away from me. Aand that makes a whole lot of difference.

I do that alot on almost all Of my deployant clasp watches, and those who have the same problem, should try it.










While I originally thought the lug width as 20mm, I was wrong. It is actually 22mm. And this is what it looks like when you put it on a regular strap that doesn't have the side width. I would say it doesn't look as nice as the original strap that is intended for it, but I think it still looks great nonetheless.










One thing to note thought that the space of the lug is very tight - so you definitely cannot fit a thick strap on it. The strap needs to be either somewhat squarely shaped on the lug end like the original, or thin enough so that it doesn't press away from the case. I have a few straps that can easily fit due to it's thin lug ends, but some are just too think and I don't want to risk the strap depressing the spring bar and come loose.

Also due to the nature of the monochromatic dial of the watch, any strap will go real great, from rubber to calf to alligator. Even any colour that suits your fancy will do. I think this is a great great watch to own for mix and matching your straps.










On my 16.5cm circumference wrist, of course the watch wears well, and I wouldn't expect the otherwise. It hugs the wrist very nicely, very thin and light, and I have no issues with it whatsoever.

I think the watch is great for a daily wear, it's great with office attires, it's great with slacks or shorts, and even great with jeans too. I really think Zenith nailed this one for me as it covers many if not all that I ever want from a watch. And at a quite affordable price point too.










I really think whoever wants to enjoy a skeleton watch, with in-house movement, with no fuss or frills, should look into this watch.

Of course the watch is nowhere near cheap, but it's definitely a value for money proposition. I think you will get alot for your money, and I don't think the watch will go out of style in the long term either. They have a classic proportion, and neat shaped case, very clean, no-nonsense design That should last for ages.

The open dial is definitely not for everyone, but it certainly has it charms.

Thanks for reading!


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## sempervivens (Sep 24, 2006)

Congratulations on your Zenith and thanks for the excellent review! 

The movement is of course the well known Zenith cal. 670.


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## NTJW (May 28, 2019)

Thanks for that, I never got the time to check on the calibre of the movement!


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## NTJW (May 28, 2019)

Switched to a white rubber strap and completely changes the overall look of the watch!


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## Hartmut Richter (Feb 13, 2006)

Thanks for the detailed review. I should point out that the Elite Calibre goes back all the way to 1994 - and in those days, 50 hours power reserve was distinctly better than most things anyone else had on offer! The Elite calibre can't be faulted in this respect - if anything, one can fault Zenith for not continually developing new calibres. However, if the ones you have are quite adequate, why touch a running system.....

I am not sure what you meant by describing the "old" Defys as being hideous. Which Defys? The ones from the 1970s (starting with the octagonal, chunky ones)? Those were fairly well just a product of their age. The ones under Nataf? OK, the XTREME Defys were rather chunky and no use to anyone (at least the chronograph versions with which one couldn't really time anything - no scale!). But the "ordinary" Nataf Defys looked rather good IMO, a little like the Stratos models later on. Even then, I could name quite a few watches that were even more hideous in my opinion (starting with the black on black in black Hublots that weren't even meant to be legible!) 🤮. But then, as they say, there's no accounting for taste.....

Hartmut RIchter


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## NTJW (May 28, 2019)

Hartmut Richter said:


> Thanks for the detailed review. I should point out that the Elite Calibre goes back all the way to 1994 - and in those days, 50 hours power reserve was distinctly better than most things anyone else had on offer! The Elite calibre can't be faulted in this respect - if anything, one can fault Zenith for not continually developing new calibres. However, if the ones you have are quite adequate, why touch a running system.....
> 
> I am not sure what you meant by describing the "old" Defys as being hideous. Which Defys? The ones from the 1970s (starting with the octagonal, chunky ones)? Those were fairly well just a product of their age. The ones under Nataf? OK, the XTREME Defys were rather chunky and no use to anyone (at least the chronograph versions with which one couldn't really time anything - no scale!). But the "ordinary" Nataf Defys looked rather good IMO, a little like the Stratos models later on. Even then, I could name quite a few watches that were even more hideous in my opinion (starting with the black on black in black Hublots that weren't even meant to be legible!) ?. But then, as they say, there's no accounting for taste.....
> 
> Hartmut RIchter


Perhaps it is due to my mistake for pointing which defy line. It was the with the wierd star on the bezel and a waffle pattern centre link of some sorts.


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## AMBIORIX (Apr 24, 2006)

Beautiful timepiece,
Myself i like skeleton watches(got 3 of them, but sister brand). 
Enjoy and wear in good health.
grtz,Dom


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## Hartmut Richter (Feb 13, 2006)

NTJW said:


> Perhaps it is due to my mistake for pointing which defy line. It was the with the wierd star on the bezel and a waffle pattern centre link of some sorts.


Yes, that one was of the Defy XTreme line - which I never saw any point in either!!

Hartmut Richter


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## Bh47 (Apr 21, 2021)

NTJW said:


> View attachment 15614634
> 
> 
> Switched to a white rubber strap and completely changes the overall look of the watch!


What brand is the rubber strap?


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## 3kdnys (Aug 19, 2020)

NTJW, thank you for your comprehensive review! I have a blue ceramic model on order and awaiting its arrival. Nice to know that 3rd party straps can be used.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## Drksaint (Dec 30, 2012)

Congrats! Nice write up and pics. I love mine - I switch between the bracelet and the rubber straps every few months. The bracelet is one of the best I've ever worn - light weight and very comfortable.

Btw I recently sold 6 watches (3 Rolex, a Tudor, and 2 Omegas) as I'm in the process of rebuilding my collection. But this one is staying in my collection.


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## zman8 (Aug 27, 2015)

Drksaint said:


> Congrats! Nice write up and pics. I love mine - I switch between the bracelet and the rubber straps every few months. The bracelet is one of the best I've ever worn - light weight and very comfortable.
> 
> Btw I recently sold 6 watches (3 Rolex, a Tudor, and 2 Omegas) as I'm in the process of rebuilding my collection. But this one is staying in my collection.
> View attachment 15845925
> ...


hows the legibility IRL? I've been looking at this one and the classic is just too similar to my Aqua terra.

but in your daily use how is the quick glance for time? Is the skeleton a problem?


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## Drksaint (Dec 30, 2012)

zman8 said:


> hows the legibility IRL? I've been looking at this one and the classic is just too similar to my Aqua terra.
> 
> but in your daily use how is the quick glance for time? Is the skeleton a problem?


Legibility is excellent for both time and date. No issues at all. Skeleton is the way to go.


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## Lugan (Nov 12, 2019)

Drksaint said:


> Legibility is excellent for both time and date. No issues at all. Skeleton is the way to go.


I agree. I've owned mine for just two weeks, but it is very legible.


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## Vuldric (Jan 7, 2021)

Thanks for the review, I've been considering one of these for a while.


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