The Defy is playing an increasingly important role in Zenith’s lineup — offering a modern alternative to the Pilot’s line that has dominated the discussion for so long. And there’s a lot to like about it — modern style with a hint of retro flavour. And while the Defy spans the spectrum from accessible to ultra high-end, the watch we’re looking at today — the Zenith Defy El Primero 21 — sits neatly in the middle, adding a quintessentially Zenith complication to the sporty 44mm package. That complication is, of course, the chronograph — and not just any chrono, but the mighty El Primero. Only here it’s the El Primero on steroids — the El Primero 21. The party trick here is the fact that the chronograph is packing two escapements, one for the timekeeping, and one for the chronograph. The real kicker is the beat rate for the chronograph escapement — 360,000 vph. This means that the central hand doesn’t make a full rotation every minute, but every second (that’s 1/100th of a second accuracy). It’s a whirling, mad thing to look at, and super cool. It’s also something of an energy hog, as you might expect, which leads…
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