Early Excess At Zenith

John Chris · Mar 11, 2013

As Zenith of Le Locle struggled to find its way after its emancipation from from the U.S. Zenith Radio Corporation, it came out with some doozies. Illustrated is an El Primero Defy from about 1988 in steel and gold plate, ref. 59.0732.400, with rotating bezel and screw-in crown. I acquired it NOS and have maintained it in that condition (I have put it on only for photos and have never run it). Its dial reminds me of an excited puppy. Lots going on, but all over the place! Gold, grey, red, black, white, an anchor, fancy Roman numerals, and a completely useless 24-hr ring. Ah me, but I can't help but love it. Note also the coloured logo on the clasp, and the original price tag of 3,995,000.00 Lire. The watch had a production run of 340 in this version. There was also an all-steel version, but I don't know how many of those were produced.