My First Zenith & First WatchCrunch Post

So I purchased my first Zenith! I always enjoy hearing about other people’s watches and the story behind them. So here is the story of my Defy Extreme.

I’ve been searching for a skeleton watch to add to my collection for a while now. I love the idea of an openworks dial that will allow me to waste my day away admiring at the movement inside. Gone are the days of taking off the watch to see the movement from the display back. I thought I found it in the Tag Carrera Automatic Chronograph GMT. On paper, it checked a lot of the boxes. It’s a skeleton. It’s a GMT with a ceramic batman (blue/black) bezel (side note: I actually do not like the blue on the Rolex batman. It’s too purple imo. The blue on the Tag is much better). The Tag is sporty. Looks good on a bracelet and rubber. Looks great in online photos. A few months back, I got to try one on in person and was very underwhelmed. I thought the fit and finish of the watch was subpar for a $7k watch (even if I was able to get it for $5k). On top of that, the watch was like a brick on my 6.5” wrist at 45mm and almost 17mm thick. And I have some large watches too (44mm Panerai and 44.25mm Speedmaster Boradarrow). The case of the Tag lacked any details or features that makes it sit slimmer on the wrist. It’s literally a 45mm diameter cylinder extruded straight up 17mm. So much for thinking I’ve found my skeleton watch.

So how did I end up with a Zenith Defy Extreme? Well, I have Rolex and the pandemic to thank for that. For my 40th birthday, I wanted to gift myself a Rolex. Either a Sub, Pepsi, or Daytona panda. Unless if you live under a rock, you know those are some of the hottest watches around. Unless if you are well connected with an AD (I’m not) or willing to spend grey market prices (also not), you are shit out of luck. So I started looking at other brands. Almost everyone recommended Zenith when I inquired about options for a while dial chronograph. While the Chronomaster Sport was a beautiful watch, it didn’t really speak to me (I ended up getting a white sandwich dial Panerai instead). What did catch my eye from the Zenith collection was the Defy line of watches. Especially the open heart and open works pieces. They were bold, extremely sporty, and unlike anything I have currently in my collection (which consisted of an Omega Speedmaster Broad Arrow, IWC Pilots Chrono , Tudor Pelagos LHD, and Panerai Luminor Marina).

Without a Zenith AD nearby, I could only admire them over online photos and YouTube videos. That is until recently. I was on a trip in Vegas and I was able to check out the Defy 21s and the Extreme. The Defy 21s were nice. It’s really cool to see the 1/100th sec chronograph in action. I loved how much of the movement you can see through the skeleton dial, especially with only two sub dials. But the fact that the logo is printed on the crystal really bothered me. It felt really cheap and stuck on like a sticker. It felt like an afterthought, like they didn’t have any place for the logo on the skeleton dial so they just stuck it on the inside of the crystal and called it a day. It looks fine on the online photos because it’s a 2D image. In real life, you can really see the parallax (or lack there of) and it’s bad. That completely turned me off from the Defy 21s.

The AD also brought out an Extreme for me to try on (although they kept saying it was a Defy 21) and I immediately fell in love. I loved the more aggressive and chiseled look of the Extreme. The 12-sides ring under the bezel and the extra boaster added to the pushers really took the Extreme to the next level. I felt the Defy 21 was trying to be both elegant and sporty but not quite sure which it wanted to be while the Extreme knew exactly what it was; sporty, aggressive, and bold. To nip pick, I do wish the movement is a bit more exposed. The three sub dials do take up more space than the Defy21’s two sub dials. What really sold me on the Extreme was the extra blue rubber strap and black Velcro strap. I personally think the titanium bracelet on top of the titanium case is a bit too flashy. Personally I was never a fan of metal bracelets. The blue rubber strap really tone things down and complements the blue details on the movement. I actually think the watch is more sporty with the blue rubber strap. The blue rubber straps really draws the focus on the brushed, polished, and micro-blasted case where as the titanium bracelet really competes with the case for attention. Additionally, the contrasting colors and materials of the rubber strap and titanium case makes the watch even more of a statement piece. Loud and bold. So end of story right? Not quite yet. The AD wouldn’t budge on price and as amazing as the watch was, I wasn’t going to spend $18k on it. Nor do I think it was worth $18k.

A few months ago. I sold one of my pieces (a Baume et Mercier) on Chrono24. It was my first time using that service. I was pleasantly surprised by how easy and nice the experience was. So I said, why not give it a try again but as a buyer this time. Though FaceBook, I found out someone recently got 25% off retail on their Defy Extreme. So that gave me some idea of what I should expect from Chrono24. After negotiating with two different Chrono24 dealers, I was able to get the price down to $12,700. Now they were both grey market watches. I was ok with that. I purchased grey market before. Both watches were new with box and papers. The dealer that I ended going with had all 5 star reviews and have been on Chrono24 since 2018 and have over a thousand watches sold. I also did a search on Google and the dealer and owner checks out as well. He was also very quick to respond and to send photos of the actual watch and everything that came with it. From the photos, the watch case was still shrink wrapped. Same goes for the bracelet. The other straps were still sealed in it’s original packaging. It was basically brand new from the factory and has not been touched. The warranty was stamped and dated 6 months ago. With Zeniths 5 year warranty, I would still have 4.5 years left. I also wasn’t too worried about the watch being a fake as I have seen and tried on the real deal. So I had Chrono24s 14 day guarantee to fully make sure it is authentic. And truthfully, I don’t think anyone has cloned Zenith’s El Primero movement with the 1/100th chronograph function. Especially on a openworks dial that can be easily critiqued.

I took about 2 weeks to think things over and I finally took the plunge. The watch arrived 2 days after funds hit Chrono24 escrow service. 4 days from the point I hit purchase and submitted payment. It arrived perfectly packaged and in the exact same condition as all the photos that the dealer sent me. Upon unboxing, I knew immediately I picked the right piece and the right variant. At first, I was really torn between the brushed, polished, and micro-blasted case with the blue highlights vs. the fully micro-blasted monochrome version. But having had sometime with the brushed, polished, and micro blasted version, I definitely made the right decision. The various textures add so much interest and depth to the watch. The monochrome version is still very nice. It just depends on what you are looking for. More subdued, more of a sleeper or something bright and bold. Overall, I was very happy with my first purchase on Chrono24 and with my Defy Extreme. I hope you all have enjoyed my journey with acquiring this watch.

Reply
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Congrats! Great looking watch

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What a Watch, hope to see your review and enjoy it, it is a wonderful choice!

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Luca_WTC

What a Watch, hope to see your review and enjoy it, it is a wonderful choice!

Thanks. I love it so far. Will definitely give an in-depth review after more wrist time!

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Congrats, beautiful watch and great first post!

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Great looking watch. Congratulations! I want to get that one as well but have not found a good AD to work with.

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Looks amazing. Congrats!

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Welcome to Watch Crunch and Congratulations on a beautiful new watch!

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That's a very handsome watch 👌 congrats 🍻

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What a fantastic first post and great watch!

Love Zenith...great design, great watchmaking and fantastic chronograph movement.

Now you have to top this one for your next post...can't wait to see what that one will be 😉

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this is a seriously cool watch, congratulations!!!!

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Beautiful, just beautiful. Congratulations

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That watch is just beautiful, congratulations!

Also, welcome to WC!

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That is beautiful ! Congratulations 👏

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Incredible watch. Welcome to the Crunch!

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Awesome! Congrats! I have several Zenith watches and I am very happy with all of them.

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NightSurfer

Awesome! Congrats! I have several Zenith watches and I am very happy with all of them.

Which ones do you own? I'm looking at possibly an Oris Propilot X for my next piece.

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MysticBlueX3

Which ones do you own? I'm looking at possibly an Oris Propilot X for my next piece.

Defy A3643, Espada, Chronomaster Sport, Skyline, and Pilot (captain case). I have a bit of a Zenith crush. Lol!

Enjoy your extreme!

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Very nice! Congrats! Your testimony makes me more comfortable with Chrono24 as well. I should give it a try.

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robstacam

Very nice! Congrats! Your testimony makes me more comfortable with Chrono24 as well. I should give it a try.

I would still be careful unless the dealer on Chrono24 is an AD for the brand you are buying. Here are the reasons I was comfortable with going with Chrono24 on this particular piece.

  1. The dealer has a long history on Chrono24. Since 2018 and over 1k watches sold.

  2. The dealer has good reviews on Chrono24 and Google.

  3. I’ve never seen or heard of a fake of this model. The complexity of the movement, the open work dial and display back make it really hard to fake and easy for me to verify authenticity without opening the watch or taking to a watchmaker/dealer. If I was buying a watch that are often faked (Tag, Panerai, Rolex, etc.) I would not buy from Chrono24 and only from an AD.

  4. I have seen this watch at an AD so I know what it should look like, the quality I should expect, and I can verify authenticity myself once I received the watch from Chrono24.