During the 10th edition of the Only Watch biennial charity auction, the unique collaborative Zenith x Felipe Pantone DEFY Double Tourbillon garnered the keen interest and passionate bidding from those in the auction room as well as phone and online bidders, ultimately surpassing the original estimate with the hammer falling at the price of CHF 480’000, well above its original high estimate of CHF 220’000. The sale of this one-off creation set a new record for any Zenith watch sold at an auction. All proceeds from the sale, with no buyer or seller commissions, will be donated to the Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies.
After the success of the DEFY 21 Felipe Pantone limited edition, Zenith sought the talent of the acclaimed optical artist to reinterpret its most complicated chronograph to date, featuring double tourbillon mechanisms to regulate the timekeeping and 1/100th of a second chronograph. Housed entirely in a transparent sapphire case, a first for Zenith’s futuristic DEFY collection, the exceptional calibre and open dial are given a highly chromatic execution using an innovative rainbow gradient PVD finish and incorporating the moiré effect and other visual elements found in Felipe Pantone’s works.
The winning bidder of the unique DEFY 21 Double Tourbillon Only Watch 2021 will also receive an original signed artwork by Felipe Pantone and a private get-together with the artist himself. Titled “Optichromie 135 Z”, this enamel and UV paint on aluminium painting in the artist’s signature style, created exclusively for Zenith.
Zenith: Time to reach your star
Zenith exists to inspire individuals to pursue their dreams and make them come true – against all odds. Since its establishment in 1865, Zenith became the first watch manufacture in the modern sense of the term, and its watches have accompanied extraordinary figures that dreamt big and strived to achieve the impossible – from Louis Blériot’s history-making flight across the English Channel to Felix Baumgartner’s record-setting stratospheric free-fall jump. Zenith is also highlighting visionary and trailblazing women – past and present – by celebrating their accomplishments and creating the DREAMHERS platform where women share their experiences and inspire others to fulfill their dreams.
Zenith exclusively uses its own in-house developed and manufactured movements across all of its watches. Since the creation of the El Primero in 1969, the world’s first automatic chronograph calibre, Zenith has gone on to master the complication with even more precision, capable of measurements to the closest 1/10th of a second in the most recent Chronomaster lines, and 1/100th of a second in the DEFY collection. Zenith has been shaping the future of Swiss watchmaking since 1865, accompanying those who dare to challenge themselves and break barriers. The time to reach your star is now.
