Zenith Defy Lab

Zenith presented a completely new kind of mechanical watch last week which includes a new oscillator system, the Zenith Defy Lab. The caliber used is the ZO 342, and it has no conventional balance, no balance spring and no lever, which makes this movement very unconventional.

Instead, a one-piece unit was created from a silicon wafer which has the advantage that each piece is structurally and functionally identical to the others, making it a reliable and precise unit.

The entire oscillator system runs at a frequency of 15 Hz and has a power reserve of 60 hours. A new material was used for the case: Aeronith, which is an aluminum foam where the voids of the melted aluminum are filled with a light polymer, making this an extremely light case.

Only ten pieces were produced, each with a different colour scheme, and all have been sold. But while Zenith continues to work on making the oscillator even smaller, this watch will be available in serial production early in 2018.