What Makes Zenith's New Urban Jungle Chronograph Different?
To reflect its khaki green ceramic case, Zenith's new 44 mm Defy watch was dubbed "Urban Jungle", which cost $14,500. It is intended for urban dwellers who pound the pavement. As part of Zenith's repositioning of the collection around new technology and modern design, several new Defy models have been released in the past three years.
An elite caliber 9004 is at the core of the new collection, a high-speed movement with a 1/100th chronograph function with a separate gear train running at 360,000 vph. There have been many avant-garde features in recent models, including gems, openworked movements, and UV dial plates. A 9004 movement coupled with a high-tech khaki green ceramic case is the latest manifestation of the formula in the new Defy Urban Jungle.
In 2017, Zenith introduced the caliber 9004, a high-frequency movement that epitomizes Zenith's strength. In addition to the openworked dial, the central second hand rotates once every hundredth second, demonstrating the sophistication of the movement. An elapsed time scale on the bezel indicates exactly how long has elapsed to a 1/100th of a second when it stops. An elapsed chronograph second is recorded on the black subdial ring at 6 o'clock, whereas a 30-minute totalizer is displayed on the silver subdial ring at 3 o'clock. A three-armed hand clocks the running seconds for the time at 9 o'clock. A 50 minute power reserve is clocked at 12 o'clock for the chronograph, and 50 hours of running power reserve is clocked at 8 o'clock.
As colored ceramic is more complex to produce than black or white ceramic, the khaki green ceramic case is a technical achievement in itself.
However, the aesthetic result of the Defy is perfect: high-tech with lots of style. In addition to the khaki green main plate, the rotor is visible through the caseback as well. A khaki green cordura strap resting on gray rubber and a titanium folding clasp ensures that the color schematics touch every surface, while the strap is styled like Nato strap fabric. Water-resistance to 100 meters and Super-LumiNova coating make this watch easy to read at night.
