ReviewOde To A Classic: Presenting The Zenith Defy Revival A3642

One cannot simply talk about Zenith and not mention the iconic El Primero movement that made history in 1969. Back then it was the world’s first Swiss-made, fully-integrated automatic chronograph, beating at a frequency of 36,000vph—a record in the history of haute horlogerie. Its ingenious column-wheel mechanism and an automatic winding system with a 50-hour power reserve made it perfect for timing sports or outdoor activities with impeccable accuracy and precision. While the legendary movement will always be one of the most important milestones for the brand, the same year also witnessed the launch of Zenith’s Defy collection, with the first model A3642 that stood out for its robust sports watch persona. And during the third edition of the LVMH Watch Week held in January this year, Zenith unveiled the Defy Revival A3642—a 37mm stainless steel, limited-edition of 250 pieces that pays homage to the original 1969 model.

Back To Basics: Zenith Revives The Defy Model For The 21st Century

It all started in 2019, when Zenith launched the A384 Revival to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the El Primero movement, and ever since, the series has garnered immense popularity among watch enthusiast since vintage re-editions of Zenith’s El Primero models have always commanded a high respect among horophiles. The USP of the Revival series, is that Zenith have preserved and reproduced just about everything from the original watch by adopting a ‘reverse engineering’ approach, where every component is faithful to the original. For the Defy Revival A3642, each part of the original 1969 model was digitised so as to be accurately reproduced—the only differences or rather upgrades, are the sapphire crystal instead of an acrylic glass, the exhibition caseback instead of the solid steel caseback, which gives a peek into the inner workings of the automatic Elite 670 calibre. The Revival line not only aims at generating awareness around Zenith’s technical supremacy, but it also seeks to highlight the brand’s expertise in the design department and its evolution over the years. And rightly so because this was the first octagonal case shape for a luxury sports watch back in 1969—a novel concept—and Zenith are doing well to now offer this to the modern watch aficionados of the 21st century.

For the Revival series, Zenith have preserved and reproduced almost everything from the original watch by adopting a ‘reverse engineering’ approach, where every component is faithful to the original

For the Defy Revival A3642, the only differences or rather upgrades, are the sapphire crystal instead of an acrylic glass, the exhibition caseback instead of the solid steel caseback

The design was avant-garde when it was first introduced and continues to remain so. There are only minor tweaks when compared with the original model. The new edition is equipped with Zenith’s elegant Elite 670 calibre, which allows the brand to keep the Defy Revival A3642 remarkably thin, despite being a steel sports watch, built for tough terrains. The original model had a solid steel caseback with Zenith’s signature, four-pointed ‘star’ logo, created by using a double ‘Z’, intersecting in the middle.

The Revival line not only aims at generating awareness around Zenith’s technical supremacy, but also seeks to highlight the brand’s expertise in design and its evolution over the years

The original Defy timepiece was the first octagonal case shape for a luxury sports watch back in 1969

The design was avant-garde when it was first introduced and continues to remain so, even after several years

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The Defy Revival A3642 At A Glance

Today, Zenith have given this monumental timepiece from 1969 the perfect facelift, without changing much or taking away from the essence of the basic timekeeping functions. While 1969 will forever be marked as a milestone year for Zenith and watchmaking at large with the unveiling of the El Primero calibre; the Defy collection was also another important milestone for the brand since they launched a mechanical timepiece when quartz watches had become the rage, and the business of mechanical watchmaking had witnessed a severe setback. However, Zenith defied the norms and proved that mechanical movements were here to stay by creating a timepiece with a singularly edgy design and robustness that mass-produced electronic watches of the time simply could not rival.

Reproduced in stunningly accurate detail using the original production plans from 1969, the Defy Revival A3642 brings back all the details and singular design elements that made the original so outstanding in its era, and how it established the codes that continue to inspire modern Defy references

The original A3642 was fittingly nicknamed the coffre-fort in French, which translates to ‘bank vault’ or ‘safe-deposit box’. Its bold, octagonal case paired with a fourteen-sided bezel is all about exhibiting audacity and ruggedness through sharply defined lines and facets with different finishes—something that has been incorporated into the modern Zenith Defy collection as well. With its steel ‘ladder’ bracelet designed and manufactured by the famed Gay Frères company, the original Defy was certainly ahead of the curve when it came to steel sport watches with highly geometric designs. With a water-resistance of 300m, ensured by a screw-down crown, the Defy A3642 and its modern Revival reincarnation are assuredly all-terrain and all-occasion watches.

The original A3642 was fittingly nicknamed the coffre-fort in French, which translates to ‘bank vault’ or ‘safe-deposit box’ back in 1969

It featured a steel ‘ladder’ bracelet, offered a water-resistance of 300m ensured by a screw-down crown

Reproduced in stunningly accurate detail using the original production plans from 1969, the Defy Revival A3642 brings back all the details and singular design elements that made the original so outstanding in its era, and how it established the codes that continues to inspire modern Defy references. Its warm grey dial with a striking gradient effect that darkens towards the edges was among the first of its kind during its introduction in 1969. The unusual applied square hour markers feature horizontal grooves that convey a sense of perpetual motion, with the date window neatly tucked between four and five o’clock positions. The wide sword-shaped hands are generously filled with Super-LumiNova in a similar tone to tritium found in the original, paired with a paddle-shaped seconds hand that is a prominent feature in numerous Zenith watches of the same era. In fact, the only cosmetic differences between the Revival and its progenitor are the sapphire crystal, the display caseback and the type of luminescent pigments. The other main difference is the automatic Elite calibre 670 manufacture movement that drives this watch. Operating at a frequency of 28,800vph and delivering a power reserve of 50 hours when fully wound, this movement also features a new star-shaped oscillating weight with satin finishing, visible through the sapphire display caseback.

It features a warm grey dial with a striking gradient effect along with square hour markers with horizontal grooves, and a date window tucked between four and five o’clock positions

It is driven by the Elite calibre 670 manufacture movement, operating at a frequency of 28,800vph and delivering a power reserve of 50 hours when fully wound

With the Defy Revival A3642, Zenith is not only bringing back one of its most daring and outstanding references from the 1960s, but also highlighting the unique genesis of the manufacture’s boldest and most innovative collection by returning to the source and adapting the watch for a more contemporary world.