« A Quantum Leap in Mechanical Watchmaking? »
Is it worth the time and effort to introduce our readers to a watch of which only 10 examples exist in total, and which has already sold out completely? In most cases, you could rightly skip it. Here, however, we are dealing with nothing less than a revolution in the construction of mechanical watches, one that is likely to find its way into numerous other models in the years to come. Once again, the "industry revolutionary" is the manufacture Zenith, which already made watchmaking history in 1969 with the first automatic chronograph movement, the El Primero.
A Fundamental Innovation Breaks With Centuries of Watchmaking Tradition
Exactly when the first mechanical clocks with a gear train were built is not precisely documented. What is certain is that such a timepiece was first mentioned in written records more than 680 years ago. Over the following centuries, there were repeated refinements and technical changes that improved accuracy and opened up new uses, such as carrying a watch in a waistcoat pocket or aboard ships. Yet in the nearly three and a half centuries since Christiaan Huygens developed timepieces with a balance wheel and balance spring in 1675, little has changed in the essential components and operating principles.
That made it all the more of a bombshell for the entire watch industry when Zenith unveiled the Defy Lab on September 14, 2017. Since then, it has been clear that the traditional regulating assembly of pallet fork, escape wheel, balance, and balance spring – which together require at least thirty different parts – is no longer strictly necessary. Zenith's new watch does without a conventional escapement with a hairspring and round balance altogether. Instead, it is fitted with an entirely new regulating organ that experts are already hailing as a revolution in mechanical watch technology.
The Result of Years of Research and Development
Zenith's latest innovation, the Zenith Oscillator, is the product of five years of intensive work by an interdisciplinary team of scientists and engineers. This small marvel is just half a millimeter thick and is made from monocrystalline silicon. Thanks to an oxide layer, it is stable against temperature fluctuations and does not expand or contract in response to them. This is essential for achieving the high accuracy that distinguishes the new caliber ZO 342 it powers.
The movement used for the first time in the Zenith Defy Lab is said to be accurate by a factor of 10 compared with conventional movements.
What this means in practice becomes especially striking when compared with the values required for certified chronometers. To earn the coveted certificate from the official Swiss chronometer testing institute, the maximum rate deviation of the movement, tested in several positions, may not exceed minus four or plus six seconds per 24 hours in any position. Rolex allows its "Superlative Chronometers" a maximum deviation of just plus or minus two seconds per day. The average daily deviation of the Zenith Defy Lab, by contrast, is said to be a mere 0.3 seconds. No other mechanical watch has ever achieved such precision.
High Frequency Enables Extreme Accuracy
The Defy Lab owes its almost unbelievable accuracy to a frequency of 15 hertz, or 108,000 vibrations per hour – an enormous figure for a mechanical watch. Its amplitude is only plus/minus six degrees, compared with around 300 degrees for a classic balance. Even Zenith's famous El Primero chronograph, at five hertz or 36,000 vibrations per hour, was a true "high-beat" movement.
What is remarkable, though, is not only the Defy Lab's enormous accuracy but, at least as much, the fact that its power reserve reaches up to 60 hours and, according to the manufacturer, its high accuracy is maintained for more than 95 percent of that time – roughly 57 hours.
Silicon and Aeronith Deliver Robustness and Lightness
Making the oscillator from silicon proves advantageous in several respects. Besides the insensitivity to temperature changes already mentioned, the material is also unaffected by magnetic fields or weightlessness. In addition, it requires no lubrication. This in turn simplifies servicing, since there can be no age-related residues of greases or oils that might impair the movement's function and would therefore have to be removed. Modern silicon technology can also produce complex two-dimensional shapes that could not be made from steel parts. It goes without saying that a movement as spectacular as the Defy Lab's should not be fitted into just any watch case, but housed in a worthy shell.
For that case, the creators of the Zenith Defy Lab chose Aeronith, a material developed in-house. The world's lightest aluminum composite is 1.7 times lighter than aluminum and as much as 2.7 times lighter than titanium. It also weighs around ten percent less than carbon-fiber composite. Its structure is best described as a solid metal sponge whose pores have been stiffened with a composite material.
Guy Sémon: The Mind Behind the Zenith Defy Lab
At the press conference marking the launch of the new Defy Lab in Le Locle, Guy Sémon sat on the podium alongside Jean-Claude Biver, head of LVMH's watch division, and Zenith CEO Julien Tornare. He is regarded as the mind behind the Zenith Defy Lab. The physicist, who holds a doctorate, serves as CEO of the R&D Institute of the LVMH Watch Division, which handles research and development for the group's watch brands – including TAG Heuer and Hublot. With this revolutionary new movement, he has pulled off a spectacular coup that has already secured a place in the history books of the watch industry.
Back during his time at TAG Heuer, Guy Sémon had designed extremely high-frequency chronograph movements capable of measuring intervals as short as one two-thousandth of a second.
Series Production of the Zenith Defy Lab Planned – Next Pieces Likely to Reach the Market in 2018
The first 10 Defy Lab pieces, each in a different color, sold out within moments on the day of the launch. They were priced at 29,900 Swiss francs, equivalent to around €26,000. They were even triple-certified, including by the observatory in Besançon. With a case diameter of 44 millimeters, they were in the size range typical of sporty men's chronographs. Anyone who missed the chance to buy a piece from the initial run will only have to wait a few months, however. The industry expects series production of the Defy Lab to be up and running by Baselworld 2018 at the latest. Then the next buyers will have the opportunity to acquire a watch whose developers have not only revolutionized the core principles of mechanical watch construction, but have also pushed into entirely new dimensions in terms of material properties and performance.
Nearly half a century after unveiling the El Primero, Zenith is once again setting the pace for the industry – and making the hearts of mechanical watch enthusiasts beat faster.
