It’s easy, even for inveterate watch aficionados like you and me, to put Zenith in a bit of a box. The brand has been so effective with its communications and storytelling around its historic creations — most famously the El Primero — that it can be easy to overlook the fact that Zenith also creates some exceptional timepieces that are as contemporary as they come. Case in point, the Zenith Defy Zero G Sapphire, the latest addition to one of the most dynamic watch designs of the last decade.

Zenith’s miniature Gravity Control System

At the heart of this watch is a remarkable innovation Zenith calls the Gravity Control System — to the casual observer, it looks very much like a tourbillon — and while there are some similarities, it’s very much its own thing. The Gravity Control system takes the watch’s regulating organ and mounts it on a miniature gimbal — a technique which draws inspiration from historical marine chronometers, where the entire timepiece was mounted in this way, to counteract the impact of the ship’s constant motion on the accuracy of the watch. In 2008, Zenith debuted this system, and over the years it was compacted and refined until the current version, which debuted in 2018, and is around two-thirds smaller in volume.

Zenith Defy Zero G Sapphire

This feat of miniaturization is remarkable; a conical bezel gear system ensures consistent delivery of torque from the mainspring to the regulating system, regardless of the module’s orientation. The module itself is arguably even more impressive than a traditional tourbillon, with some 139 components, including nine ceramic ball bearings, squeezed into an area with a volume of 1.3 cm³.

Of course, a watch is more than its regulator — no matter how remarkable that is — and the latest Defy Zero G Sapphire is no exception. As you might expect from the name, the case (all 46mm of it) is made from sapphire, with either blue or fully transparent options available, with each limited to 10 pieces. Both versions fit within the blue design language that has been running through the brand’s 160th anniversary releases in 2025.

The lapis lazuli dial, flecked with pyrite, evokes a starry night sky

The dial is doing a very good job competing with the drama of the ever-rotating mechanism, thanks to the lapis lazuli dial, flecked with pyrite, evoking a starry sky. There’s plenty of the movement on show too — a skeletonised El Primero 8812S calibre, manually wound with 50 hours of power reserve. The Defy’s signature star-motif is still present, forming the structural bridges of the calibre, and dramatically framing the Zero Gravity module. Of all the details on this module, I really like the fact that the counterweight, which occupies the rear, has been sculpted in the form of a celestial body — a charmingly on-brand touch.

We can’t not mention the sapphire case, which is the final piece of this puzzle. The case is milled from three blocks of sapphire, again offered in clear or blue, a choice which provides a perfect contemporary complement to the calibre itself, and a design counterpoint to the classicism of the Lapis Lazuli dial.

Zenith Defy Zero G Sapphire in Transparent Sapphire

Zenith Defy Zero G Sapphire in Blue Sapphire

Tech Specs: Zenith Defy Zero G Sapphire

Reference: 04.9003.8812/51.R584 (blue sapphire), 04.9000.8812/51.R584 (transparent sapphire)
Movement: Manual-winding El Primero 8812; 50-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours and minutes; small seconds; self-regulating Gravity Control module; power-reserve indicator
Case: 46mm; blue or transparent sapphire; water-resistant to 30m
Dial: Openworked with Lapis Lazuli dial
Strap: Blue Alligator leather lining on rubber with titanium folding clasp
Price: CHF 200,000
Availability: Each version is limited to 10 pieces