Another week, another watch, and today we're taking a closer look at one of Zenith's more multifaceted references; a piece that reflects the Swiss luxury watchmaker's enduring position as a horological heavyweight, whose contemporary movements – accurate, high-frequency, powerful – continue to set the standard for automatic high-frequency chronographs and inspire manufactures across the globe to push further.
But I fear I'm getting too specific too soon. The movement's incredible, yes. But when you're talking about a 45mm bright purple openworked chrono, there's a lot to unpack before taking a peek behind the curtain. I'm talking, of course, about Zenith's 2026 DEFY Extreme Ultraviolet, BH's Watch of the Week.
Let’s start with the colour, because no doubt that’s where Zenith certainly wants us to. Ultraviolet first showed up on the Defy 21 back in 2020, a 44mm titanium piece that introduced a movement that had violet-toned accents that the wearer could enjoy through a grey dial.
For 2026, Zenith has taken this one step further, pouring the same design language into the more pragmatic framing of the Defy Extreme, its more oversized chrono first released in 2021 to give the high-frequency Defy 21 movement a more imposing body.
Sold alongside a Lapis Lazuli II sibling in forged carbon (25 pieces, CHF 32,900, stone and gold), the Defy Extreme’s case is 45mm across, 15.4mm thick, 51mm lug-to-lug, made entirely from matte microblasted titanium.
On paper, you’d be forgiven for thinking this is a behemoth of a watch that swallows the wrist – I certainly wondered that when I headed into see the references in the metal this month.
So you can only imagine my surprise when I found the Ultraviolet is the more accessible, more wearable (and at AU$31,300, frankly, the more affordable) of the two.
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Across the dial, Zenith has gone to the meticulous effort of using a violet-tinted sapphire, instead of just applying violet paint. So you're looking straight through coloured glass into an openworked movement, with matching violet sub-counters suspended in that same layered haze.
It's a genuinely different way of colouring a watch, and gives a more expensive feel in the metal than the spec sheet suggests.
Strap-wise, Zenith's interchangeable system means the violet rubber it ships on, the titanium bracelet, and a black Velcro strap all swap in seconds without the need for any tricky tools. It’s becoming more and more common across the industry these days, and certainly more pertinent when you’re rocking a piece as impressive as this one, knowing you can dial the reference back a touch when the time calls for it. Not that you would, of course.
As you may or may not have already deduced, I’m a sucker for a pretty face – brands that have the conviction to flood their watches with colour will always go up in my estimations. It shows a confidence that I find has been lacking in recent years – and the Defy Extreme has it in spades.
But, of course, that’s not the only reason that the collectors of the world take a second look at Zenith, the Swiss luxury watchmakers that blessed the industry with its El Primero movement all those years ago, quietly powering one of the most famous chronographs in the world.
From 1988 to 2000, Rolex Daytonas ran a heavily modified El Primero base under the Calibre 4030 badge, with no acknowledgment on the dial or caseback. Zenith kept building on the architecture regardless, and the DEFY Extreme Ultraviolet is just the latest in that revered lineage.
Take a look; that’s the El Primero 9004 underneath. It’s the only regular-production mechanical chronograph on the market running two independent escapements (one ticking at a standard 5Hz for regular timekeeping, the other spinning at an absurd 50Hz purely to drive the chronograph).
In the most simple terms, the second escapement lets the central chronograph hand complete a full rotation every single second, reading elapsed time to 1/100th of a second on a mechanical watch, no quartz assist required.
For me, I don't know what's more impressive: the sheer dominance of this contemporary movement or having the audacity from Zenith to house it all in a David Beckham's wedding suit. Either way, it’s confidently taking the top gong with the BH boys this week.