How a ‘Vintage’ Watch That Never Existed Became the Coolest Chronograph of 2025

It’s never too late to create a great vintage watch.

Stainless steel Zenith chronograph watch with bright orange dial and silver subdials on a metal bracelet.

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Published January 1, 2026

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Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: a century-plus-old watch brand reissues a mid-century watch from its archives. Yawn.

But how about this: a century-plus-old watch brand has created a watch that could have existed in the mid-twentieth century, but never did, and partnered with an iconic mid-century modern designer to bring to life a collab that never was.

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Silver wristwatch with a green dial and three white subdials, featuring a stainless steel bracelet, placed on the corner of a green and chrome metallic surface. The watch has two pushers and a crown on the right side of the case. — A chronograph straight out of the 1960s, except, not really.

Now that is interesting, and it’s exactly what Zenith did when it teamed with famed mid-century furniture maker USM to create one of the coolest 1960s watches ever — even if it arrived about 60 years too late.

Based on Zenith’s original Defy sports watch from 1969, the Defy Chronograph USM features all the hallmarks typical of a 1960s Defy, including a ladder bracelet, a 37mm octagonal case and a 14-sided bezel, all in stainless steel.

Silver metal wristwatch with a yellow dial and three white subdials, worn on a wrist with a white dress shirt cuff. The watch has a polished, angular case and a linked metal bracelet. The dial features hour markers and chronograph functions. — This marks the first time the original Defy case has contained an El Primero chronograph movement.

1969 was a big year for Zenith. In addition to launching the Defy that year, the brand also debuted its groundbreaking El Primero chronograph movement. But surprisingly, the two ’69 babies never crossed paths, as the original Defy case was never equipped with an El Primero movement.

Zenith has rectified that omission here, combining its two icons for the first time into a very-1960s chronograph made in 2025. But the brand didn’t stop there.

A colorful storage box with a metallic frame and panels in blue, yellow, green, and orange. The box has a pull-out drawer at the bottom containing a silver wristwatch with a yellow dial, displayed on a white cushion. The top of the box is blue, and the interior sides are green and orange. The box is labeled "ZENITH" on the top front edge. — USM even produced a Haller watch storage box for the collab.

Zenith stretched its idea of “imagined heritage” by teaming with a period-correct partner, USM, to douse the Defy Chronograph in four of USM’s custom bright colors from its signature Haller modular storage units of the ’60s. What’s more, USM produced a custom miniature Haller watch storage box for the chronograph.

Vintage reissue watches can be fun, but they’ve been done to death. Zenith proves there’s more fun to be had when a brand examines its back-catalog by thinking outside the box … or inside the modular storage unit.