A Legendary Watch Gets the Ultimate Mid-Century Makeover from a ‘60s Design Icon

Two of my greatest loves are watches and mid-century modern design. So when I first heard a few weeks ago that one of my favorite watch brands was collaborating with an iconic MCM furniture designer, well, to say I was excited would be a massive understatement.

Unveiled today at Geneva Watch Days, the collaboration between Zenith Watches and USM Modular Furniture is finally here, and I’m happy to report it is everything I could have dreamed of and more.

In fact, I dare say this new collab represents the ultimate 1960s watch — even if it arrived more than a half-century too late.

Groovy, baby

Zenith

The Zenith Defy Chronograph USM is far from your average collab. Zenith didn’t just take USM colors and splash them on some dials (though they did that too, to great effect). There’s actually quite a bit more going on.

For starters, this is a brand-new watch. Never before has Zenith combined its legendary El Primero movement — the world’s first integrated, high-beat, automatic chronograph calibre — with the original Defy case. Though both the original Defy and the El Primero debuted in 1969, the two icons have never crossed paths until now.

Zenith finally decided to cram an El Primero into the radical-looking octagonal 37mm case of what is today known as the Defy Revival as part of a mid-century-inspired thought exercise. During this experiment in “imagined heritage,” the brand decided to go even further, wondering what it’d be like if this hypothetical ultimate Zenith ’60s chronograph had also received input from another mid-century Swiss design icon: USM Modular Furniture.

Zenith

The glorious result of this process is an exceedingly attractive chronograph dripping with 1960s style. The instantly recognizable and compact stainless steel Defy Revival case, with its myriad angles and 14-sided bezel, is now equipped with an El Primero movement, complete with retro pump-style chronograph pushers. The watch also maintains the iconic Gay Frères-designed Ladder Bracelet.

The Defy Chronograph USM is available in four brightly colored dial options, all of which are derived from USM’s signature Haller modular storage system from 1965, and all are visually striking. There’s USM Green, USM Pure Orange, USM Golden Yellow and USM Gentian Blue.

Zenith

All dial options feature applied grooved-square hour markers and a trio of overlapping subdials in the classic El Primero style. However, Zenith opted not to overcomplicate the design with its signature tri-color scheme, and instead has kept the chronograph registers silver on all references, with their hands color-matched to the USM dials.

The movement inside the watch is the El Primero Cal. 400, the most classic version of the iconic 1969 movement and one that’s better suited to this watch than the newer, flashier Cal. 3600. The tip of the central chronograph seconds hand features a miniature USM Haller ball joint at its tip, a nod to the multi-colored furniture’s signature feature and the key to its modularity.

Boxed in

As cool as this watch is — and it is very, very cool — my favorite part about this release might actually be the box, which is something I don’t think I’ve ever said about any watch. That’s because the included box isn’t just a box, but a literal piece of USM Haller furniture.

Zenith

It’s a lockable, modular chest with panels in the same four colors available on the watches, and it contains three watch boxes, also in the same bright colors. In total, the three-tiered chest holds up to 12 watches, making it quite useful outside of this single watch. With its capacity, the chest is capable of housing entire watch collections, while also being a legitimate piece of designer furniture that anyone would be happy to display. I really, really want one.

Unfortunately, the box is not sold separately, and the watches themselves aren’t the easiest to get a hold of. Each of the four colorways is limited to just 60 examples and is priced at $11,800, which again, includes the 12-piece USM Haller watch chest.

Zenith

Zenith Defy Chronograph USM

Specs

Case Size	37mm
Movement	Zenith Cal. El Primero 400 automatic chronograph
Water Resistance	100m

• $11,800 at Zenith

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