Following the Defy 21 Carl Cox edition released in 2020, Zenith has once again partnered with the cheerful Friend of the Brand for a sequel.
British DJ and producer Carl Cox is a living legend in the world of electronic music. A pioneer in his field, he is credited with bringing his craft to new heights with his unique sound continuously moving global audiences.
"For our second watch, we really wanted to dive deeper into his rhythmic world and go back to his early days of DJing with analogue instruments. The result is Zenith's most advanced chronograph reimagined by Carl Cox in a retro-futuristic and even minimalist way," said Zenith CEO Julien Tornare.
Available in 100 pieces, the Defy Extreme Carl Cox was recently launched at Raffles Chelsea, where the DJ played an exclusive set for his final London show of 2023.
The Swiss watchmaker drew inspiration from one of his most indispensable tools -- the turntable.
Matte yellow gold accents on the dodecagonal bezel and pusher guards are inspired by the turntable stylus' golden tonearm. The minute track is decorated with a pattern of perfectly aligned dots that recall the stroboscope effect found on the sides of his favourite turntables.
On top of the smoked sapphire crystal base, three black chronograph counters take on the form of miniature vinyl records, with concentric grooves that capture and reflect light as if they were spinning.
The power reserve indicator on the smoked sapphire element at 12 o'clock is fashioned like an ON/OFF switch.
Defy Extreme Carl Cox in steel and yellow gold.
Partially visible through the open dial as well as the sapphire caseback is the El Primero 9004 -- the world's fastest and only serially produced chronograph movement with a high frequency of 50Hz.
Since the creation of the El Primero in 1969, the world's first automatic chronograph calibre, Zenith has gone on to master high-frequency precision and offers time measurements in fractions of a second, including 1/10th of a second in the Chronomaster collection and 1/100th of a second in the Defy collection
The El Primero 9004 features a star-shaped oscillating weight as well as a main plate specially decorated in black for this limited edition.
For the first time ever, the Defy Extreme's case is crafted in matte-finished stainless steel and yellow gold, taking on a much brighter and sparkling look than polished or brushed steel while resulting in a minimalistic and nostalgically retro-futuristic look.
The 45mm case is paired with an integrated matte-finished steel bracelet, which can easily swapped with a black rubber or a black Velcro strap, thanks to the case's built-in quick strap-change mechanism.
The second collaboration also celebrates music as Cox created the soundtrack This Is Our Time for Zenith, and curated a special playlist titled Carl Cox x Zenith, available on Spotify and on the brand's website.
"I started with some of the songs that we bonded over initially which include some of those gems I dusted off for my online Cabin Fever sessions," said Cox. "I then sprinkled in the tracks I'm enjoying playing today -- tracks that are bringing people together across dancefloors.
"Within these tracks I've included some of the lesser-known versions of my own compositions that I created for Electronic Generations and to make sure I pushed this one over the edge I've added some of my special remixes."
Minute track with dots recalling the stroboscope effect found on the sides of turntables.
Chronograph counters take on the form of miniature vinyl records.
Defy Extreme Carl Cox is limited to 100 pieces.
