First Impressions Of The Zenith Defy Extreme Diver, From A Diver

Zenith has a rich history of innovative heritage designs, preserved in the form of Revival watches, which sit alongside their distinctly modern counterparts in the brand's current catalog. This allows Zenith to preserve its heritage in a meaningful way while still pushing ahead with its design ethos for each collection. The Defy collection is perhaps the most interesting example of this dichotomy, as this was a collection that was created to challenge the boundaries of design. The modern Defy has found new life with a diverse range of references, from classic time-only sport watches to the bold Extreme models that push the angular design language to its, well, most extreme expression. At Watches & Wonders 2024, Zenith revived an important part of the Defy collection, along with a modern counterpart to showcase the range of the design. The watches are the Revival A3648, and Extreme Diver — a pair of 600M divers presented in two very different ways.

There exists a clear throughline between these two releases, connected by a shared design philosophy yet separated by 55 years. The Defy began life with a strong character right off the bat (catch the full story of the Defy right here), and it is just as distinctive today as it was in 1969. This is highlighted by the fact the Revival A3648 doesn’t feel the slightest bit out of place in today’s landscape of micro-brands and vintage-inspired new releases. It’s a refreshing design, and I particularly enjoy how Zenith goes about honoring these designs while still finding innovative ways to push them forward with modern examples. The Extreme Diver uses the established modern Defy platform to create a dive watch imbued with the same character as the original, without ever feeling dated in the process.

Where the original A3648 presents a highly dynamic case design within a 37mm footprint, the Revival follows suit, capturing not just the look, but the feel in the process. This is where the 42.5mm Extreme Diver dials things up to 11. The larger platform showcases the modern interpretation of the faceted design, and it’s gotten a bit more muscular in the process, which will certainly broaden the appeal of the design to a new cohort of enthusiasts. That said, this is a surprisingly wearable watch thanks to a few variables that Zenith was wise to consider with this latest Defy Extreme. Both of the new Defy watches are what you might call polarizing, and they come with their own faults, but if there’s one thing you could never accuse them of, it’s being boring.

It’s been many years since Zenith has featured a proper dive watch in its catalog, so these two watches releasing alongside one another at Watches & Wonders was an immediate story. This is a brand known for its pilot watches and chronographs, but there are a few great divers that have appeared in the mix, from the original A3648 to the Sub Sea A3637, to the more traditional-looking A3630. This leaves Zenith plenty of breathing room to create a new modern footing for a collection of dive watches, and the company has done so within the context of the A3648.

The Defy Extreme Diver has a clear link to the broader Defy design language first established in 1969. The case is large, but the facets and angles are unmistakable. It’s also important to note that this watch has no traditional lug of any kind, as the strap and bracelet are affixed directly to the case via a quick-release system that uses a set of pronged hooks (more on that later). So while the diameter is 42.5mm, the “lug to lug” distance is quite manageable at just north of 47mm. While that does wonders for overall wearability, this is not a small watch and you should have no illusions about it being such. But it doesn’t really wear like a big watch.

The Extreme Diver uses a case made of titanium, which was a very smart move on the part of Zenith. The lightweight material makes the larger case far more manageable on the wrist, and when paired with the right strap, can make for a downright jarring experience of looking down at your wrist to see a much larger watch than what you’re feeling. It wears flat, if a little tall, at 15.5mm in thickness, but the middle section of the case presents as quite thin. That thickness measurement takes into account a large exhibition caseback, as well as a tall 12-sided bezel component that’s purely decorative in nature. It feels like this could have been a far thinner watch, but it is at least very proportional in its measurements. 

This is a case with some personality, and the design more than backs it up with a pretty big punch of its own. There are plenty of angles, both polished and brushed, with big shapes and colors filling out the dial and bezel area. It’s an eyeful at a glance, and it’s honestly pretty fun as a result. The focal point is a bright orange chapter ring at the edge of the dial that’s defined by 12 flat sides, echoing the bezel piece on the exterior of the case framing the dial. This shape is a key design element of the Defy, and here, it pushes the rotating bezel to the outer extremity of the case. This makes for a slightly thin bezel, and legibility isn’t great, but it is there, and it’s easy to use. The bezel action isn’t quite as clean/crisp as I’d like on a watch in this price range, but it’s one of a few small gripes with the watch overall.

The dial itself is a rich black, with four-pointed stars (a nod to the old-school Zenith logo) creating a wide square pattern. The dial can also be had in blue. These recesses catch light and shadow in interesting ways, meaning you’ll be treated to a slightly different view depending on the surrounding conditions. This base plays host to applied hour indexes composed of polished and beveled edges and filled with a heap of lume. I wouldn’t call them oversized, but the 6, 9, and 12 o’clock markers are double-wide. What I would call oversized are the hour and minute hands. Their hollow bases support massive lume applications at the business end, each with a bulbous shape that can make precision setting a bit of a headache, but which also create a high amount of contrast against the black base. 

There is a date aperture at three o’clock, and while Zenith doesn’t really do the whole no-date thing, I think it would have been a fitting choice for this watch. This is, as the name suggests, a relatively extreme watch and likely not a great daily candidate as a result. This falls into that fourth or fifth watch territory (at least), and at this stage, the practical benefits of something like a date window don’t carry quite as much weight as normally would otherwise. I’d have liked to see Zenith fully commit to the hardcore diver elements of the watch, and place all emphasis on legibility and case structure. Additionally, the typeface used on the date disc doesn’t quite jibe with the typeface used elsewhere on the watch, so it represents a disconnect in the design as a whole.

One area that Zenith really nailed with this watch is the quick-release strap system. The Extreme Diver ships with three separate strap options, and they can be swapped out on the fly, with remarkable efficiency. The system uses a small button on the underside of the case, which releases the strap in a single motion. A new strap, which uses a set of hooked prongs, can slide right in just as easily. The showcase strap option is the titanium bracelet, but the more comfortable option is the rubber textile strap. This is an incredibly soft and flexible strap that perfectly balances the case on the wrist, without creating any tension in the process. This is an all-day comfortable strap option. 

One of the drawbacks of this system (and others like it) is that it doesn’t use a traditional spring bar, which would allow for the use of third-party straps. It effectively limits the straps you can use to that within Zenith’s own ecosystem. However, this watch comes with a set of end links that allow for a passthrough strap to be used. In fact, it comes with a 20mm passthrough strap in the kit. This means you can put that NATO strap collection to use here just as well as the official Zenith options. This is a great solution – and one that every such system should embrace if you ask me.

The Zenith Defy Extreme Diver is priced at $11,300, which somehow feels about par for the course these days. At that price, there are some small fit and finish issues here that I’d like to see tightened up, but overall, and on paper, this is plenty of watch for the money. It’s a fully titanium case, with Zenith’s iconic El Primero movement inside, that manages a more than robust 600M depth rating. On top of that, it comes with three straps, including a fully titanium bracelet. That said, in hand and on-wrist, the small details fall slightly short, things like the date disk, the winding and setting action, and the aforementioned bezel action. Adjusting the date at the first crown position in particular does not leave a great impression. 

Overall, I love what Zenith has done here on a conceptual level. This is a stunning design that doesn’t hold anything back, and it lives up to the innovative Defy ethos. It’s a great looking watch, and has no shortage of truly compelling details to get lost in. Execution doesn’t feel quite on point for the price premium here, but hopefully, these are easy fixes for Zenith to make, looking ahead to what this collection may hold. I’d love to see Zenith continue to flesh out its dive-watch chops. Most of all, I want to see Zenith continue to take chances with watches like this.