Zenith’s Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone is a nostalgic powerhouse of the early digital age
Buffy AcaciaAlmost every career field from sports to tech has its unbelievable success stories, but street artists have it pretty tough. Not only do they need to navigate potentially breaking the law and being threatened by those who see graffiti as vandalism, but they also have to survive in the cutthroat world of fine art dealers and galleries. Felipe Pantone is one such artist who went from rattling cans at the age of 12 to designing a unique Zenith watch that sold at auction for over half a million dollars in 2021, and his latest limited edition collaboration with the Swiss watchmaker has just been released in the Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone.
The partnership between Zenith and Felipe Pantone even extended to the brand’s Le Locle headquarters in 2020, showcasing their depth of mutual respect. And even though previous collaborative watches like that CHF 480,000 Only Watch edition and the Defy 21 brought their experimental worlds together, the new Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone is possibly the most accessible of the lot. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still pretty crazy, but in a way that could actually be worn on a regular basis to inject your day with whimsy.
The dial
Felipe Pantone’s style is highly dynamic. It captures a very specific tone of retro-futurism associated with ‘90s television and computing, and all of the hyper-colour that comes with it. Looking past the hands and indices which are jagged and distorted like cartoon effects, you’re faced with a hypnotic dial. A concentric pattern of circles radiating from the large tourbillon at 6 o’clock is actually engraved into a sapphire disk, which has been backed with a reflective silver layer.
It diffracts light across its spectrum, creating a rainbow gradient without the need for pigments. If you ever collected holographic trading cards from the likes of Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering or Yu-Gi-Oh!, you’ll be familiar with that magical iridescence. It takes a lot to pull attention away from a tourbillon, especially one with a custom cage design like this one, but the dial achieves that.
It also brings to mind the rainbow shine of an optical disc, which is similarly created by the data leaving physical marks on a reflective surface. Between the holographic dial and the glitching details, it’s as if the Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone is breaking through a 2000s PC.
The case
The case is actually pretty standard for a Zenith Defy Skyline and is one of the reasons why this particular model could be worn daily. Its stainless case is comfortable and ergonomic on the wrist, and with its 100 metres of water-resistance it is a rare example of a tourbillon you could take swimming.
Extra details include the F, P, T and 1 engraved at each lug, providing a subtle point of difference from the other Defy Skyline watches, and presumably standing for Felipe Pantone Tourbillon. At 41mm it’s a crowd-pleasing diameter with enough punch to be noticed, and the 47mm lug-to-lug keeps it wearable.
The movement
Inside, the El Primero 3630 brings the high frequency we love from the chronograph into a time-only and tourbillon context. The 5Hz or 36,000 vibrations per hour beat rate allows the tourbillon to have an exceptionally smooth sweep, which is usually reduced on tourbillon watches. It has a 60-hour power reserve with automatic winding, as you can see from the PVD-coated winding rotor that matches the finishes on the hands, indices and tourbillon. The sapphire display caseback also reveals some lavish finishing, as well as each watch’s limited edition number out of 100.
The bracelet
The Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone is completed by an integrated bracelet that emphasises its surprising ruggedness for such a high-end complication, but that bracelet can also be swapped out for a rubber strap thanks to a quick-release system, which is one of the best in the game.
The black rubber strap almost begs to be taken swimming, in direct opposition to what we think tourbillon watches should be for.
The verdict
Many of you may disagree that the Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone could actually be a daily watch, but that just comes down to your personal level of confidence. Everything about the watch from a physical and specification standpoint is capable of it, and the nostalgic power of Felipe Pantone deserves to be showcased as often as possible. Limited editions such as these are so often relegated to safe queen status, but it’s up to the customers to change that.
Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone pricing and availability
The Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone is limited to 100 pieces. Price: US$62,300
| Brand | Zenith |
| Model | Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone |
| Case Dimensions | 41mm (D) x 47mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | Stainless steel |
| Water Resistance | 100m |
| Crystal | Sapphire crystal front and back |
| Dial | Iridescent, engraved sapphire disk |
| Strap | Integrated stainless steel bracelet or black rubber strap |
| Movement | El Primero 3630, in-house, automatic, 5Hz |
| Power Reserve | 60 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, tourbillon |
| Availability | Limited to 100 pieces |
| Price | US$62,300 |