The evening was focused on innovation and performance. Attendees were presented with a unique experience to gain a deeper understanding of the craftsmanship behind a Zenith watch, as watchmaker benches were brought in for guests to assemble and dismantle a Zenith movement. The event highlight was undoubtedly the dramatic release of a state – of – the – art DJI Phantom 4 Pro drone from above the crowd of partygoers, delivering a one – of – a – kind version of the all new Defy El Primero 21 Swizz Beatz Edition Unique that drew all eyes.
On this unique timepiece, the vibrant orange of the strap is echoed by the use of orange accents on the gleaming white dial, nestled in a 44 mm white gold case fully set with a spectacular 288 round diamonds, and complemented by 44 baguette – cut counterparts on the bezel. Both strap and bezel are inscribed with an inspirational quote from the music visionary: “Never let people tell you what you can’t do, because sky’s not the limit, it’s just the view”.
A subtly modified version of this statement piece – the Defy El Primero 21 Swizz Beatz Edition – has been issued in a five pieces limited edition, of which the No.1 sat proudly on the wrist of Swizz Beatz himself.
The three small lines on the minute sub-dial, pointing to 3, 6 and 9, have undoubtedly piqued your interest. This was a feature found not only on the A273 but on a variety of vintage Zeniths, and while it might look flamboyant, it had an extremely utilitarian nature. I’m told (I wasn’t alive at the time to offer my own testimony) that these marked the intervals at which long-distance phone calls increased in price. Thus, the chronograph complication could help its owner in the rather mundane task of reducing his phone costs.The blued hands and champagne dial complement one another, each making the other more vibrant and visible. Typically, we would use a single color for a complication, like all chronograph hands being blue and all others being silver, but in keeping with the A273, we opted for the three sub-dial hands and the seconds hand to be blued while the hour and minute hands are silver. It’s not the most logical layout, but it has a very pleasing chromatic symmetry to it. Breaking with tradition, however, is the shape of the hands. The original A273 used sportier stick hands for hours and minutes, but we felt that the leaf-shaped hands better suited the dressy character that we were aiming for with the Timeless Chronomaster Heritage Chronometer. Conversely, we added a short counterbalance to the sub-dial hands because, being blue, they matched the similarly-shaped blued seconds hand, contributing a degree of consistency.
The artist and the 5 pieces limited edition chronograph Defy El Primero 21 Swizz Beatz © Zenith
Throughout the evening, guests were invited to participate in a raffle for the Zenith Defy El Primero 21 Swizz Beatz Unique Edition, with proceeds donated to support the Gathering for Justice , an organization founded in 2005 by Harry Belafonte , that aims to build a movement to end child incarceration while working to eliminate the racial inequities in the criminal justice system. To round off the evening, Julien Tornare and Swizz Beatz presented the proud winner with this creation exemplifying the new generation of Zenith chronographs.