The worlds of contemporary art and haute horlogerie are colliding again in a burst of chromatics and optical intricacies. For their third collaborative series together between Switzerland’s first integrated watch manufacture and the globally acclaimed contemporary artist, ZENITH and Felipe Pantone are once again raising the bar and distilling all the distinctive and groundbreaking elements incorporated in their shared projects into an all-new form. Unveiling the DEFY Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone, a limited edition of 100 pieces available from September 12, 2024.
Contemporary art and cutting-edge watchmaking coming seamlessly together. After having worked on the historical Manufacture’s façade with a specifically designed tarpaulin in 2020, ZENITH and Valencia-based optical artist Felipe Pantone have gone on to unveil numerous watch projects: a limited-edition series of the DEFY 21 that was instantly sold out in 2021, a unique rendition of the DEFY 21 Double Tourbillon in a sapphire case that set an all-time record for ZENITH at the OnlyWatch 2021 charity auction, and a highly anticipated sequel series in 2022 with the DEFY Extreme Felipe Pantone. Now, the two are taking their ongoing collaboration where it hasn’t gone before. This time, the artist’s canvas is the DEFY Skyline Tourbillon, marking his first reimagining of a DEFY Skyline model. The result is both highly compact and versatile yet packed with intricate and original details that have come to define the ongoing collaboration between ZENITH and Felipe Pantone.
On the latest chapter of the artist’s creative output with ZENITH, Felipe Pantone shared, “I’m excited to unveil my latest collaboration with Zenith, our most exceptional watch to date. It’s a masterpiece of high horology, combining simplicity and sophistication. This complex yet minimalist timepiece features stunning details, including the tiny gradient indexes and hands, the mirror ‘Planned Iridescence’ dial and a truly unique bolt shaped tourbillon.”
Crafted in a 41mm octagonal stainless-steel case, the DEFY Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone provides a highly geometric and angular silhouette frame to the miniature, kinetic artwork within. With its alternating satin-brushed and polished finishes as well as an easily interchangeable steel bracelet and provided black rubber strap, particular attention was paid to the ergonomics of this unisex creation as well as its visual impact. Its sharp facets and smoothly polished contours, highlight by the dodecagonal bezel, provide the ultimate play of light. In continuity with the previous ZENITH X Felipe Pantone projects, the case is engraved on each corner with a character to denote “FPT1”, or Felipe Pantone Tourbillon #1.
Upon a first glance, the central element of the DEFY Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone immediately catches the eye. Completing one rotation every 60 seconds, the tourbillon mechanism visible through the opening at 6 o’clock keeps the watch always animated. Specifically for this special collaborative edition, the tourbillon bridge takes on the shape of a lightning bolt, a recurring element in Felipe Pantone’s extensive body of work across different media. Finished in a gradient of metallic rainbow tones that was originally pioneered in the duo’s first collaborative output in 2021, the 3D PVD technique on the tourbillon bridge and cage in the form of a four-pointed star further highlights the artist’s distinctive aesthetic.
Different to what previous ZENITH X Felipe Pantone creations have featured, the entire dial is iridescent in the DEFY Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone. Crafted from a sapphire disk, the dial features a micro-engraved pattern of concentric circles, recalling the moiré visual effect ever so present in Pantone’s artwork. The back of the sapphire dial features a mirrored metallic finish that, combined with the micro-engraving, produces a striking display of colours in a manner that’s reminiscent of a CD. To add even more depth to the dial and bring out a touch of retro nostalgia, the sapphire dial disk packs a vignette effect that darkens towards the outer edges. The combination of sapphire crystal with a mirrored back, a micro-engraving pattern and a vignette effect is a highly complex and unprecedented feat – both technically and visually.
The hands and applied hour markers are no less complex and captivating. In Felipe Pantone’s signature style of visual distortion, the hands as well as the hour markers (except the cardinal “crosshair” markers at 3, 9, and 12 o’clock) are distorted down the middle, like some kind of graphical glitch. Matching the tourbillon at 6 o’clock, the hands and markers are finished in a gradient of rainbow tones.
Powered by the El Primero 3630 high-frequency automatic manufacture movement with a power reserve of 60 hours, the DEFY Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone incorporates the artist’s chromatic signature touch even on the movement, in the form of a star-shaped oscillating weight with a rainbow PVD finish matching the tourbillon cage and bridge as well as the other metallic elements on the dial side.
Completing the latest chapter in the ZENITH X Felipe Pantone collaboration is a customized watch box, with an iridescent pattern on the interior as well as the outer box designed by the artist in his inimitable style.
The DEFY Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone is a limited-edition of 100 pieces that will be available from ZENITH online and physical boutiques, as well as with select retailers, worldwide from September 12 at 14:00 CEST.
About Felipe Pantone.
Felipe Pantone is an Argentinian-Spanish artist. He started doing graffiti at the age of 12. He graduated with a Fine Art degree in Valencia (Spain) where his studio is based. Pantone’s work deals with dynamism, transformation, digital revolution, and themes related to the present times.
Felipe Pantone evokes a spirit in his work that feels like a collision between an analog past and a digitized future, where human beings and machines will inevitably glitch alongside one another in a prism of neon gradients, geometric shapes, optical patterns, and jagged grids.
Based in Spain, Pantone is a byproduct of the technological age when kids unlocked life’s mysteries through the Internet. As a result of this prolonged screen time, he explores how the displacement of the light spectrum impacts colour and repetition.
“Colour only happens because of light, and light is the only reason why life happens,” Pantone says. “Light and colour are the very essence of visual art. Thanks to television, computers, and modern lighting, our perception of light and colour has changed completely.”
For Pantone, his art is a meditation on the ways we consume visual information. Drawing inspiration from kinetic artist like Victor Vasarely and Carlos Cruz-Diez — who both utilized the moiré effect (in which lines of contrasting colour give the impression of movement) — his contemporary work produces the sensation of vibration as the viewer’s position changes in relation to the work.
To achieve the desired effect, Pantone utilizes modeling software which allows for 3D insights into a project, which then can be translated into frescoes, murals, paintings, and sculptures which give tactile merit to what is occurring in the digital world.
“I grew up as a simple painter, trained as a painter, and now my biggest goal is to get clear of all the academic training and to be able to make art freely, with the tools that work best,” he says.
Whether it’s exhibiting in galleries around the world, transforming a 1994 Chevrolet Corvette into something futuristic, or painting the largest mural in Portugal, Pantone’s diverse applications are united by the intersection of technology and fine art.
“I try to create things that are not supposed to be where they are,” he says. “To bring awareness of certain things, to move people’s thoughts elsewhere.”
Zenith Defy Skyline Tourbillon 41 mm Technical Specifications
Reference: 03.9301.3630/49.I001 – 60’000 CHF / 65’000 €, Limited edition to 100 units.
Key points
- Automatic El Primero Tourbillon.
- Screwed-in crown.
- Full interchangeable strap system.
Movement:
- El Primero 3630
- Frequency: 36’000 VpH – 5Hz
- Power reserve: approx. 60 hours
- Functions: Hours and minutes in the centre Tourbillon: The carriage is positioned at 6 o’clock, It makes one turn per minute. Tourbillon cage with 56 components.
- Finishes: “Rainbow” PVD-coated oscillating weight
Case
- Material: Stainless steel
- Water resistance: 10 ATM
- Case: 41mm
Dial:
- Tinted sapphire dial with mirror metalization and irridescent laser texturization
- Hour markers: Rhodium-plated, faceted with “Rainbow” PVD coating & SLN C1
- Hands: Rhodium-plated, faceted with “Rainbow” PVD coating & SLN C1
Bracelet & Buckle:
- Stainless steel bracelet. 2nd bracelet black rubber with starry sky pattern.
- Stainless steel folding clasp.
ZENITH: TIME TO REACH YOUR STAR.
ZENITH exists to inspire individuals to pursue their dreams and make them come true – against all odds. Since its establishment in 1865, ZENITH became the first vertically integrated Swiss watch manufacture, and its watches have accompanied extraordinary figures that dreamt big and strived to achieve the impossible – from Louis Blériot’s history-making flight across the English Channel to Felix Baumgartner’s record-setting stratospheric free-fall jump. Zenith is also highlighting visionary and trailblazing women by celebrating their accomplishments and creating the DREAMHERS platform where women share their experiences and inspire others to fulfil their dreams.
With innovation as its guiding star, ZENITH exclusively features in-house developed and manufactured movements in all its watches. 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. Because innovation is synonymous with responsibility, the ZENITH HORIZ-ON initiative affirms the brand’s commitments to inclusion & diversity, sustainability and employee wellbeing. ZENITH has been shaping the future of Swiss watchmaking since 1865, accompanying those who dare to challenge themselves and reach new heights. The time to reach your star is now.