ZENITH – DEFY Extreme FELIPE PANTONE Edition

ZENITH – DEFY Extreme FELIPE PANTONE Steel & Blue YAS 45 Edition - 2022

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 BEYOND COLOURS & LIGHT: ZENITH AND FELIPE PANTONE ENTER A NEW DIMENSION OF ARTISTIC CONTEMPORARY WATCHMAKING WITH A HIGHLY CHROMATIC RENDITION OF THE DEFY EXTREME

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A collaboration that knows no bounds. Contemporary art in the service of innovative watchmaking – and vice-versa. The Swiss watchmaker and Valencia-based artist have come together again to give a new expression of time through light, colours and motion. Introducing the DEFY Extreme Felipe Pantone, a limited edition of 100 pieces available exclusively at ZENITH physical and online boutiques from October 27.

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Lights. Chromatics. Animation. The merging of innovative high-frequency watchmaking and vibrant multimedia optical art. After having worked on the historical Manufacture’s façade with a specifically designed tarpaulin in 2020, a limited edition series of the DEFY 21 that was instantly sold out in 2021, and a unique piece for the Only Watch 2021 charity auction that set a new record for a ZENITH watch sold at an auction, the forward-looking watchmaker and the globally renowned Argentinian-Spanish optical artist raising the bar even higher and expanding the realm of artistic expression in watchmaking with the DEFY Extreme Felipe Pantone.

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Always conjuring new ways of expressing his unique vision that merges the digital and physical across different formats, Felipe Pantone once again pushed the ZENITH Manufacture to transfigure his artwork into a mechanical watch with the same exacting level of detail and optical play of light. For ZENITH, this meant eagerly accepting the challenge and finding creative new solutions and innovations to reproduce the unique aesthetic of Felipe Pantone on a much smaller scale without losing any of the vibrance and optical magic that are trademarks of the artist’s instantly recognizable body of work.

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On the latest result of this ongoing collaborative partnership, Felipe Pantone shared, “Once again, I’m ultra-happy to announce a new collaboration with the Swiss horology masters at ZENITH. For this watch, I applied and referenced some of the concepts behind my Planned Iridescence series. For the first time, I intervened a piece of sapphire creating a radial hologram that appears only under the right light in an astounding way. The watch is full of incredible details, possible after a long year collaborating back-to-back with the team at Le Locle.”

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To encapsulate all this miniature details and give the watch a sculptural depth, The DEFY Extreme was a natural choice of canvas. Its sharp lines and immersive volume allowed the Manufacture and artist to further explore many of the elements that debuted in the original DEFY 21 Felipe Pantone, while also introducing some entirely new ones. This time, the inspiration is Pantone’s “Planned Iridescence” series, where his bold use of colour is combined with metallic elements and mathematically conceived shapes and shaded to generate optical illusions that transcend the boundaries of the analogue and virtual worlds.

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Crafted entirely in mirror-polished stainless steel, the faceted lines of the DEFY Extreme case take on a new sculptural context. Incorporating transparency and colour where least expected, the dodecagonal bezel as well as the chronograph’s pusher protectors are crafted in translucent blue YAS (yttrium aluminosilicate), a crystalline glass material comparable to synthetic sapphire. The four corners of the case are engraved with “FP#1”, a coded signature for “Felipe Pantone El Primero”. Matching the blue transparent elements of the case, the DEFY Extreme Felipe Pantone comes with a translucent blue silicone strap. A fully polished steel bracelet as well as black Velcro strap are also included and can be easily swapped with the push of a button on the case back.

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Looking down at the dial, its sapphire elements appear translucent and metallic. Turn it ever so slightly towards the light, and a spark of colours and geometric patterns emerge. Dynamic and metamorphic, the dial of the DEFY Extreme Felipe Pantone is unlike anything else that has ever been made in watchmaking. Colour gradients and the interplay of light, patterns and transparency are part of the artist’s signature. As such, ZENITH and Pantone sought to create a dial that retained the highly chromatic look typical of his work while incorporating elements that play with light in a most unexpected way. 

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Using a transparent sapphire disk as the dial’s base, an innovative physio-chemical process is used to create some hidden micro-engraved patterns that are just 100 nanometres deep. This innovative process gives the sapphire an iridescent effect, reflecting different colours that shift with the angle of light while making the patterns visible. This element marks the first time that Felipe Pantone’s aesthetic is applied to sapphire crystal, while highlighting ZENITH’s persistence to find the most cutting-edge techniques to miniaturize and translate the artist’s palette into a horological context.

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The hour and minute hands as well as the movement use the same vibrant three-dimensional PVD technique as was prominently featured in the DEFY 21 Felipe Pantone’s movement, reflecting a perfectly transitioning gradient of metallic rainbow tones. While this innovative process has been standardized, each set of hands will take on slightly different colours, essentially making each watch a unique work of art. The chronograph’s minute counter features a graduated scale of colours, where each minute is segmented by a different tone. The chronograph’s second counter is done in very fine concentric black and white lines, mimicking the moiré effect.

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Putting chromatics in motion, the El Primero 1/100th of a second automatic high-frequency chronograph beating within has also received a distinctly Felipe Pantone makeover. The open star-shaped oscillating weight is finished in the same gradient rainbow 3D PVD as the hands. The most cutting-edge chronograph calibre in production and the only one to offer a true 1/100th of a second measurement, the El Primero 21 features an efficient construction of two independently driven regulating organs, beating at 50Hz and 5Hz for the chronograph function and timekeeping respectively, ensuring that the use of the chronograph has no effect on the timekeeping precision of the watch.

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The artist’s touch goes beyond the watch. The DEFY Extreme Felipe Pantone is delivered in a box that is shaped like an art book, with a design by Pantone modelled after his “PLANNED IRIDESCENCE” series. It is adorned with the same iridescent effect as the watch’s dial, though using an entirely different method. The finishing touch is a transparent plexiglass hardcover, making the box a striking centrepiece in its own right.

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The DEFY Extreme Felipe Pantone is made as a numbered limited edition of 100 pieces, and will be available exclusively at ZENITH physical and online boutiques from October 27 at 14:00 CET.

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TECHNICAL DETAILS

Collection: DEFY
 
Model:  DEFY Extreme FELIPE PANTONE Edition

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Reference: 03.9100.9004/49.I210

Key points:
1/100th of a second Chronograph movement.
Exclusive dynamic signature of one rotation per second for the Chrono hand,
1 escapement for the Watch (36,000 VpH - 5 Hz) ;
1 escapement for the Chronograph (360,000 VpH - 50Hz).
Certified Chronometer. Screwed-in crown. 

Full Interchangeable strap system. 2 straps included: 

1 Rubber with folding buckle & 1 Velcro. 

Sapphire dial

MOVEMENT 
Calibre: El Primero 9004 automatic
Frequency 36,000 VpH (5 Hz)
Power-reserve: min. 50 hours
Finishing:
Ruthenium colored main plate on movement + Special "Rainbow" PVD colored oscillating weight with satined finishings

FUNCTIONS:
Hours and minutes in the centre.
Small seconds at 9 o'clock. 1/100th of a second Chronograph:
Central chronograph hand that makes one turn each second,

• 30-minute counter at 3 o'clock,
• 60-second counter at 6 o'clock, .
• Chronograph power-reserve indication at 12 o'clock

CASE
Material: Polished Stainless Steel & Blue YAS
Diameter: 45 mm
Case-back: Transparent sapphire crystal
Water resistance: 20 ATM
DIAL
Tinted sapphire with Felipe's iridescent effect artwork pattern
Hour-markers: Rhodium-plated, faceted and coated with Beige Super-LumiNova® SLN C1
Hands: Rhodium-plated, faceted with "Rainbow" PVD coating & SLN C1
Bracelet & Buckle
Transparent blue Rubber. 2 straps included: 1 Rubber with folding buckle & 1 Velcro.
Stainless steel folding clasp

Price   29.900 CHF

 

⭕️ Limited Edition 100 pieces

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Press Release - 2022
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ZENITH | Swiss Watch Manufacture Since 1865
Rue des Billodes 34-36 | CH-2400 Le Locle
Minh-Tan-Bui
Tel. +41 32 930 65 59
Mobile +41 79 515 47 54
Email: minh-tan.bui@zenith-watches.com

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John-Mikaël Flaux – Homage to Al-Jazari - Edition

John-Mikaël Flaux – Homage to Al-Jazari Ingenious Mechanical Devices Limited Edition

Homage to al-Jazari, a unique watch
Ben & Brothers and John-Mikaël Flaux

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This one-of-a-kind creation has much more to offer than a classic watch. Created at a meeting point between the history of watchmaking, automata and sculpture, it brings all their features together, drawing on a masterpiece designed ten centuries ago and now recreated with masterful talent and expertise. 

 

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John-Mikaël Flaux took inspiration from the work of al-Jazari, the great Arab erudite to whom Leonardo Da Vinci has been compared, and whose creativity travelled through continents and times. A monument of poetry and technique, a dazzling piece of heritage, right there on your wrist.
 

Al-Jazari: a pioneering mind

With unrivalled creative genius and erudition, al-Jazari (1126-1206) gave life to the first known humanoid automata, water clocks and piston sets. As an inventor, he revolutionized engineering, hundreds of years before similar endeavours were carried out by like-minded polymaths of the Italian Cinquecento, or of the European Enlightenment period.

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His masterpiece still stands as the most extraordinary creation in the history of automata and clockmaking. The so-called Elephant clock appears in the only known written testimony of al-Jazari's work, the Book of knowledge of ingenious mechanical devices. 

 

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The enduring attraction of this fascinating clock is so compelling that modern replicas of it can be found all around the world: in the United Arab Emirates at the Ibn Battuta Centre of Dubai, in Germany at the Institute for the History of Arabic-Islamic Science of Frankfurt, or in Switzerland at the Watch Museum of Le Locle, among many others.

Creative and surprising

As is the case of many other al-Jazari creations, this automaton-clock is an artwork in itself, its technical sophistication only equalled by its refined aesthetics. 

 

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While most of al-Jazari’s automata serve a precise function, some of his inventions are simply playful and fun, following an aesthetics well-suited to the tradition of elegant hospitality and refined manners that were the fashion of his time.

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The elephant automaton is a brilliant illustration of this guiding principle. Made following the ancestral clepsydra system, its mechanical features are set in motion by a steady stream of water. 

 

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Hours appear at the top of the construction through a perforated arch, each opening filling with a different colour as time takes its course.

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This unique automated figure derives its movements from a mechanism hidden inside the elephant. A sinking counterpoise which, once entirely submerged, sets in motion a mechanical sequence releasing a ball from the beak of a falcon, which then falls into the mouth of a dragon, which tilts down under its weight.

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Once the dragon has reached its lowest point, it releases the ball into an urn, sounding the half-hour. Each repetition of this sequence colours one of the apertures on the pediment at the top of the tower.

 An unprecedented watchmaking feat

Today for the first time, a watch inspired by this pioneering automaton has been made. It brings together al-Jazari's original masterpiece with contemporary watchmaking expertise, adding John-Mikaël Flaux’s signature touch: a dash of emotion. 

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The notion of inheritance has always been at the centre of what watchmakers do. This tribute creation inherits its system from the course of the sun, taking us back to the fundamental observation of the world around us.

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At the top, perforated hour-symbolsset in a half-circle show the passing of hours.
This arch represents half a day (6am to 6pm, 6pm-6am).

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Starting from the usual time of sunrise, the perforated hour-symbols at the top progressively turn to white, one half at a time: the first half of each opening changes colour during the first half-hour, and the second half at the end of the hour. As the night draws in, the colour white is progressively replaced by the colour black.

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Each half-hour comes with an animated sequence: the left dragon slowly tilts back, as if it was a lever being pulled back. At the end of this sequence, it springs back to its original position, in a reinterpretation of the traditional watchmaking technique of the retrograde display.

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The decoration of the watch, in the manner of the frontispiece of a luxurious palace, was inspired by the overall architecture of al-Jazari's masterpiece. In order to make the watch easier to read, an aperture displaying the hours and a central hand showing the minutes have been added.

Art & Haute Horlogerie

This watchmaking tour de force brings together high-precision mechanisms with outstanding expertise.

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Steel elements like the dragon tower at the centre of the watch have been bevelled by hand in the high watchmaking style, with the highly skilled and demanding technique of interior angle bevelling. The ornamental part of the domed dial around the six o'clock mark has also been entirely hand-bevelled with interior corners.
 
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The bridge on the dial is decorated with alacquered, oven-fired floral pattern inspired by al-Jazari's original design. The elephant is a hand-painted miniature. The painted silver dragons add a surprising effect of vibration to the composition.

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Our Homage to al-Jazari is signed directly onto the main plate of the complication, in the tradition of old watchmaking masters. 

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Each watch is completed with a hand-painted back showing the original drawing of the automation as it was presented in one of the rare 13thcentury surviving copies of al-Jazari's Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices. 

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An opening at the back shows the heart of the object, beating at the traditional high watchmaking rhythm of 18'000 vibrations per hour, with a screw balancepolished in the chronometric tradition. The mechanism is set in a 42mm case with a movement providing a 40-hours power reserve.

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Homage to al-Jazari is an original creation by John-Mikaël Flaux, a member of the Académie Horlogère des Créateurs Indépendants(AHCI), in collaboration with the house Ben&Brothers , which specialises in bespoke creations.

 This is their second collaboration, after their 2021 Rearing horse automata "Le Cabré".

 

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Some key figures about "Homage to Al Jazari":

Movement: AJC-01
Automaton Watch
Winding: Manual
Dial and bridge
* Al Jazari hours display
* Pièce Métiers d'Arts
* Dragons hand-painted in silver
* Lacquered bridge
Features: 24-Hours and minutes 

Haute Horlogerie finishing:
     - Anglage rentrants
     - Handmade engraving
* Hand wind - 40h reserve power
* 18.000 Alt/h beats per hour (2.5 Hz)
Case
Stainless steel case 42mm*13,30mm
Sapphire glass
Water resistance: Unavailable
Strap: Leather with pin buckle

•  John-Mikaël Flaux (AHCI member) and Ben & Brothers

 🔰Limited Edition Only ✅10 pieces

🔴 Price: CHF 49,000 before taxes

@John_Mikael_Flaux – Homage to Al-Jazari Ingenious Mechanical Devices Limited Edition  😎🤟🖤💥🌓⚡️💣
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@ben_and_brothers
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📸 photo by @manvswatch
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🔰 Edition of ✅only 10 pieces
🔴Price: CHF 49,000 before taxes
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🔳 #WatchesSeven 🧲👈
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#JohnMikaelFlaux 🇫🇷 #JohnMikaelFlauxwatch #HomagetoAlJazari #AlJazari ساعة# #AlJazari #ben_and_brothers #BenandBros #SunDisk #Handmade #UniqueDial #Sunrise #Engraving #WatchPorno #independentwatchmaking #independentwatches #independentwatchmaker #indpendentwatch #SkeletonWatches #HandEngraved #ManufactureCalibre #OpenworkedDial #EngravingWork #Hautehorlogerie #HandmadeFrance #Germanywatches #novelties2022
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An unprecedented watchmaking feat

The first time, a watch inspired by this pioneering automaton has been made. It brings together al-Jazari's original masterpiece with contemporary watchmaking expertise, adding John-Mikaël Flaux’s signature touch: a dash of emotion.
The notion of inheritance has always been at the centre of what watchmakers do. This tribute creation inherits its system from the course of the sun, taking us back to the fundamental observation of the world around us.

At the top, perforated hour-symbols set in a half-circle show the passing of hours.

This arch represents half a day (6am to 6pm, 6pm-6am). Starting from the usual time of sunrise, the perforated hour-symbols at the top progressively turn to white, one half at a time: the first half of each opening changes colour during the first half-hour, and the second half at the end of the hour. As the night draws in, the colour white is progressively replaced by the colour black.

Each half-hour comes with an animated sequence: the left dragon slowly tilts back, as if it was a lever being pulled back. At the end of this sequence, it springs back to its original position, in a reinterpretation of the traditional watchmaking technique of the retrograde display.

The decoration of the watch, in the manner of the frontispiece of a luxurious palace, was inspired by the overall architecture of al-Jazari's masterpiece.

In order to make the watch easier to read, an aperture displaying the hours and a central hand showing the minutes have been added.

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