Reviews
Classic in Modern Dress: Zenith Defy El Primero Fusée Tourbillon
As the mainspring barrel unwinds, more of the chain is unraveled from the fusée, from its narrow tip towards its wider base. In this way, the diminishing torque supplied by the barrel is compensated for by in effect driving the movement through a larger gear – something like downshifting to squeeze out more torque while going up a ramp.
While a clever solution, the fusée and chain drive mechanism is rare today because it is extremely laborious to fabricate, and watches that do feature it, tend to be very classical in design. For those who love a little contrariety in their watches, Zenith has united the fusée and chain with that other archaic contraption that was invented to improve chronometry, the tourbillon, in the breathtakingly modern and athletic Defy El Primero Fusée Tourbillon.
Movement
Manual-wind El Primero 4805 SK, fusée and chain, tourbillon, 5Hz, 50 hours power reserve.
Case
44mm carbon case (50 pieces) or 44mm platinum case (10 pieces), openworked, 10 atm water resistance.
Strap
Carbon case model: Black rubber strap, titanium double folding clasp with black carbon head.
Platinum case model: rubber wrapped in black alligator leather, titanium and white gold folding clasp.
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