In titanium, the open ladder design acts as additional weight relief, which will surely be enticing to those already considering a titanium timepiece.

The bracelet is pure vintage heat, a modern rendition of the original Gay Freres ladder design from 1969. The movement remains the in-house Zenith Elite 670, with a 28,800 VpH beat rate and a 50 hour power reserve, its star-shaped oscillating weight visible through the sapphire caseback. A colour-matched date display sits at 4:30, a design choice not without controversy, but true to its position on the original Defy. The rhodium-plated faceted hands and square markers are nicely finished, and the Super-LumiNova gets a cream-coloured hue. The matte black dial gives everything a very different look from the bold colours of the previous Defy Revival models, but it’s an appropriate pairing with the overall aesthetic. The watch is water resistant to 300 metres, and sapphire protects both the dial and caseback. Not a coating, the darkened appearance is a result of the finishing technique itself, as the microblasting renders the watch with a matte, near-black look.

So the material and finish are the big headlines with this one, and if you’re curious as to how the microblasted titanium will look up close, you only need to look back to the Chronomaster Revival Shadow model from a few years ago.

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