LVMH Watch Week 2026: Zenith has given the Defy Skyline Chronograph a makeover, now in a beautiful brushed and polished black ceramic.
Off the back of the full blue 160th anniversary editions, this year, Zenith has concentrated on black ceramic or LVMH Watch Week 2026. And, I’ll be the first to say – Zenith has done it well! The blue ceramic from last year‘s releases was a great colour, but in my eyes, it was very, very blue and wasn’t quite to my tastes; however, if you like blue watches as Sam and Champs do, then these are right up your alley.
I personally prefer the black over the blue as it’s just that little bit more subtle, and when you inspect the watch up close and look at that beautiful black brushed finish, which then combines with the high polished ceramic surfaces, the black, in my opinion, stands out more.
I’ve always been a fan of black ceramic, especially when it’s done well, as it has an effect on the wrist that you can’t ignore, and in certain situations it dulls down, but then outside it comes alive, which I think is part of the point of these watches.
The black has a beautiful brush and polished shine to it, which looks amazing, especially in the daylight, where it glints and shimmers. What Zenith has done very well is the dial on this piece. They haven’t just replicated a black version of the 160th anniversary blue ceramic that came out last year; they’ve taken this dial to another level, in my opinion.
A Standout Dial
Zenith has given the dial a gradient grey colour that, in full sunlight, almost looks like it has a bit of a brown or beige tinge to it, which then darkens around the edges in a beautiful fume effect. This gives the dial a great depth when looking at it, and over the past few days of wearing this piece, I’ve caught myself glancing at the dial and thinking it has an almost three-dimensional effect to it. Part of this effect is thanks to the sunken sub registers of the 1/10 of a second chronograph, and also that starry night pattern that is found on all Defy Skyline watches from Zenith.
The dial layout remains the same as the previous Defy Skyline Chronographs, with the central hand acting as the 1/10th of a second hand, tracking each 10th of a second around the dial. The sunken sub-dials are done in an anthracite colour and circular grained, and placed on the dial in Zenith’s overlapping style, which we’re very much used to. And of course, the date at 4:30.
On The Wrist
The Zenith Defy Skyline Chronograph Black Ceramic does wear pretty true to form as you would expect, in a similar fashion to the previous Defy Skyline Chronographs from Zenith – mainly the skeletonized versions that were released at last year‘s LVMH watch week and then the year prior at Watches & Wonders 2024, where they released the white, blue, and black dial versions in steel, which I was also a big fan of. You can check the review of these out here.
At 42 mm, I feel these are almost the perfect size for the design of the watch, which I’ve said it before with both the steel Defy Skyline Chronographs and then the subsequent skeletonised versions. On my 17.5 cm wrist, they wear pretty easily and comfortably. For me, the chronograph pushers, as well as the subdials, balance out the overall aesthetic of the watch nicely, and in my eyes, actually look better on the wrist compared to the standard time-only Defy Skyline.
It still comes with an interchangeable bracelet and an accompanying black rubber strap that is easily switched out through the quick change system on the back; however, it is proprietary,y so you won’t be able to get aftermarket bracelets or straps on these anytime soon. But my mind, this does not matter as I actually feel Zenith does a brilliant job with the rubber straps, with enough bolstering and detailing to make these work. They are not plain rubber straps as you see on some other brands, which I feel detracts from the whole aesthetic of the watch.
A High Heart Beat
Inside the Defy Skyline Chronograph is the El Primero Calibre 3600, which is Zenith’s go-to chronograph movement. With a 5Hz / 36,000VpH beat rate, the movement becomes more accurate than those at a lower beat rate, but at the slight cost of energy consumption, hence the 60 hours vs the more modern standard of 72 hours or more.
The chronograph is able to measure down to 1/10th of a second, thanks to the 5Hz frequency, meaning tracking elapsed time is more accurate than traditional hours, minutes and seconds. Timing is easy thanks to the ceramic pushers on the side, which feel pretty much as they should when activating the chronograph. Zenith’s pushers are always a little on the stiffer side when first used, but ease up after a few uses.
The other point to add about the Calibre 3600 is it runs a standard small second hand at 9 o’clock, allowing you to actually set a reference time with hacking seconds. This, compared to the time only, where it has a 1/10th of a second hand that runs around every 10 seconds and no hacking, meaning you’re not able to set to an accurate reference time. This in my view, has always been more of a cool party trick than anything functional.
This is one reason I prefer the chronograph versions of the Defy Skyline over the time-only, but again, this is personal preference and subjective to your tastes and also your wrist size, as the time-only is slightly smaller and thinner.
Final thoughts
I’ve mentioned in previous articles that in my mind, the chronographs from the Zenith Defy Skyline collection both enhance the overall collection, but each model seems to improve on the collection as well. The black ceramic now adds another bow to Zenith‘s quiver in a good way, as it showcases that Zenith has fully dived into the ceramic watch world and is doing it beautifully.
At around AU$35,000, these are not the cheapest watches going around, but saying that, this is a watch that has been crafted in full black ceramic, which is both polished and brushed. On top of this, you get the quick change strap system, where you get both the bracelet and the strap as standard, not to mention it’s a 1/10 of a second chronograph with a famous El Primero movement inside. Compare this to other pieces out there, and that is not a bad value proposition for what you are getting, and also, look at that watch on the wrist!
Reference: 49.9500.3600/21.I001
Specifications:
- Dimensions: 42mm, 47.7mm lug-to-lug and 12.7mm thick
- Case Material: Brushed and Polished Black Ceramic
- Case back: Steel screw-down with sapphire display back
- Dial: Grey gradient, starry night pattern with sunken sub-dials in grey
- Crystal: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
- Water resistance: 100 Metres (10ATM) with Screw-Down Crown
- Movement: El Primero 3600 high-frequency automatic movement with 1/10th second chronograph function
- Power reserve: 60 Hours
- Strap/Bracelet: Integrated black ceramic bracelet, interchangeable with a black rubber strap and with quick change system