Officially announced today, the new movement developed by Tag/Zenith appears to be an incredible step forward in watchmaking. A 15hz movement which appears to be incredibly accurate.

There are a number of interesting write-ups popping up, but as usual, Jack Forster does the best job of explaining the new technology:

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/zenith-defy-lab-oscillator-introducing

If this trickles down to sub-10K watches (say, a 39-40mm classically designed El Primero) count me among those who will be lining up to buy one.

 

I've been waiting for this announcement for some time, since I saw a brief glimpse of the watch on Biver's wrist (watches.tv clip). It does not disappoint.

Unfortunately the first 10 watches themselves are "rock star" ugly with the inevitable Hublot material influence from Biver...Aeronith or Aerosmith? Still kudos to Guy Semon for the innovation and indirectly to Biver for supporting this effort.

I suppose Omega will still have the anti-magnetic superiority at +15.000 Gauss, but this new oscillator at +1100 gauss has incredible +-0.5 s/48h variation / almost zero positional variation, and 1100 gauss resistance is more than sufficient for typical day to day use cases. Of course the watchmakers on the forum have the expertise to chime in here, but from Jack Forster's article is also seems that this new oscillator should offer gains from a maintenance / service interval perspective

Just hope Zenith do put this new baby into more elegant cases and designs in the future, otherwise it simply will not sell.

My understanding is that Seiko's Spring Drive will still offer superior accuracy, with its hybrid quartz/mechanical technology. I for one still feel that Seiko never got the recognition they deserved for inventing the Spring Drive...I would still like to own a Spring Drive model, but I have not found a GS case that appeals to me and of course there are the concerns about maintenance / technical support outside of Japan.

 

Hodinkee were the first to break the news, but I think Monochrome Watches have done a better job with their article and if a picture is worth a thousand words, for this sort of dynamic movement explanation the new oscillator video in their article is worth a million

https://monochrome-watches.com/zeni...nary-oscillator-technical-review-video-price/

ABTW has the traditional rambling from Ariel Adams as the self-proclaimed "watch industry / market expert"...if you can stay awake till the end of his article there are some interesting points on Biver wanting to use watchmaking technology such as silicon component manufacturing to serve other industries.

http://www.ablogtowatch.com/zenith-defy-lab-watch-15-hz/2/

I do recall Biver mentioning that the commercial release of the watch would be around or below 10.000CHF. Case size will be a Omega 9300/9900 size at 44mm. Now that I mention Omega, I do think that they have the most to worry about Zenith's revival in the long run, but current production no. from Zenith are too low and brand recognition outside of the WIS community too weak to generate any significant impact.

 

Thanks R3D9 for posting this - I wouldn't otherwise have come across it for some time I suspect. I feel that the concept and execution is really admirable . . . except for the cases, as RP rightly observes. I'm probably an old fogey, but I can't see why manufacturers so often feel that a technological step-forward needs to be presented in a gimmicky package: I believe that Zenith could achieve lots of commercial success with this if available in an elegant, 'conventional' case.

 

Outstanding commentary from everyone above…

I really like the move by Biver to have Zenith run with this technology despite it being originated within Tag... Zenith is a perfect steward given their role in making modern chronographs what they are today. They're also the watch brand I'd most like to see make a return to prominence.

Imagine if they could squeeze this thing into a 42mm case

Exciting times.

 

A quick update - an excellent explainer video by watches.tv

 

Excellent catch @R3D9 Marc André is one of my favourite Youtube watch commentators. He has good insider access to the Swiss brands and an educated but no BS approach + a good sense of humor.

 

Found this nice intro into compliant mechanisms and LEMS (Lamina Emergent Mechanisms).

https://compliantmechanisms.byu.edu/content/intro-compliant-mechanisms

 

Is it just me or does the movement look like the coolest fidget spinner ever?

 

For those interested, some great commentary by Tim at Watchuwant on his YouTube show last night about the historical basis for the new Zenith movement and its future implications for the watch industry (starts around the 10:30 mark):

I've always been a gadget guy and the idea of this new movement technology fascinates me... I agree with Tim's assertion that eventually we may see a divergence between classical and "technical" watches. Like his co-host, I can envision a place in my collection for both.

 

I agree... I'm excited about the movement technology and I guess I understand that the first 10 watches have to be unconventionally styled in order to emphasize that. But I'd prefer a conventional steel or gold case with dress watch styling, around 35-40 mm please. Show the movement with a transparent caseback.

 

Another great write-up (from an interesting tech-blog):

https://newatlas.com/zenith-defy-la...ail&utm_term=0_65b67362bd-c2cf9c1ffd-89922118