Shock news: Zenith Defy Classic collection to be discontinued by end of 2022
Time+Tide“Sometimes we have to make a tough decision,” Zenith CEO Julien Tornare tells Andrew in a bombshell revelation in this video. “We decided to stop producing the Defy Classic.”
Suffice to say, this is a big call because the Zenith Defy Classic is a great watch on multiple levels. It’s sporty but sleek, practical yet lightweight. Hearing the news Andrew seems personally affronted. “I think there’s going to be outrage in the comment section today,” he says.
“When we announced this during the week to some key retailers we got the same reaction,” Julien admits.
There’s no denying that at Time+Tide we feel a special bond with watch after collaborating to make the Zenith Defy Classic Skeleton “Night Surfer” Time+Tide Edition last year (which, by the way, Julien confirmed today would the last ever special edition of the watch). But we’re not the only ones enamoured with the Defy Classic.
A couple of years ago, for example, we published this story in which we asked our readers this question: “Is the Zenith Defy Classic underrated?” The resulting comments confirmed our perspective. @modernthrills commented: “Totally underrated.” @dwwright55 concurred, writing: “So underrated.” As did @k_temae, who added: “For sure underrated! Price is very ‘soft’ regarding quality and look.”
So what’s the decision to discontinue the watch all about? “It’s been a bestseller for us for many years,” Julien concedes. “But 100% of our production is made with Zenith movements – we don’t make any compromises with that. That means that we have to make choices and we have incredible new product coming, so we had to make this call.”
The main reason behind the decision seems to have been to keep up with the demand for the Zenith Chronomaster Sport range. The overwhelming success of the Chronomaster Sport has far outstripped expectations meaning that resources had to be shifted accordingly. “We had demand that we never ever had in Zenith history,” Julien says. “Last year was the best year for Zenith for decades.”
In other words, something had to give. Sadly, that proved to be the Defy Classic (R.I.P).