News 
The worlds of contemporary art and Haute Horlogerie are colliding again in a burst of chromatics and optical intricacies. For their third collaborative series, Zenith and Felipe Pantone are once again raising the bar and distilling all the distinctive and groundbreaking elements incorporated in their shared projects into an all-new form by unveiling the Defy Skyline Tourbillon Felipe Pantone, a 100-piece limited edition.
Crafted in a 41mm octagonal stainless-steel case, this timepiece provides a highly geometric and angular silhouette framing the miniature, kinetic artwork within. With its alternating satin-brushed and polished finishes as well as an easily interchangeable steel bracelet and a black rubber strap also provided, this unisex creation was the object of particular attention in terms of both its ergonomics and its visual impact. Its sharp facets and smoothly polished contours, highlight by the 12-sided bezel, provide the ultimate play on light. In continuity with the previous projects, the case is engraved on each corner with a character to denote “FPT1”, or Felipe Pantone Tourbillon #1.
At first glance, the central element of this watch immediately catches the eye. Completing one rotation every 60 seconds, the tourbillon mechanism visible through the opening at 6 o’clock keeps the watch perpetually animated. Specifically for this special collaborative edition, the tourbillon bridge takes on the shape of a lightning bolt, a recurring element in Felipe Pantone’s extensive body of work across different media.
Standing out from previous Zenith X Felipe Pantone creations, the entire dial is iridescent, crafted from a sapphire disc and featuring a micro-engraved pattern of concentric circles recalling the moiré visual effect strongly present in Pantone’s artwork.
The hands and applied hour-markers are no less complex and captivating. In Felipe Pantone’s signature style of visual distortion, the hands as well as the hour-markers (except the cardinal “crosshair” markers at 3, 9, and 12 o’clock) are distorted down the middle, like some kind of graphical glitch. Matching the tourbillon at 6 o’clock, the hands and markers are finished in a gradient of rainbow tones.
September 26, 2024