1970s Movado/Zenith Defy Automatic Day/Date 01-0050-345
Ref: 01-0050-345
Specification
Lugs : 21mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : None
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold as "Watch Only" and therefore comes with no original Zenith box or Zenith paperwork. The watch comes paired with its original 21mm Zenith signed stainless steel bracelet with Zenith signed folding clasp. The watch is from Circa. 1970s and is in used vintage condition, but overall in very fair condition, as you can see from the photographs and comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1um6RMnJt_xuE0gfZcZxaChWKS256Trs4?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 26:05 - https://youtu.be/yzbhu5xJVAU
The Watch
Here we have a 1970s Movado/Zenith Defy Automatic Day/Date 01-0050-345, the 38mm TV-shaped stainless steel case curves gently over the recessed lugs, and at 42.5mm lug-to-lug length and a case thickness of 10.5mm, you can be sure of a comfortable fit on the wrist. Made at a time when Movado and Zenith were joined at the hip, interchanging movements, dials, case and bracelets, bringing together the best of each brand, this watch is no exception. Polished and brushed surfaces transition with crisp well-defined lines, and on the right side is a signed crown. The polished bezel holds a square crystal with curved sides reminding us of the TV sets of the time. The textured crosshatch silver dial has applied steel batons marking the hours, and at 3 o'clock a framed day/date window, slim baton hands have Tritium infill complemented by a tapered sweeping second hand, and at 12 o'clock we have the Movado-Zenith motif “Automatic” printed underneath and at 6 o'clock “Defy” completes this quintessentially 70s timepiece. On the reverse, a screw-down case back, inside an automatic Zenith Signed ETA Cal. 2832 featuring a Zenith Rotor, 17 jewels, 36,000 beats per hour. Fitted on its original brushed 21mm Zenith signed stainless steel bracelet with Zenith signed folding clasp and comfortable taper.
Personal Note
Vintage Movado & Zenith, two of my favourites, combine them together in a Defy and this is what you get... An unapologetically 1970s design that begs to be worn and enjoyed! This was a model I owned personally for some time and I will be sad to see it go... The linen dial is amazing, the dual branding is a real talking point and the bold brick bracelet is surprisingly comfortable! Someone hurry and buy this before I decide to keep it again!
The Brand
In 1968, Zenith merged with Movado of La Chaux-de-Fonds and became Movado-Zenith. Later in 1969, they became Movado-Zenith-Mondia after acquiring Mondia. In June 1972, due to the strong dollar, Chicago Zenith decided to purchase Le Locle Zenith. With the rise of the quartz movement in 1978, Chicago management told Le Locle to stop all production of their mechanical movements and destroy all tooling and manufacturing equipment. Not everyone agreed with this decision, including Charles Vermot, a master watchmaker who took it upon himself to record the production and tooling required to manufacture the El Primero in great detail. He stored much of it at their old factory. From 1978, Movado and Zenith only made quartz watches, but this didn't save the company from declining sales. In late 1978, Movado, Zenith, and Mondia were sold to Paul Castella and Dixi Mechanique Group, who had previously purchased Henry Moser & Co. In 1979, they also bought Zodiac, which they merged with Zenith in 1982. Zenith was later sold to the Swatch Group in November 1999. Gerry Grinberg of North American Watch Company purchased Movado in 1983, which became the Movado Group, Inc. Today, the group includes Ebel, Concord, MVMT, Lacoste, and Calvin Klein.