One thing that I absolutely hate about many watch fanatics is our insistence on keeping around the old, our insistence on the idea that what watchmakers have done decades ago is still supreme, and our insistence to remain unchanged on our viewpoints.

We still wear watches with unnecessarily complicated and cumbersome mechanical movements,  we still wear watches whose basic design hasn’t changed for decades, and for no reason I can think of, we still hail the dull watch designs of Patek Philippe as the holy grail of watchmaking.  (That dullness, by the way, comes at a hefty price):

Patek Philippe Calatrava Men’s Manual Wind Watch 18K Yellow Gold Off White Dial on Brown Crocodile Strap 5196J

To me, most watch enthusiasts are like those annoying neighborhood association idiots who “preserve” the goodness of your community by suing you if you should happen to do something out of the ordinary.  They tell you how you should mow your lawn, they scold you for having an ugly car parked outside your house, and they freak out if your house color is anything outside of the usual shades of beige or brick red.

Yup, watch enthusiasts tend to be hopelessly traditional when it comes to watches, but it’s funny because they are usually quite progressive when it comes to other stuff.  They seem to enjoy fast and impractical cars, they are HUGE fans of consumer electronics, they like modern design, and they generally care for the finer things in life.

So why is it that when it comes to watches, we are so boneheaded?

Well, when it comes to newer watch companies, making outrageous watches is alright, because no one really cares.  Similarly, if you are a company known for making unique watches, such as Seiko, that’s alright too, because it fits the character.

But when one of the good old boys suddenly breaks out the stonewashed jeans, buys a Lamborghini, and goes insane, it’s not quite so well-received…

Truer words have never been spoken when it comes to the Zenith watch company.  You see as a company, they’ve been around just as long as all the other watch dinosaurs.  Their movements, furthermore, are held in such high regard that even Rolex used one of their movements for their flagship Daytona model.  And yes, they are one of the few Swiss watch companies that DO make their own movements.

For years they have been making excellent watches that never offended anyone.  Watches just like this beautiful Class T El Primero:

Zenith Class T El Primero Automatic Mens’ Watch Stainless Steel Black Dial on Black Strap 03.0510.4002/21.c492

But lately something at Zenith has changed.  Some say that the management has gone bonkers, but I think they have gone a step in the right direction, with this:

Zenith Defy Xtreme Chronograph – 96.0525.4000/21.M525 Gents Watch

Zenith calls this series the “Defy,” and DEFY is certainly what it does.  Some say good taste, some say the company’s reputation, but I think what they have done is defied the stupid watch conventions that have existed for decades.  The things that we always wanted to change, but never have because we were too afraid of how we’d look.

I think that what Zenith has done is found the balls to transform one of the pillars of the watch world and helped to shift the industry to the 21st century.  I think it proves that old dogs can learn new tricks, and I think it is refreshing to see a watch company design a watch that looks like it was designed in this decade.

Instead of its expensive price tag being attributed to gold, diamonds, and all the usual “luxury” stuff, the Defy is chalk full of space-age materials like carbon fiber, aluminum, and titanium.  In other words, a very modern lot of luxury materials.

And it seems that Rolex has finally branched out a little as well, especially with the introduction of the Yacht-Master II, the biggest watch they’ve ever built:

Rolex Oyster Perpetual Yacht-Master II Mens Watch 116689-WAO

Not particularly well-received, the Yachtmaster faces the same problem as the new Zenith Defy.  It is basically an extremely off-the-path design from a company known for making conventional non-offensive luxury watches for the masses.  (The fact that it has a countdown timer no one outside the yachting world would every use doesn’t help its case either).

No I’m afraid that it seems as though there will still be some time before the sourpusses take off their boring 20th century watches, and start adopting one of the modern designs built for the decade, but I personally can’t wait for the day when I see more variety on people’s wrists.