Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Zenith Defy Cal. 2562PC, 1969
- Maker / attribution
- Zenith (maker)
- Date
- 1969
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- ZNTD2562
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Craft & Tailored (ZNTD2562)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 1969 Zenith Defy Cal. 2562PC (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Craft & Tailored (dealer), Los Angeles (stock number ZNTD2562), this is a wristwatch by Zenith, made in Switzerland, dated 1969. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Craft & Tailored
Zenith has created some truly iconic watches over the years, we're all looking at the El Primero. But while our eyes have been deadlocked on that famous chronograph we tend to overlook some truly remarkable and fantastically unique pieces, like this Defy from 1969. Everything about this watch is unique, the perfect answer to a world full of "normal". Stock # ZNTD2562 Brand Zenith Style Defy Model N/A Serial N/A Size Men's Material Stainless Steel Dial Silver "Aged" Millimeters 46 Bracelet NATO Strap CASE & BRACELET The 38x46mm stainless steel case is one of the most fantastic and odd designs we've come across. With beveled edge after beveled edge, the hexagonal shape plays with the light and looks amazing on the wrist. The case features both an oversized screw-down crown and a screw-down case back. The watch comes supplied on a NATO strap. DIAL & HANDS The silver dial is dynamic and full, providing a lovely vintage aesthetic with its light but consistent marks and aging. It features large steel, tapered hour markers, and matching steel hands with the tritium lume still intact. Also hidden between 4 and 5 o'clock is a small, unassuming date window. The tritium lume of the dial and hands have both aged to a dark grey patina and exhibit no degradation when inspected under U.V. light. ACCESSORIES
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Wristwatches
Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.
After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.
What to look for
- The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
- The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
- Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
- Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
- Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
- Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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