In the world of design, there are collaborations that feel destined rather than arranged. The recent partnership between ZENITH and USM Modular Furniture is one of them, a meeting of two Swiss institutions whose work, though rooted in different disciplines, shares a similar spirit. Together, they have created a watch that feels as much a study in design philosophy as an exercise in craftsmanship.
It is called the ZENITH DEFY Chronograph USM, a piece that reimagines what might have happened if the watchmaker and the furniture designer had crossed paths in the 1960s. That decade, still regarded as a golden age of modernism, was a time when the boundaries between art, architecture and industrial design began to blur. ZENITH was busy perfecting its revolutionary El Primero chronograph, the first high-frequency automatic movement of its kind, while USM was refining its now-iconic Haller modular system. Both creations were products of their time: bold, functional and forward-thinking.
The new watch feels like a love letter to that shared moment. Its design borrows from the DEFY model introduced in 1969, which was celebrated for its sharply defined geometry and octagonal case. That structure has now been reinterpreted with subtle architectural cues that nod to USM’s chrome-plated frames and crisp modular lines. The result is a piece that speaks both of precision and proportion, where every surface seems to serve a purpose.
The case measures a compact 37.3 millimetres in stainless steel, with a fourteen-sided bezel that catches the light like the edge of a sculpted panel. The familiar “ladder” bracelet, designed by Gay Frères in the late sixties, returns to complete the look, giving the watch a distinctly retro but quietly elegant character. It feels sturdy yet refined, like a Bauhaus structure scaled down for the wrist.
Each dial is finished in one of USM’s signature colours, Green, Pure Orange, Golden Yellow and Gentian Blue, a small but vivid reminder that design can be playful as well as functional. The three overlapping counters shimmer in silver, echoing the subtle circular textures of USM’s metal detailing. Even the chronograph second hand carries a small surprise: its tip is shaped like a miniature USM ball joint, softly glowing with SuperLuminova when the lights fade.
Inside, the story continues with the legendary El Primero 400 calibre, a movement that remains one of the finest mechanical chronographs ever built. It beats at 36,000 vibrations per hour, allowing measurements down to a tenth of a second, a technical feat that has endured for more than half a century. Seen through the sapphire back, the movement’s openworked rotor, carved in the shape of the ZENITH star, sits beside both brand logos. It’s a quiet detail that mirrors the whole project: two distinct identities sharing the same rhythm.
But beyond the technical brilliance, what makes this collaboration interesting is its cultural resonance. It bridges two forms of Swiss craftsmanship that rarely meet, the precision of watchmaking and the order of modular design. Both ZENITH and USM were founded as family workshops and remain guided by the idea that good design should serve a purpose without shouting for attention. Their products have long outlived passing trends because they were built with a sense of restraint and clarity.
In that sense, the DEFY Chronograph USM feels like more than a limited edition. It’s a conversation between eras, a reminder that innovation often starts with curiosity. What would have happened if these two worlds had met earlier? What ideas might have been exchanged? The watch doesn’t answer those questions directly, but it captures the imagination in suggesting that design, like time, is cyclical.
Perhaps that’s why the collaboration resonates beyond the realm of collectors. It speaks to architects who see beauty in structure, to designers who value proportion, and to anyone who finds meaning in objects built to last. It’s not about nostalgia or luxury in the usual sense, but about continuity, the way certain ideas can remain relevant long after their moment has passed.
In a world that prizes novelty, there’s something quietly reassuring about that. The ZENITH and USM partnership isn’t trying to reinvent either discipline, but to show how two different expressions of the same values can coexist. Precision, purpose, and a respect for form unite them, much as they did in that transformative decade of the 1960s.
It is, at its heart, a Swiss story, one of craftsmanship, patience and an enduring belief that design can still move between the practical and the poetic.
