Zenith x Time+Tide Defy Skyline Skeleton White Surfer Ceramic

July 3, 2025

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Three. It’s the magic number. Think about the most legendary movie franchises: most of them are trilogies, with the first two films leading to a dramatic conclusion in the third act. Well, that’s exactly what we here at Time+Tide have done, completing our Zenith Surfer Trilogy with the most eye-catching watch collaboration we’ve ever crafted: the Zenith x Time+Tide Defy Skyline Skeleton White Surfer Ceramic.

This trilogy has been a labour of love for both us and our friends at Zenith. Our first collaboration, the Defy Classic Skeleton Night Surfer from 2021, almost didn’t happen. It feels like a lifetime ago, but this was peak COVID. At the same time that many watchmakers were pausing production and furloughing their staff – and our home of Melbourne was dealing with some of the most brutal lockdowns in the world – our own Andrew McUtchen managed to make his way to Le Locle, Switzerland to work with the Zenith team to make this watch a reality. This first Night Surfer was an immediate success, finding its way onto the wrists of watch enthusiasts (and even world leaders) around the globe. It was a big moment for this Aussie media and retail business that started as just a hand-printed magazine passed around the halls of Baselworld.

Zenith x Time+Tide Surfer trio — L-R: the Zenith x Time+Tide Defy Skyline Skeleton Night Surfer El Primero, the new Zenith x Time+Tide Defy Skyline Skeleton White Surfer Ceramic, and the Zenith x Time+Tide Defy Classic Skeleton Night Surfer.

Sometimes, the sequel isn’t as good as the original, but that wasn’t the case with our second Zenith collab, the Defy Skyline Skeleton Night Surfer El Primero. This watch was the perfect merging of worlds, taking Zenith’s legendary El Primero movement and draping it in the stealthy ocean-inspired tones that made the first Night Surfer such a hit. It’s The Godfather II of watch collabs… Okay, now I’m showing my bias, but whatever.

Now, to act three. As their names imply, the first two Surfers were inspired by the romance of surfing Australia’s legendary coastline at night, letting the stars in the night sky backdrop the waves you catch. But it’s always darkest before the dawn. And Aussies love getting up at sparrow’s fart to catch a few waves before the day starts just as much as we love hitting the beach at night for an indulgent night surf. Enter the White Surfer: the perfect summer watch, and a fitting conclusion to our wavy love story with Zenith.

SECURE YOUR WHITE SURFER HERE IN THE TIME+TIDE SHOP FROM 11/07/25 12PM UTC

The case

Let’s start with the White Surfer’s case, as it really is its most distinctive feature. Where our first two Zenith Surfers were decked out in stealthy, microblasted titanium, the White Surfer has a brushed white ceramic case – a similarly modern material, just one with a whole different wrist presence. This watch isn’t stealthy at all: it’s almost blindingly eye-catching; a proper statement piece. “Nothing pops quite as hard on the wrist as ceramic,” as Andrew puts it.

There’s a through-line here with its oceanic inspiration, too. The sand found on Australian beaches is often nearly white, such is its purity. At the same time, ceramic watch cases are made by taking zirconium oxide powders, which resemble sand, and transforming it through extreme temperatures and pressure. Ceramic is also an ideal material for a sporty watch like the White Surfer. Not only is it extremely light and biocompatible, but it’s also extremely scratch-resistant, meaning it won’t be abraded by the rough and tumble of a morning on the beach. That sheer summery white will never fade, either, its pigment being an integral part of the ceramic.

The White Surfer retains the dimensions of its titanium sibling, the Night Surfer El Primero, measuring up at 41mm in diameter, 11.6mm thick and 46.3mm lug-to-lug. It’s certainly got wrist presence – it does wear somewhat on the larger side thanks to its integrated design – but it’s disarmingly light at the same time. The first two Night Surfers are also pretty light on the wrist, but the White Surfer takes this weightlessness to the next level.

The Defy Skyline’s bold form factor looks particularly monumental in white ceramic. Brushed and high-polished surfaces alternate, with its dodecagonal bezel plinth, evocative of the original Zenith Defy from 1969, looking resplendently milky. The large screw-down crown, shaped like Zenith’s star logo, has also been imagined in ceramic, as has the caseback ring. For a watch meant for the beach, it’s also got a confidence-inspiring 100m water-resistance rating, meaning it’s more than ready for a dip. You never regret a swim, as us Aussies like to say.

The dial

The dial is the next most exciting part of the watch, as it’s also another area where we’ve departed slightly from form. Where the first two Surfers featured dark blue, gradient skeletonised dials, we’ve opted for an icier blue for the White Surfer, still retaining the gradient. Noticeably lighter than the previous editions, the airy bridges fade from a cobalt blue at the top to a light, glacier blue at the bottom. It’s like how waves lap the sand, seafoam colouring the water at its edge. Andrew explains that it’s the dark night sky found on the previous two, giving way to dawn. It’s pretty damn refreshing.

To complement these bridges, the movement underneath has seen its mainplate tinted light blue, the first time we’ve seen this on a Zenith. Like the Night Surfer El Primero, the White Surfer’s bridges are also topped with lines of lume. Unlike its predecessor, though, the Zenith five-pointed star logo on the White Surfer’s dial is made from a single piece of Super-LumiNova – a design feature from the original Defy Night Surfer and the only other time in its history that Zenith has offered a luminescent star logo.

Speaking of the movement (which we’ll get to in just a second), we’ve got an unusual feature on the dial: a 1/10th of a second indicator at 6 o’clock in place of a traditional petite seconde. This serves as a visual reminder of the high-beat El Primero movement powering the White Surfer. It’s a quirky complication for sure, but I think one that’s emblematic of the lightheartedness we’re going for with this collab. It also maintains a pleasing symmetry for the dial, with both four- and five-pointed star motifs interacting with the watch’s dodecagonal design.

The bracelet

In some ways, the White Surfer’s strap options offer the most wow factor. First of all, the watch comes mounted on a brushed white ceramic integrated bracelet, which is utterly slinky on the wrist, tapering around beautifully to a butterfly clasp. Wearing a watch with a full ceramic bracelet, particularly an integrated one, is a real experience – there’s an almost jewellery-like feel to it. The light play you get with this white ceramic is spectacular, too.

But variety is the spice of life, and the White Surfer also comes with a white rubber strap with a folding buckle. It’s easy to swap out the bracelet for the rubber strap, too, thanks to a button-operated quick-change system that ranks as one of the best in luxury watchmaking right now. The rubber strap is great for taking the White Surfer into the water, and is similarly light on the wrist, but the ceramic bracelet is proper movie star stuff.

The movement

Last, but certainly not least, we get to the White Surfer’s movement. Zenith is known across the industry for its high-beat mechanical movements, with the story of the El Primero calibre and its improbable revival truly one of our hobby’s modern legends. This might not be a chronograph, but the White Surfer gets an El Primero, specifically the 3620 SK, which offers a 55-hour power reserve, a silicon escapement, hacking seconds, and a 5 Hz beat rate. Matching the dial side, this El Primero’s bridges and rotor have also been reimagined in blue, meaning it’s just as refreshing to behold on its reverse as its obverse.

The verdict

Marquee collaborations like this are always a moment to reflect on things. 2025 is proving to be one of the most monumental years in Time+Tide history yet, as we look to expand our Watch Discovery Studio concept to the capital of the world, New York City. It’s also a big year for Zenith, with this fan-favourite Swiss firm marking its 160th anniversary, something it’s done so in style so far. We’re honoured that our White Surfer forms part of those celebrations for a brand that, to us, represents the heart of watchmaking and watch culture.

“There’s a huge risk in trying for a trilogy when the first two collabs have been so popular, but when we saw the prototype of an ‘inverted’ Night Surfer, in brushed white ceramic, we just had to make it happen. The gradient light blue dial sealed it. Best summer watch ever,” says Andrew. (And I agree.)

“With this third chapter in our collaboration, we’re not just continuing a story, we’re elevating it. Each edition has deepened our creative dialogue, and this new release is the boldest expression yet of what we can achieve together,” Benoît de Clerck, CEO of Zenith, adds.

Of course, it’s hard not to be tendentious when talking about your own watch. We think this is the best Zenith collab we’ve penned thus far. It’s a big step up for us in terms of both scope and price point, but we think it’s one that makes sense. Ever since we teased this end to our Zenith trilogy, our community has been electric. More than a few people correctly guessed that it’d be white ceramic, too…

All we can say is – thank you so much. Without you, we wouldn’t be here, and we hope you like this watch. Please, visit us in our Discovery Studios in Melbourne and London and get hands-on with it. You won’t be disappointed.