[VIDEO] Hands-On: the Zenith Defy Revival Diver

For most of my watch-buying life, fun dive watches have mostly been big dive watches. Colorful, loud, capable waterproof options have tended to correspond with case dimensions of equal impact and presence, while the sub-40mm dive watch space has belonged to relatively sedate interpretations of the classic dive watch formula — and even then, 39mm has been the sweet spot for ‘small’ divers. But over the last few release cycles (if those even exist anymore), we’ve started to see signs of a shift, and I can think of few better examples of this change than the Zenith Defy Revival Diver A3648, released last year as part of Zenith’s grand re-entry into the dive space.

Last summer, I got to spend a few weeks with the Zenith Defy Revival Diver’s bigger, brasher brother, the Defy Extreme Diver, and I came away wildly impressed. The Defy Extreme Diver was a watch that punched way above its weight class (or at least its price point) while feeling like a genuinely novel take on a modern dive watch from a brand with shockingly little history in the space. So when I had the chance to spend some time with that watch’s vintage-inspired counterpart, I jumped.

This extended visit with the Revival Diver wasn’t my first hands-on experience with the watch — I got to spend a few minutes with it when I went to pick up the Extreme Diver back in June — but on that day, I didn’t find myself particularly taken with the Revival. While I’ve long admired Zenith’s dual identity as both a premiere maker of modern sports watches, and as one of the industry’s leaders in historical re-issues, personally, I’ve always leaned slightly more toward Zenith’s more modern offerings, so it would be fair to characterize my affection for the Revival Diver as a bit of a slow burn.

Still, it’s impossible to ignore just how good a job the brand has done with its vintage recreations, especially when directly faced with any of their Revival lineup. It would be easy enough for the brand to pump out revival watches as purely an exercise in brand education, but these are also watches people want. That in and of itself is no small thing, and the Defy Revival Diver may be my favorite entrant into that side of the Zenith catalog yet, or, at worst, a very close second (I do love the Revival Shadow).