Chef Gary Mehigan spotted wearing a Zenith

Gary Mehigan, best known to Australian audiences as the measured, technically rigorous judge on MasterChef Australia, was photographed during Season 11 wearing one of Zenith's most technically ambitious contemporary references — the Defy El Primero 21 in 18k rose gold. The pairing of a chef celebrated for precision with a watch built around the most accurate mechanical chronograph movement in production is hard to ignore.

The Defy El Primero 21 — reference 18.9002.9004/78.R582 — is powered by the calibre El Primero 9004, a twin-engine movement that is the centrepiece of Zenith's modern watchmaking identity. It runs two independent gear trains: a conventional 36,000 vph (5 Hz) regulator for hours, minutes and seconds, and a dedicated 360,000 vph (50 Hz) high-frequency train solely for the chronograph, enabling measurement to 1/100th of a second. The 44mm rose gold case is fully skeletonised, presenting that dual-architecture movement through both the dial side and caseback. A blue chronograph seconds hand — a nod to El Primero's historical colour coding — contrasts sharply against the exposed bridges and pink gold.

The El Primero calibre itself carries enormous historical weight. Introduced in 1969, it was one of the first automatic chronograph movements and survived the quartz crisis only because Zenith famously defied corporate orders to destroy the tooling — a story that has cemented the calibre's near-mythological status among collectors. The Defy 21 represents its most radical evolution, pushing the frequency envelope far beyond anything achieved in 1969.

For Mehigan, whose aesthetic sensibility runs toward considered, confident choices rather than flashy excess, the rose gold Defy El Primero 21 reads as a deliberate statement. It is technically serious, visually bold without being ostentatious, and positions itself firmly in the high-complications collector segment.

In market terms, the rose gold Defy El Primero 21 retails around $29,900 USD. On the grey market it trades close to or slightly below retail given current demand dynamics for Zenith — making it an accessible point of entry into genuine haute horlogerie complications relative to comparable Rolex or Patek chronograph references.