BRIEF HISTORY
The Zodiac Sea Wolf was the first-ever diver’s watch with a rotating bezel. Both the Sea Wolf and the Fifty Fathoms from Blancpain were first announced at the 1953 Basel Fair. This was the most important trade fair for Swiss watchmakers. They were also both the first commercially available diver’s watches. The Zodiac was initially rated for a depth of 339 feet, which was slightly higher than the Blancpain at 300 feet.
Developed as a tool watch, the Sea Wolf remains true to its heritage. It was extremely popular with the soldiers during the Vietnam War. Available at Military Bases, they were more affordable too. There was also a “real men wear Zodiac” appeal to them.
The Sea Wolf uses the 17 jewel, A. Schild AS1624 movement. This non-hacking 18000bph automatic movement has a 41hr power reserve.
MY THOUGHTS
This is one of the earlier examples from the early 1960s, featuring Dauphine hands without the ‘backbone’. Unfortunately, these hands were prone to the lume falling out, so why Zodiac later upgraded them, but they still do suffer from lume breakage, so I will need to look after the watch and make sure that doesn’t happen.
The case is in great condition with some light wear and has the signed Zodiac crown. The worn rotating countdown bezel has the brass is showing through in places, which adds to its charm. The amazing mottled silver/champagne dial has triangular indices at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock. With applied numerals inserted into the Radium lume, these have aged really well, giving them a warm green appeal.
For some reason, the Zodiac Sea Wolf has adopted an odd lug width of 17.4mm or 11/16″ in old money. But an 18mm strap will normally for without too many issues. Like many divers of this age, they were slightly smaller than we are now used to, coming up just under 35mm, however, wear very well.
DIMENSIONS
34.8mm
17.4mm
42.9mm
11mm
Mark: This no date model is a beauty. I love the patina on the dial and when taking the macro photos, it really shows every battle scar, the microscopic flakes of paint on the dial and eroding lume. These add so much character to this watch. Fortunately, you can still pick these up for a reasonable price and they make a great addition to any collection.
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