Zodiac Talk => General Zodiac Discussion => Topic started by: longview65 on February 15, 2011, 03:59:03 PM

Title: Pic requested please..........
Post by: longview65 on February 15, 2011, 03:59:03 PM
IF anyone has an Original AD stating the 1200.00 price of this watch I would sure appreciate if you can post it!
I'm NOT selling this watch but I'm having a VERY hard time convincing folks that yes this QUARTZ watch did indeed sell in the 1200.00 range back in the 90s.
TIA

Title: Re: Pic requested please..........
Post by: Butch on February 15, 2011, 06:04:42 PM
It has been a long time man. I looked through an old dealer Excel spreadsheet I have of 1990's retail pricing and did not find it, which means they were simply sold out and not on the list. Having said that...

I see prices for kortz 1990's Zodiacs ranging from $750, $925, $1,025, and $1,250, the latter for the kortz Marine Life Chronograph. My guess is that this sold for either the $750 or most likely the $925 price back then. Just a guess though, but better than anyone elses I would think. I am not including the $225 Swiss Formula junk series put out to compete with the Tags of that time either. Once should remember that the dealer wholesale price was less than half of the retail price and that huge discounts often occurred at the time of sale.

Having said ALL that, let me add that when Zodiac went bankrupt in 1997 the Zodiac GMT was sold in bulk to a retail outlet called Value City (now defunct). I was buying them there new, complete in the boxes, for $99.99 in 1999. Needless to say this hurt the resale value tremendously. Add to that there are no cosmetic parts available for them today, and the inherit problem of the one piece stem crown breaking, the resale value of the GMT is simply not that high. And its kortz.

Today you can still find NOS kortz 1990's Zodiacs on eBay for under $200. 

I am in a rare mood so let me tell you about the time my wife and I were in Old San Juan, PR in 1996. She bought me a Tag Heuer 3000 Professional and paid $600 for it. That was a full size Diver's model not seen since their 1990 catalog when it was replaced by the 4000. It retailed for $1,200 in 1990 and the store had had it almost that long. He sold it to her and still made money. When I got back and showed it to my local watchmaker he said it was a GREAT watch. And the best part is that if it was unrepairable that he could buy a complete new movement for it for $16.00. Oh, yeah, that was the LAST kortz watch I owned. I sold it the next day and bought the 3000 Chrono with the VJ 7750 Auto movement.

Title: Re: Pic requested please..........
Post by: Sea Wolf on February 15, 2011, 06:17:19 PM
16 dollar quartz movement... really   :o

Title: Re: Pic requested please..........
Post by: Butch on February 15, 2011, 06:20:48 PM
In 1996, yes. Probably $30 today. Maybe...
Title: Re: Pic requested please..........
Post by: Ultra-Vintage on February 16, 2011, 05:34:06 PM
Quote from: Sea Wolf on February 15, 2011, 06:17:19 PM
16 dollar quartz movement... really   :o

$16 = a pretty decent quartz movement.  Most of the ones that I replace probably average around half that price.