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Ooh, ooh, ooh....oh,...damn

Started by Cobber, June 24, 2014, 08:21:40 PM

Cobber

141329732053

Saw this while surfing on my iPhone. I got excited for a second with what I thought was going to be a gilt dial Sea Skate with a Gay Freres two tone bracelet.
Oh, well :#Censored

Butch

I bet that watch has a story to tell.
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Saloonkeeper

I saw that one too. I am looking for a white dial, non-date, Sea Wolf from the 60's, as close to original as possible, with the bracelet. That one looks a little rough to me. I'm not in a hurry. I have a nice black dial Sea Wolf that I bought from Butch. Maybe Butch will list a nice white dial one soon...................hint hint................... ;)

Cobber

#3
Yeah Butch, could be.
Looks like the seller has sold a couple hundred items and has a 100% rating.  His story rings true but I'm not 100% convinced he knows what he's talking about regarding condition.  Obviously it's a replacement dial (that his dad could have done).  It does look to have been done a long time ago.  Perhaps Sea Skate replacement dials weren't readily available and/or the owner didn't see the value in keeping it totally accurate and for convenience sake had his watch maker throw on a Sea Wolf.  In any case, I have a feeling the "scratches" on the dial are just shadows of scratches on the acrylic.  For someone not to hung up on the dial saying Sea Wolf this may still make an easy restoration piece...or not.  I've decided to keep an eye on it.

Saloonkeeper,
Jon P (long time forum member) has an extremely nice white face Sea Wolf for sale:

http://www.vintagezodiacs.com/zforums/index.php/topic,2075.0.html

It's buried now several listings down on the first page in the FS section.  I may have seen nicer ones but can't remember when.  Not positive it's still available.

edit: just saw Butch's post below.  Missed the part about looking for a non-date.

Butch

Yeah Cobber, I noticed a lot of that too. And you picked up on my meaning when I said a "a story to tell."

But I can empathize! Here is mine.

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Butch

Quote from: Saloonkeeper on June 25, 2014, 06:31:56 AM
I saw that one too. I am looking for a white dial, non-date, Sea Wolf from the 60's, as close to original as possible, with the bracelet. That one looks a little rough to me. I'm not in a hurry. I have a nice black dial Sea Wolf that I bought from Butch. Maybe Butch will list a nice white dial one soon...................hint hint................... ;)

Now that BWG is back I just checked with him. All my SW's have dates.  :(  Sorry man, keep looking!
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Cobber

 :o
Butch, other than the Sea Wolf dial looks like you just pulled that thing out of a time capsule.  Did Sea Skates make it into the era of having the spines through the middle of the hands or was that just for uniformity's sake on your part.

Butch

Quote from: Cobber on June 25, 2014, 12:08:10 PM
Did Sea Skates make it into the era of having the spines through the middle of the hands or was that just for uniformity's sake on your part.

Yes, I have pictures of both. Along with a gray dialed one with the Jet type hands. Most models can ne seen in the early 60's catalogs and in the paperwork that came with the SW.
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jon p

Quote from: Cobber on June 25, 2014, 11:46:34 AM
Yeah Butch, could be.
Looks like the seller has sold a couple hundred items and has a 100% rating.  His story rings true but I'm not 100% convinced he knows what he's talking about regarding condition.  Obviously it's a replacement dial (that his dad could have done).  It does look to have been done a long time ago.  Perhaps Sea Skate replacement dials weren't readily available and/or the owner didn't see the value in keeping it totally accurate and for convenience sake had his watch maker throw on a Sea Wolf.  In any case, I have a feeling the "scratches" on the dial are just shadows of scratches on the acrylic.  For someone not to hung up on the dial saying Sea Wolf this may still make an easy restoration piece...or not.  I've decided to keep an eye on it.

Saloonkeeper,
Jon P (long time forum member) has an extremely nice white face Sea Wolf for sale:

http://www.vintagezodiacs.com/zforums/index.php/topic,2075.0.html

It's buried now several listings down on the first page in the FS section.  I may have seen nicer ones but can't remember when.  Not positive it's still available.

edit: just saw Butch's post below.  Missed the part about looking for a non-date.
GUYS, my white dial is still for sale, but it is early 1970s with date. you will not find a nicer one and orig. bracelet plus full restoration/service by BWG.

Saloonkeeper

Thanks for all the great info, guys! I thought this was a Sea Skate case with a redial but, since I am a newbie, I wasn't sure if it was a Sea Skate or that the bezel was missing.

Jon P - I already have a White Dial - with date Sea Wolf. Not as nice as yours, but it's going to BWG this week or next along with a No - Date Black Dial. Both are early models that I probably paid too much money for when I bought them. I wish I had found VZ sooner.

Don

Cobber

Well, I guess I'm the new owner of this piece.
It'll interesting to see what I've gotten myself into.
There was zero action on this thing till the last couple hours. Thought I might actually be able to pick it up for under $100 there for a while.

Saloonkeeper

Congratulations! You still got it for a good price, I think. I watched it until the end. I thought about bidding on it but I am in need of some restraint!

Don

Cobber

Thanks,
Yeah, restraint is key. This went about $35 over what I had in mind as a top value. It's going to need minimum a $100 service from one of my local guys just to sort out the mechanicals. So what we're looking at is a minimum of $255 off the get go but quite likely more. Is it worth it...We'll see. I'm thinking I'll probably try BWG for the first time.
I'm really hoping I'm correct about the condition of the dial. In that it's just shadows of the scratches on the acrylic we're seeing. I really really like the fade of the lume on the dial and hands and don't want to end up needing to replace the dial. I've been hoping to come across one for awhile, it's the epitome of what the Rolex Explorer wanted to be with a 100 meter higher depth rating.
The bracelet is interesting but I didn't include it in my valuation. It'll be interesting to see if it's salvageable. I've already got another bracelet I would like to place on it. 

incountry

Good luck with it Cobber and don't forget to show us some pictures when you get it back from  :BGW:

Cobber

Well,
you can count on that, the good, bad, and the ugly.  One way or the other I hope this to be a learning experience. I'm optimistic at the moment but I'm not thinking I hit the jack pot by any stretch of the imagination. I see this as a bit of a gamble. Let's see how it plays out.
Fingers crossed:)

Cobber

It arrived today and exterior condition is as good as I could have hoped for really. Case is going to polish up nicely. I can't find any tool markings on the back from being pried upon and the factory contrast of brushed center and polished perimeter is evident though could use a bit of both. Scratches are extremely light.
Regarding the dial, it looks evenly and nicely patina'd. Zero scratches that I can find. Appears I was correct regarding the crystals shadow scratches.
The bracelet clasp is marked JB Champion but without a Zodiac signature and the fact that it's two tone on a non-two tone watch leaves me fairly confident it's non-original. However, I will say it goes very well with the fade of the lume on the dial. I may yet keep the combo as found.
Over all it's in better condition than my Sea Wolf before I had it lightly restored.
Mechanically, it's another story. Doesn't appea to wind with the stem. Only the rotor. I don't know how big a deal this is to repair but I'll find out.
I got to say I'm pretty happy overall. It's a real nice looking vintage piece as is and expect it to be a stunner when it's done being worked on. I really like how the dome of the crystal caps this thing. Much more noticeable than on the Sea Wolf.

incountry

See that; good things do come along now and then! Enjoy it Cobber.

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