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Super Seawolf and the Navy Seals

Started by johngdo, March 26, 2018, 09:27:40 PM

johngdo

Helllo!  I'm new to the forum, and wanted to run some questions by you guys.  I recently purchased my first Zodiac, an early Super Seawolf, pictured in the link below.  The first thing that I noticed about the watch is the strange number etched prominently on the case.  SO451947.  I was excited to research what this number meant, so I started digging around, hoping to uncover some interesting history.

Long story short, I don't have a definitive answer what this number means, but I do have an idea which might be something of a pipe dream.  We have all heard about the Super Seawolf being a favorite of The Navy Seals, so I quickly started seeing if the number could have some meaning to the US Navy.  As it turns out, a service number of 451947 (if that's what it represents) would place this watches owner's commissioning right around the time of The Korean War... oddly enough, about perfect timing for an original SEAL to be commissioning.  On top of that... SO is the navy's official acronym for a member of The SEALs.  Put both of these facts together, and the idea doesn't seem too far fetched to me...

Could this watch have belonged to one of the original SEALs?  Am I completely nuts?  Let me know what you think.  Images are at the following link.

https://imgur.com/gallery/RfHOk

jmh86325

First thing... :welc to the forum!...the bad news is that your watch was made in the 70's, it is a very nice example and for best reliability i would recommend a service.  :twothumbsup

Butch

  :welc

Navy dive units had discretionary funds and it has been said they sometimes bought Zodiacs. But the US Navy never did.
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Cobber

#3
Hello!
Been gone a couple years, going through the having babies phase I guess, but have recently started reactivating my Zodiac senses/reflexes.
Regarding watch linked above, does anyone have any certainty who the case manufacturer was?
Perhaps EPSA or Squale? 
Also, trying to figure out the first year the Super Seawolf appeared. 
I think I'm over due on my membership fees for the VZ Team but will rectify that tomorrow. I either couldn't remember my pass word or it expired.  Don't have access to a decent computer at home.  Lost that room to the nanny and don't have the patience to deal with it on an iPad.

Butch

Squale rings a bell. UV probably knows.
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Ultra-Vintage

Quote from: Butch on April 18, 2018, 08:34:05 AM
Squale rings a bell. UV probably knows.

The early Super Seawolfs are definitely EPSA, and fall under the "Single Crown Super Compressor" patents. 

The second variation of the Super Seawolf, the first models with the ETA movement (would be post 79-80 when A Schild became part of ETA), might very well have been made after the closing of EPSA.  I have not seen proof as to their maker, but there are differences between their cases/bezels and the first generation, and it is possible they were made by Squale/MRSA. I have not seen anything definitive though.

Cobber


:ur
Thanks U.V.,
I think I understand this correctly.
1) For 79-80, you're referring to the year A. Schild merged with ETA and not a numerical movement designation.
2) The first Super Sea Wolfs with an ETA movement were the ones G. Monnier intro'd in the early nineties with the saw tooth bezel.


Ultra-Vintage

Quote from: Cobber on April 19, 2018, 10:45:36 AM

:ur
Thanks U.V.,
I think I understand this correctly.
1) For 79-80, you're referring to the year A. Schild merged with ETA and not a numerical movement designation.
2) The first Super Sea Wolfs with an ETA movement were the ones G. Monnier intro'd in the early nineties with the saw tooth bezel.

Hey Cobber.  Yes, somewhere in 1979-1980 is when A Schild became part of ETA, which coincides when Zodiac began using ETA movements instead of the AS calibers they had previously.  I am sure there was some lag, as they would have used any old stock built up first, but it was ETA focused from then.

The first Super Seawolf using an ETA movement was the model with the compression dial and gray/white bezel.  I do not have a pic of it on my computer, but I am sure you know which one I am referring to.

Ultra-Vintage

Quote from: Cobber on April 19, 2018, 10:45:36 AM

:ur
Thanks U.V.,
I think I understand this correctly.
1) For 79-80, you're referring to the year A. Schild merged with ETA and not a numerical movement designation.
2) The first Super Sea Wolfs with an ETA movement were the ones G. Monnier intro'd in the early nineties with the saw tooth bezel.

I am not sure if Butch agrees, but I would consider the Saw Toothed 90s models the 3rd gen Super Seawolf. 

Butch?

Butch

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Cobber

#10
Quote from: Ultra-Vintage on April 19, 2018, 11:16:33 AM


Hey Cobber.  Yes, somewhere in 1979-1980 is when A Schild became part of ETA, which coincides when Zodiac began using ETA movements instead of the AS calibers they had previously.  I am sure there was some lag, as they would have used any old stock built up first, but it was ETA focused from then.

The first Super Seawolf using an ETA movement was the model with the compression dial and gray/white bezel.  I do not have a pic of it on my computer, but I am sure you know which one I am referring to.

I believe I follow what you guys are saying: 
The 1977 Spanish catalog has a Super Sea Wolf U.V. described.
So, the first gen EPSA SSW had a slight case build shift that more or less coincided with their shift to ETA and those may have been supplied by Squale or EPSA and for the sake of this conversation we're considering those to be second gen. SSWs

Thanks Butch and U.V.

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