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Chirp, chirp

Started by Cobber, May 20, 2019, 11:30:28 AM

Cobber

(spoiler alert; will be discussing a ladies watch)

item # 303040788404 (from large '71 catalog pg. 6)

Pretty sure this will go no where but maybe some one else will find this interesting.
I've been doing searches for gold Zodiacs.  Gold has been growing on me a lot the last few years which seems to have a lot of benefits regarding Zodiac.  Fewer people are interested in the dressier watches than the "sporty" diving gmt ones and even fewer once you through gold in there.  This makes competition a lot less of an obstacle.  I recently won a gold Zodiac and was the one and only bidder (more on this later).

:SB:
Now throw a ladies watch in there and..., well...  I came across the above referenced listing and can't help feel it's a damn shame.  For a company that's most recognized for it's sporty, tool, and military association Zodiac was a surprisingly well rounded company and besides being incredibly strong in the Chronometer arena (according to their published stats; among the top 6 producers at the height of the Swiss watch making glory days)..., the Sea Wolf goes with out mention.  As far as I'm concerned Rolex and Blancpain (however you pronounce it) can go p!$$ up a rope.  To this day I don't think there's been a Rolex Explorer that can match the Sea Skate's water resistance and Zodiac did it with a snap on case back and push/pull crown.
:#rant
I digress, anyone that's perused the VZ catalog website has probably noticed with barely any interest the Fleur De Lotus in the small '71 catalog.  This is a ladies piece Zodiac entered and won first place in a competition organized by the Swiss watch making industry at the '67 Montreal Expo (I know this because it says so right in the photo description).  I've always skipped over the ladies sections with zero to little interest.  However, for anyone that has an interest in Zodiacs historical success and achievements we're really missing out on some exceptional work.  Which brings me to the item I listed at the beginning of the topic.  This is the first time I stumbled on to one of Zodiacs's higher end pieces in such nice condition and it really shows their expertise at crafting fine jeweler and incorporating it into watch making.  I'm half tempted to make an offer on this as a present for my wife.  I can see and feel there's actual justifiable value in it.  Other watches I may be interested in go up in value for other reasons, this thing really is a work of art.  That being said, I doubt I'll actually do this.

In any case, I found this listing particularily interesting due to the fact the catalogs just don't do these pieces any justice.  I've saved sellers images to my own little data base for personal reference.

Cobber

I reached out to Liberty Pawn & Gold in VA to get permission and double checked with Butch to make sure there wouldn't be an issue posting photos of the watch and got approval all around.

Ultra-Vintage

A very interesting piece, definitely fancier than 99.9% of the Zodiac ladies watches I have seen over the years.  Unfortunately though, I think it will be difficult to get them into the realm of "reasonability" in regards to their price.  They list the full weight as 38.7gr, but at least 4-5gr of that would be the movement and crystal, so full content value of what's left using today's pricing would be just under $850 (with scrap value being less).  The stones could add a little value, but not much considering they did not think they were important enough to even list their size or total weight.  Some markup is to be expected, but some examples are a bit extreme. 

Butch

I remember these. They were a ladie's bracelet that just happened to have a watch inside. They usually go for a lot of money.

UV is right about the stones. Most of us know watches are where the crap stones go to die.

Nice piece of history so thanks for sharing!
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Nicholas_A_Kent

The watch I have looks just like that but it's silver and no Jem Stones covering the top of it... Is this watch a wind up watch?

Butch

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