Oddities in my vintage Zodiac Sea Wolf

[Relojie]

Hi Butch and everyone on the forum!

Just discovered this small galaxy in the vintage watch universe dedicated to vintage Zodiacs and I am a fan already. A few months ago I came to own a vintage Zodiac Sea Wolf in an auction lot and upon taking a closer look i can tell some things are slightly off. Im hoping your knowledge could help shed some light on a few questions i have:

1) the biggest standout are the hour and minute hands. Is the conclusion that these are definitely not original and have been replaced since the are not the standard pointed hands? or have you seen these hands on other vintage Sea Wolfs? Reason I ask is A) I've seen one other version of hour and minute hands and B) the colouration of the lume on the hands fits very well with the lume in the hour markers.

2) The inside of the caseback indicates that my watch is a model 722-916, however on the rotor of the movement it is very difficult to read, but I read 723 or 72B? My question is if this is a mismatch and either is replaced? Which model is this then and are there more indications in the movement?

3) the crown is replaced. Is it easy to find an original crown and where can i best look for one?

4) if you look at the pictures, what else stands out to you?

Many thanks for taking a look!

Cheers,
Pieter

[Ultra-Vintage]

As you had mentioned, hands are not correct.  They are from multiple Swiss divers of the era, but not related to Zodiac.  You are correct, this model should have a 70-72 signed rotor.  It appears that the rotor/auto assembly was switched, not that it actually has the quickset 72B in it, since the crown sits flush with case.  It is something that happens a lot, since the same auto assembly/rotor will fit both movements.  Crown is replaced, but those original signed crowns are still around.  When you find one expect the gasket inside to be dried out or soup though.

[Relojie]

Really appreciate the answers! Confirms the suspicion that this is quite the assembled Sea Wolf. It's a pity because some aspects of the watch such as the dial and bezel are in beautiful condition. I'll see what i will do with it, since it would be quite the project to source all the original components.

[YuriyV]

Case back is wrong too.
Indeed it is one Werewolf watch. LOL

[Butch]

Thanks for replying BWG and Yuri.

Pieter, if you don't mind, please tell me about the lot you found, the description of it by the seller, and how much you paid for said lot.

[Relojie]

Hi Butch,

Sure. I bought the watch in a large lot of watches on the Danish auction site Lauritz.com a few months ago. Funnily (or not) they just announced bankruptcy 3 weeks ago. It appears to be a collection from a Danish collector give the local reach of the auction house. I bought the lot because i was interested in some of the other watches and the Sea Wolf came as a bonus to me. As you can sea it came with what i hope is an origial Sea Wolf Datographic (so with date unlike mine?) watch box.

I like the watch, as i wrote, I like some of the features including the dial and bezel. It even fits with my passion for 60's and 70's dive and tool watches. However i think it will be to better use to someone with a love for vintage (Sea Wolf) Zodiac's. I will present it as donor watch for spare parts or a very large restoration project.

What do you think would be a reasonable price for 1) the watch box and 2) the watch for spare parts?

BR,
Pieter

[Butch]

The box is missing the bottom part that hold the watch, but may be worth something to someone. My advice is stick it on eBay in a 10 day aution and let it rip if you are not interested in it. I am not a big fan of a starting price above $9.99 nor a reserve price on eBay.

Doing it this way may actually help you recoup what you paid for the lot.

[YuriyV]

Just to help understand correct configuration of this Sea Wolf model.
Sea Wolf Datographic stands for a Sea Wolf with calendar complication.
Your Sea Wolf does not have calendar. So Datographic box, 722 916 ref number and 72B engraving are not applicable for it. Obviously the watch was assembled from available parts and can not be considered as a collectible piece.
Although it still has very nice dial and bezel. Which is a key factor in condition of these watches for 916 ref number. It is pretty rare to see them in such pristine state. So it is possible to convert this particular Werewolf into correct No date 702 916 Sea Wolf. In this case it can fetch $1500+ for an interested buyer to wear and enjoy it. I'd estimate investment in parts and labor about $500+.

[Relojie]

Im shocked, not even the box is real! 

Thanks again Yuri. Now that you've mentioned the reference number is 702-916 it makes sense with other watches i find on the web having the same dial and bezel.

I'll also take up Butch's suggestion and put it on Ebay. I will share the link here once i do. Anyone on the forum reading this who wants to buy it for the parts is welcome to contact me for a family and friends price.

I enjoyed learning a bit more about these Sea Wolfs and I'm sure i'll encounter a few more along the way. I'll continue to follow this forum and keep in touch!

Cheers,
Pieter

[Grossisten]

I was bidding on this lot as well :-). Went to check it out IRL and intended to sell most watches on and keep the most interesting (to me) ones. But I wasn't willing to go as high as you did, particularly as I was especially after the Zodiac. Reading this thread I feel even more pleased with my decision. I hope you are happy with the lot, there were some really nice watches in there. Lauritz is history now, good thing too, their way of handling watch auctions was appalling, their price evaluations blowing in the wind, sometimes not realizing what was fake or not (or franken). They stopped paying sellers their profit and are now bankrupt, scumbags. I once bought a lot of NOS watches through Lauritz including a few Zodiacs, they mailed them  thrown into the same plastic bag in a box, guess what the cases looked like on arrival.... Obviously I returned that lot. Interestingly a few weeks later the most attractive (again to me) of those landed on the counter of a watchmaker friend of mine who judged it "beyond repair". Lucky again, I guess.

[Relojie]

What a coincidence! Like you said, better that you did not buy it for the Sea Wolf but I have to say that the other watches definitely did not disappoint. I enjoy wearing the Zenith, Certina and Eterna Matic watches a lot and they were all in good working order.

[Grossisten]

It was a very nice lot, good thing that you are happy with it!