Hello Zodiac Watches,

I have had a Zodiac watch for a while now but still have no information on it. My Great uncle gave it to me before he passed some years ago but I was to young to even bother with what it was about. I figured this would be the best place to come for assistance.

Hopefully the image has attached properly and you can see for yourselves

Help would be appreciated

Kind Regards

Craig

Looks like something that was brought into the UK and cased there. Are there any markings on the case back, or inside the back?

Typical 50's manual winding dress watch.

There is no marking on the back of the watch but markings all over the bracelet which looks like .375
I have not dared to attempt to open the back up yet in case I damage it.

I have still got the case it came in, which you can see from the picture below.

Inside the case it reads:-

Zodiac
Montres de precision depuis 1882
'bullseye zodiac mark'

The .375 is 9K gold, so it has scrap value. I think you will have to take it to someone and get the info inside the case back. This appears to be a nice piece of Zodiac history, probably from the 1950s.

BTW, if the case is 9K too, you might want to have the watchmaker weight it while the movement is out to get an idea of the scrap gold value. Roughly, 10 grams of 9K gold is worth (Estimated Value After All Refining Charges) $50. But that could be high.

I think it would be a good idea to get the back off the watch and take a look to see what were working with, so I'm probably going to take it into a watch dealers.
The case has a .375 mark on it as well.

Do you know anyone that could be interested in such an item, baring in mind I am a UK resident?!

I may be interested, depending on the serial number that is on or in the back, and the case maker's name. But this is a purely from a historical perspective. The watch is probably of no of interest to many other collectors though. I buy the old ones with low serial numbers for my collection, even if in stainless steel. I really do not care about it being gold, but that is what it is man. May even drive the price beyond my interest.

The point of having it weighed is to determine the scrap value of the gold. That is the real value in this watch. The guy that weighs it can tell you the scrap value and may even make you an offer. Once you have the weight we can have a discussion.

Fair enough? In the UK does not bother me. Some of my best friend are in the UK.  ;)

I've managed to get the back of the watch off. Photos of the mechanism and case can be seen below.

It is still in full working order by the way! Looks in great condition!

I think that is a 1950's model that was imported into England and then cased in the Denison case. That is about the only country that ever did that in the 9 or 10K cases. Or at least the only ones I have seen.

The Zodiac distributor in the North America did something similar in the 40's, and then in the 50's imported them without the bands and put JB Champion bands on the North American models.

Back in the day, Swiss watches had a huge duty on them when imported. So companies would bring the movement in country and case them there. You see stuff like that here with the Star Watch Case Company. There was almost a much lower duty on the ebauche (caseless watch).

Anyway, I will make you an offer when you are ready, but I would suggest we take this to my email for that discussion.

UV, if you are listening, feel free to jump in here.

Yeah I am very much open to offers. I'm trying to get a few estimates from certain parties and a trip to the watch dealers is order as the more information I can get the better. I am keen to see what you think its worth?!