check out e-bay item ## 201599568569. beautiful all original late 1960s SW, BUT take a close look at the BACK AND read the sellers description about the case back. I thought the back was off the case but no, it has a clear back showing the movement!! how bizarre is this!! I doubt it is factory but my hat is off to the guy who did it. has anyone here seen this feature before? :what :what
Some models of the later electric Spacetronic came with a sea through back. It may be from one of those. Can't understand what he would not take a pic of it if he talks about it though.
A diving watch with a sea through back. From the 60's. Righttttt.
I THINK the glass back is on there , see the movement pic. not real clear but it looks like it in the pic at about 11 o clock. it would have to be slightly dome shaped to get it to clear the movement. not the clearest pic. I don't see any sign of a gasket. strange, for sure. the guy has the original back.another vintage zodiac mystery.
Not really. Zodiac never made that watch that way. No mystery, sorry.
A Sea Wolf with a See Thru Back. How cool is that ?
Here is a picture of my late Spacetronic see thru back. Had no idea that the back would fit a Sea Wolf or would have never sold the complete watch for $54.
(https://www.vintagezodiacs.com/zforums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2F-oTAwMrFyLVI%2FUSrnNtxGH2I%2FAAAAAAAAF9U%2FXQbaNo_Piy4%2Fs800%2FMVC-011S.JPG&hash=b60db3ce5ca587d6b86ae0169b122b16e7185a48)
Best,
dmh
I was thinking the same thing Dave, never tried it. I also know there were companies that made replacement see through backs during that time period too. But Zodiac did not that I have ever heard. Nor do I believe that the see through back would have allowed the SW to maintain it's depth rating of 660 Ft. either.
Quote from: Butch on June 11, 2016, 07:25:26 PM
I was thinking the same thing Dave, never tried it. I also know there were companies that made replacement see through backs during that time period too. But Zodiac did not that I have ever heard. Nor do I believe that the see through back would have allowed the SW to maintain it's depth rating of 660 Ft. either.
I agree 100% Butch, but I doubt many of us dive with 50 year old watches. As for me, I don't even wash my hands while wearing a watch, new or old. Why take a chance is my thinking.
Best,
dmh
no, I didn't figure zodiac made it that way, but someone figured out how to make one it looks like. cool idea any way. yup, I doubt if it would be "water proof", but neither is any vintage watch in my mind. I am with dmh, I don't even wash my hands with one on. if I want to get wet and wild I have 3 or 4 Seiko divers--modern ones--to dip.
Quoteno, I didn't figure zodiac made it that way
Definitely, it is a third part customization.
QuoteI don't even wash my hands with one on.
he-he, very right decision. Yesterday I tried to restore Sea Wolf's waterproof properties. Failed.
Even NOS crowns are not waterproof. At 6atm (without submerging into water) all their rubber rings don't withstand such pressure.
At 3atm some of them do. But after releasing pressure in the chamber (submerged), the crystal (original not altered) pops out, flooding the movement. I recon after many years of service, crystals "dry out", shrinking a bit and losing elasticity.
I even don't say about case tube. Usually the tube is too worn and can't fit crown right. I've installed NOS tube though.
In the same time the case and case back (if they did not lost their shape) cleaned from gunk and corrosion and supported new gasket worked as expected in my case.
40 year old NOS crowns will have their gaskets fall apart as soon as you smash them onto a tube. Try it. The gasket needs to be replaced.
To make a Sea Wolf waterproof again you have to: replace the tube, replace the gasket in the crown, replace the crystal, and finally replace the gasket in the back. All with new modern parts, NOT NOS parts. AND THEN, you have to pray that the back has not been popped off a hundred times in the past 40 years. Or that the ridges on the case that the back pops onto has not become malformed as the back has been popped off a hundred times in the past 40 years.
A snap on back was cheap for Zodiac, not the best solution for a dive watch. And I too, take my watch off and put it in an inside pocket even when it gets foggy outside. They are collectables, and getting more expensive all the time it seems.
You guys sound like some smart collectors.