Still great deals to be had on ebay

[zaniac]

260912715255
Just ended with only 2 bids and a great price, IMO.
Unique hour markers and an automatic to boot.
More unique and rare than a Sea Wolf
And no, I was not a bidder.

[jon p]

   CHRIS, you are right, nice old zodiac dress watch at a great price!! just not much intrest in dress watches, too bad. some one got a great buy on a really nice one in very good condition.

[Butch]

Agreed, on all counts. I did not bid as I have a mint one with the crown.

[zaniac]

Thanks for the photo, Butch. That's a great looking watch.
Do you currently have all the watches under "My Watches" or do these include ones you've previously owned, but no longer have?
It would be awesome to see a current group photo(if you can fit them all in one photo) :)
I enjoy looking through them, there's still ones I've never seen anywhere else!

[Butch]

Good question! It used to be just the ones I currently have and then along the way I just started putting pics of all that I have owned. So no, I do not have everyone that is in there, but certainly have owned all of them since we set up this site ~2 years ago. The pictures are always taken after the service and best possible restore.

That said, I have so many that the thought of taking them all out and laying them on the desk for a class picture really makes me laugh man. (And then shudder.) That ain't happening. I started out doing them in groups of 6 on the stand, and that even got old quick.

Funny thing is that what I collect is of no real interest here. The older ones are the most valuable and for the most part of no interest here. Currently working on older ones and filling out my stable of 1960s models.

[zaniac]

Interesting, thanks for the reply. So how many Zodiacs would you estimate you currently have?
Do you only sell the ones you have a double of?
I'm not sure what you mean by saying what you collect is of no interest here. I guess you mean pre-50's.
I can understand not wanting to take a group photo, especially if all of them are pictured individually under "My Watches".
Sorry for so many questions, it's just you probably have the largest Zodiac collection in the world and it's interesting to hear more about the rare ones.

[Butch]

Over 50 for sure, just not sure of the exact number. This crowd is more of a Sea Wolf crowd here. They really bore me, (the watch, NOT the crowd) except for the rarer ones. And they sell so well it is hard to keep them, easier to sell and have money to buy others.

Some of the older regulators are very expensive, and of course the jump hour. It is probably one of the oldest examples of a Zodiac wrist watch, maybe even in the world, that I know of. The smaller Hermetics from the 40s and 50s can be interesting given their large well defined minutes chapter. One of them is a manual wind that actually runs for over 40 hours on a single winding. Has to be the longest damn main spring in history for a 30 MM watch. (Another unpopular thing now a days.) These models were normally plated and trying to find one in a NICE case can be very challenging. I have one in a SS case too, very rare.

I always trade up specimens. I had a VERY nice blue Astorgraphic that I sold for over $700 (some fella in Japan) as I came across another that is damn near new. You should see the brushed finish on it, unlike any restored piece I have ever seen. Speaking of new, the Astrographic II that I have was purchased as NOS. I do not think I have ever worn it. At least not that I recall anyway.

Some other interesting ones are the square Rotographic in a square case. AWESOME piece in the same condition. Then the Glorious. Both have the original band. I just picked up an Autographic, COMPLETE, from the same era. (Still need to get a photo of that one and put up.) Original band, box, tags, paperwork, in almost unworn condition.

Ah well, I think that is enough for today.

[Sea Wolf]

50+ 

I have dibs on one of them and I won't say the one I want.  One of these days, I'll convince my wife to buy it from Butch.

Please save it for me 

[Butch]

Yeah, I know. The price of that one just keeps going up man! By that time you may have to sacrifice Jr.'s 1st year of college. But hey, won't be a job for him when he graduates anyway so you might as well buy another watch.

[zaniac]

Awesome, informative reply. Thanks Butch!
I look at those two Regulators and the Jump Hour often. They may be old, but are very desirable to me.
I think some of the older Hermetics are boring, but had no idea one of them had a 40 hour run time. Amazing!
Is that new Astrographic with the brushed finish and the Astro II photos up under "My Photos"? I would love to see them if not.
I just purchased a square Rotographic and I love it! They're small, but very comfortable and I like venturing out on the lesser known Zodiacs.
Thanks again for the reply.

[Butch]

They are indeed in My Watches.

I will let you know first if I decide to part with one of my regulators. Usually use eBay for that sort of thing and there are collectors that just do regulators, chronos, etc. Bigger audience than here.

[zaniac]

Thanks a lot, Butch, appreciate the offer at first chance. If you never decide to sell one, I understand or if you decide to list on ebay, especially if there's regulator collector's, that's cool too.
I saw the stand alone photo of the Astro II under "My Watches", but I think the stand alone of the brushed Astrographic is your old one. It has a different band than the brushed Astrographic in your 35 years of Astro photo. Would love to see a stand alone of that one. Especially since it seems to have a not so common Zodiac band on it. No pressure of course, whenever.
I love the chronos too, but can rarely afford them. They seem to bring the most, besides the Super sea Wolfs of course.

[Butch]

You're right, I forgot to take a picture of the newest one.

[zaniac]

Incredible
That brushed finish looks so thick! Looks like it was never even handled, let alone polished.
Thanks for sharing.