Vintage Zodiac Seawolf - Black with Date: Just picked up!

[Timeout123]

Picked this up recently - in really good condition and with original band.

[Dutchsiberia]

Very nice :) Love the bracelet!

[Butch]

Nice! That is one of the better relum and repaint of the numbers I have seen done to the triangles. Nice catch.

[Timeout123]

Yes you are right - exactly why it appealed to me. The 6,9,12 nos. are smaller than most that I have seen before. The problem I have with Seawolfs is that I find them a bit small for my wrist. I wish they made them a wee bit larger! In any case, am holding on to this one - looks great on the wrist!

[Butch]

It was a different era. Were it from the 40's it would look like a tank, right?

Try a Super Sea Wolf then.

[Timeout123]

True! The Super Seawolf is not my style although it is a great watch.

I just think that the original Seawolf would look great slightly larger. Homage folks are you listening

[Butch]

"They" don't come here...

[Cobber]

You never know. If you don't voice your desires somewhere
then nobody will ever hear you. Perhaps the Genendar (spelling?)
folks will take a shot at it. They did revive the Clebar name I
think.
The size doesn't bother me but if anyone ever took a stab at a
39-40mm version I would definitely be seriously interested.

[Timeout123]

Thanks Cobber - totally agree. Some super nice homage work coming out of people like Helson, MKII etc. A 40mm version of the Seawolf and the GMT would be gorgeous! Butch - too bad they don't come here. Maybe an invitation would help?

[jon p]

yeah, it does look small by todays standards doesnt it! i bought mine while in the army in may 1968 and i remember it looking so big. i wore a cheap wind up timex all through basic so i wouldnt wreck my new sea wolf and the timex looked tiny compared to my new zodiac. the timex really took a licking but kept on ticking through some very rough treatment. buried in mud, subject to shock such as much heavy recoill from the big M-14 rifle, etc. it looked so bad when basic was over it went in the trash!

[oldbronco]

I agree with Butch. this is the vintage Zodiac forum, not the homage forum.

[Timeout123]

To each his own mate. The last time I checked Homage means paying respect or making a tribute to something - Original Vintage Zodiacs in this case!

I see no harm in spreading the vintage Zodiac revolution rather than limiting views on here

[Butch]

I am legally bound not to comment nor explain my previous remarks.

Let me say that the design is owned by the brand an cannot be replicated though.

[smithrjd]

  A sign of the times. One buys a "brand" and then dictates what it will become. I actually like the smaller watches, and I have a 7.5" wrist so can fit the 45+ watches.

[Butch]

Timeout, you are not alone. Many people, both now a days and in the past, have wished them to be bigger. One reason for  the popularity of the 1990's Zodiac models was that most were available in 3 sizes, the largest being ~39 MM, which was huge for that time.

FWIW, one of the reasons I like the Kingline models is that at 36 MM they were HUGE for the mid-60s. Beating out the 30 and 32 MM round models from the 40's and early 50's. (I just have those restored and put in a drawer.)

[Timeout123]

Well said, Butch although the newer Zodiacs just don't have the charm of yesteryears beauties (my opinion anyway).

I guess back in the day they were on the larger size hence their success. Big or small, they are bloody iconic - no surprise on their cult status.

On a side note, and probably well known - I found some interesting styling similarities to the Eterna Matic Explorer Kontiki, particularly the numbered/lumed triangular 6,9,12 markers. Perhaps others too made around the same time?\

[Cobber]

I was going to mention the Kontiki. More in line with the Sea Skate
but definitely in the spirit of. All be it fairly expensive. There's also
the Muhle SAR.
In regards to the Kontiki, I would be interested in knowing if others
agree it's more similar to the Sea Wolf than the watch Eterna claims
it's honoring. I've seen older Kontikis but none that resemble the
current ones as much as the Sea Wolf.

[Timeout123]

Actually, they are honoring one of their own - the one I mentioned. It was made around the same time of the Seawolf. Maybe the same designer, who knows. I would post a picture from the web but I do not have permission from the owner. I am going to go out on a limb and post an old advert for the watch - should not require permissions. Right Butch?

[Butch]

If it is not your picture you need the owner's permission. One cannot simply take a picture from a web site that has a copyright notice posted.

[Timeout123]

 

I would think an old advert would be in public domain. But happy to take it down.

[Butch]

Not that you did anything "wrong, but let me explain it here (it is in the forum rules too).

I do not let people take pictures from my web site and use them on other web sites, (esp. eBay!!) so I extend the same courtesy to other web sites. I have paper copies that I bought or were given to me of all the ads I use, and I scan them myself.

Thank you for your co-operation.

[Timeout123]

No worries, Butch. Fully understand and will comply. Can I edit/remove the pic myself or you will need to do it?

[Butch]

You could, but I did. Thx.

[Cobber]

Timeout, I saw the kontiki you were referring to. They picked a
pretty obscure model to pay homage to. It's very hard to find
original examples of that model but point taken.
I can't help but wonder if the reason they choose to do that one
is because it resembles the Sea Wolf so much and were hoping
it would appeal to Zodiac collectors as well.
To bad they're not doing a version with a rotating bezel. It would easily pass
for a modern day Sea Wolf.
Along the same lines of inquiry as before, I wonder which came first,
the Breitling Sea Wolf or Zodiac? I'm worried people are going to
think my view of Zodiacs is a bit narcissistic.

[Butch]

According to the catalogs on ZodiacCatalogs.com the Zodiac Sea Wolf was introduced in 1953.

[Cobber]

Butch, that's interesting because the first Kontikis I can find information on are from 1958.  There's more than just a little resemblance here.  Also, in advertisements for the current homage they're calling it the 50th year anniversary of the first Kontiki.  That would indicate the Sea Wolf is the older design.

[Timeout123]

Thanks, Butch for removing the pic.

Cobber, I agree with your line of enquiry. I think the Kontiki is Zodiac inspired. The resemblance has to be more than a coincidence. Could have something to do with a common watch designer perhaps or one that jumped ship. Also interesting point you make about why Kontiki would choose to reissue/pay homage to that particular model because it is rather obscure unless sales at the time were phenomenal.