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How an inherited watch started a collection by "accident"

Started by juul, November 05, 2020, 04:30:20 PM

juul

Ok, here's the thing...
I can now call myself a Zodiac collector by "accident".
It started by my 15 year old son's investigating the drawers and finding my granddads old gold-plated Zodiac automatic. While not being a Rolex it anyway caught his curiosity (and mine as well) to a point where we were engulfed in a parallel google-search about this intriguing brands exiting, yet poorly covered, history.
So, I guess I can sum up that beside this homepage, it's only wikipedia which to a certain degree delivers a satisfactory but yet incomplete overview of the company's history. The rest is just mainly watches in different state of decay being advertised on eBay etc.
And that sums pretty much up how I've now doubled my collection ...and son even quadrupled it(!)
The thing is I sort if incidentally happened to bid on three watches on eBay simultaneously. And thank's to my novelty in this kind of trading, realized a bit too late that these bid's was binding (I guess... ::)), so (un)fortunately i won all the bids...  :P
Hope it's a good investment at least. But anyhow: My main reason is way more passionate than investment-focused- I simply adore the futuristic and progressive design of that period. The astrographic mystery dial is hypnotic! And I think the SST 3600 ca. 1970's with the pierced-leatherband will fit my Volvo Amazon perfectly! (Eventhough I discovered a bit too late the days is in spanish).The last piece is another SST 3600 day-date. Gold plated with black dial and in an original box.   
All these three beauties for the price of a (boring) applewatch (Imitators!)
So, well maybe I'm not that stupid... Now got me a new hobby: based on four cool watches that would probably not get less valuable in the future, to a price far less than a single vintage Rolex. And hey, can we agree abut this statement? Zodiac is far more cool and at least as genuine made and innovative.
I'll be very happy if anyone could help me identify the models, year of manufacture and user manuals... Also, I would like to learn the basic maintenance and tips to restoration since none of these items is in tip-tip shape.
Notes to pictures: The first image is my granddads watch, and the first of the three i bought in this frenzy. I suspect none of the wristbands are original. My granddads has an inscription with a face in profile and the text "Fischer" + "stainless steel". It's definitely not sapphire-glass, probably not even glass. So that could probably have been a replacement? (which wouldn't surprise me, remembering my granddad frugal behavior). But is it possible fitting a new one without "damaging" it's originality?

The leather band on the SST just seem too new and hasn't got any inscriptions at all. But anyway... It's cool! (and the less convincing reason i bid on it in the first place... The green'ish color on the dial is less perfect than I expected. Seems worn and probably someone has tried to clean it but accidentally just made it worse. Also, the date got stuck on "21", probably the oil has turned into tar as the web-manager would have expressed it on the "watch repair" page...
I included another of my inherited watches on the photo. A Seiko 5. Don't know if it's worth anything or if anyone her bothers to tell me, since it's kind of "off-topic".
As mentioned earlier, I haven't received the two other watches yet. (But boy! -am I exited?) The pictures is from eBay.   

Grossisten

Very cool watches. I love the SST36000 models as these hi-beat automatics where somehow the peak of mechanical watchmaking and at the same time the swan-song (or so it must have seemed by the end of the 70'ies). The Astrographics are in a league of their own and a design that I don't feel is fully recognized with collectors outside this forum.

Ultra-Vintage

 :agreei  Great start on the collection.  I agree with Grossisten.  The SSTs are such great watches, and are a real mechanical marvel in my opinion.  Hi-Beat accuracy, but with a durability that you just don't see with many modern movements (even in higher price ranges).  The Astrographics will always be cool to me, a type of cool that modern companies just can't recreate  :sm3

juul

Hi, thank's for the replies!   :shakinghands

I just picked up my Astrpgraph yesterday! Even cooler than in pics!

Still waiting for the golden SST

Can I rely on the waterproofing to tight after all these years? Would they survive a shower or a swim in the pool?

Grossisten

That is not recommended.

You can have them pressure tested at watchmaker, then you'll know - but still, they are old, practically museum pieces. Is a shower worth risking a watch for?

As to swimming a modern diving watch is better suited. I personally wear a cheap Casio G-shock for going to the beach.

juul

 :yeller
should have watched your reply before going to the swim yesterday! Museum-piece is vandalized... expensive experience from a stupid newbie...

Butch

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juul

Auch Butch, seem like I've dishonoured the Zodiac-holiness ...I hope it wasn't meant as a proposition..?  :what

Anyway, thanks to the quick reaction by Grossisten, the odds are good that my watch-doctor will be able to rescue the not-so-watertight veteran  :dancingbanana;

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