Hello everyone,
I'm new to the group! I've been lightly collecting watches since the late '90s, and more heavily collecting for the last couple years. I've been fascinated by Zodiac watches for several years, and have only had a couple pass through my hands, though I'm starting to target interesting ones that I'd like to add to my wrist!
Anyhow, I came across this unique watch, but noticed a couple things about it that raised some questions...
The movement looks legit to me, and I've seen other Zodiacs with the same case shape and font - I'm guessing this is a mid-70s design(?)
I've only come across one other Zodiac with a similar dial texture / color, and it was an SST model with a different case / dial shape... Also, the writing inside the case seems to be missing "Le Locle, Swiss"...
Is this a legit Zodiac? Any knowledge about it?
I truly appreciate any insight!
Thanks!
I'm not the technical expert here in any way - but I have seen a fair share of Zodiacs in my time - and it looks very credible to me. There were a lot of design combinations available as far as I can tell - dial colors and case shapes appealing differently to different markets. Not all available models would be featured in the catalogues and you would not be able to buy all models in all territories. In Northern Europe for instance steel would have been favored over gold or plaque gold by more people than in Southern Europe (which is still true today).
Thank you very much for the quick response! I'm glad that you feel it's credible - I was drawn to the unique, brushed dial and jumped on it for a decent price knowing that at least the movement is legitimate, and case seemed so as well. I'm looking forward to getting it in my hands so I can clean the gasket gunk up and check everything out!
Kind regards,
James
It looks perfectly fine.
Here is another specimen of ref #863 613. SST model with day/date, based on Zodiac 86.
Both are somewhere from mid or late 1970s
Thank you!