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Zodiac Sea Wolf, "Patina Monster", 1960s — view 1 of 6
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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Zodiac Sea Wolf, "Patina Monster", 1960s

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Zodiac (maker)
Date
1960s
Country of origin
Switzerland
Object type
Wristwatch
Stock no.
SQ9983863
Credit line
Dealer listing, Collectors Corner NY (SQ9983863)
Catalogue title (original)
Zodiac Sea Wolf - "Patina Monster" - 1960s (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by Collectors Corner NY (dealer), New York (stock number SQ9983863), this is a wristwatch by Zodiac, made in Switzerland, dated 1960s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Dealer description — Collectors Corner NY

The Zodiac Sea Wolf first arrived in 1953. It debuted in the same year as the Rolex Submariner amongst the first wave of commercially successful consumer-grade dive watches. Later known for their more colorful offerings, the Sea Wolf featured vivid pops of orange, green and blue, which made them more youthful and exciting than Blancpains and Tudors from the era. This particular reference (722-946B) comes from the 1960s and features some of the most unique patina we've ever seen. If you like your vintage pieces to tell a clear, concise story as to what they've been doing for the past 70 years, look no further.

Historical context

Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)

Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.

The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.

Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking

Atlas type guide

Wristwatches

Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.

After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.

What to look for

  • The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
  • The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
  • Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
  • Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.

Dating clues

  • Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
  • Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
  • Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

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