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Zodiac Sea Wolf with Quickset/Bakelite Bezel — view 1 of 6
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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Zodiac Sea Wolf with Quickset/Bakelite Bezel

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Zodiac (maker)
Date
c. 1970
Country of origin
Switzerland
Object type
Wristwatch
Stock no.
SQ2774980
Credit line
Dealer listing, Collectors Corner NY (SQ2774980)
Catalogue title (original)
Zodiac Sea Wolf w/Quickset/Bakelite Bezel (English)

View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction

Record summary

Catalogued by Collectors Corner NY (dealer), New York (stock number SQ2774980), this is a wristwatch by Zodiac, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1970. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) 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 on 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 circa 1970 offers a practical quickset date, a glossy gilt dial with attractive patina, and a rotating bakelite dive bezel which has taken on an interesting hue of blue and grey. We love the smaller size of these Sea Wolf divers on wrist. They can be easily dressed up with a leather strap and are just at home on a single pass nylon strap for a sportier look.

Historical context

Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)

Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.

Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.

Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology

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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