
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Zodiac Standard 1961 National Matches High Rifle Award Watch, early 1960s
- Maker / attribution
- Zodiac (maker)
- Date
- early 1960s
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 26 mm
- Stock no.
- 40991867
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40991867)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Zodiac Standard 1961 National Matches High Rifle Award Watch (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40991867), this is a wristwatch by Zodiac, made in Switzerland, dated early 1960s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 26 mm. 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 — Analog/Shift
What is it about vintage watches that gets our hearts racing? It’s the quaint aesthetic, beautiful patina, and the history they represents that tugs at our heartstrings time and time again. And if we can betray the romantic in us for a moment, it’s the untold stories imbued into each and every mark, scuff and scratch that give a timepiece that undeniable charm we so desperately love. This Zodiac checks all these boxes — and more! Dating to the early 1960s, this piece features a stylized 26mm 14K yellow gold case with ‘fancy’ lugs, a signed crown, and a fantastic, faceted acrylic crystal. The white dial has patinated to a delightful cream tone and features applied, ‘dagger,’ gold indices; a constant seconds subsidiary register at 6 o’clock; and a matching gold handset. The caseback reveals that this piece was presented to the Air Force Times Award for High Rifle during the 1961 National Matches celebrating exceptional marksmanship. Accompanied by its original inner and outer presentation box, papers, hangtags, and a signed, alligator leather strap with a matching gold-tone pin buckle, this piece offers up an incredible opportunity to own an interesting piece of history.
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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