Introducing: Zodiac And Craft + Tailored To Go Back To Their Roots With A New Manually-Wound Pre-Sea Wolf
What We Know
If you know Zodiac, you know the Sea Wolf. It’s their emblematic dive watch, one that has been a mainstay of their collection and one of the most well-known “skin diver” watches since 1953. But it didn’t come from out of thin air. The Sea Wolf was pre-dated by an unsigned (or rather un-named) ref. 691 diver with a steel rotating bezel, steel case, and Arabic numerals on the even numbers.
With all the love for vintage reissues, Zodiac tapped vintage dealers Craft + Tailored for a model to put their stamp on. But Cameron Barr from C+T wasn’t content to just do a new dial on one of the existing models. Instead, he pushed Zodiac (pretty hard, I have to imagine) to do a faithful, manually-wound reissue of the ref. 691 that’s new from the ground up. New hands, bezel, bracelet, movement. The whole nine yards.
The new ref. 691 comes in two variations – a black dial limited to 400 pieces available at Zodiac’s website and a white 100-piece LE available now on Craft + Tailored’s website – with stainless steel case measuring a vintage-y 36mm by 12mm thick, with 200m of water resistance. The watch has an STP 1-21M manually wound movement with 40 hours of power reserve. Both dials feature the same Arabic numerals at the even numbers, with Super-LumiNova on the hands and dial.
The ref. 691 in black seems to be the most straightforward release of the two. It’s a new watch that has some of those old design cues but with conventional white lume. Meanwhile, the white dial has gold-toned accents, surrounds, and handsets, with a bit of off-white luminous material that looks like a slightly more aged version. It’s got the vintage feel you’d expect for a vintage watch dealer’s clientele. You can head to the respective websites for more information and to pick one up for $1,695.
What We Think
About six months ago, Cameron Barr told me he was working on this new idea with Zodiac. It sounded cool – a perfect take on a modern release for a guy like him who pays close attention to the little details. But funny enough, for how often we talk, he never mentioned it again. So, imagine my surprise when the press release dropped in my inbox late last week, just a few days before the release. I caught up with him a bit to hear more about how it came together, and I have to say I’m impressed with how hard he worked to think this through and how willing Zodiac was to go the extra mile.
First of all, a new in-house movement (let alone a manually-wound one) is a big deal for any modern brand, big or small. The original ref. 691 was actually automatic, but a hand-wound movement was Barr’s pick because of how much he likes to use that tactile feeling of winding a watch to connect with its mechanical nature. He told me he often winds his watch absent-mindedly (something a friend recently pointed out I do, too), even if it’s automatic. That movement also helped keep the design elements and case proportions close to the original.
Sure, 12mm sounds a bit thick for a 36mm case, but I think we often overestimate how thin vintage watches are. The proportions look right in pictures, and the fact that they did a new case, bezel, and handset for the release earns big points from me. I think the white dial is pretty refreshing and something I don’t have in my collection, so if I was going to pick one up, that would be it. I’m hoping to take a look at it in person soon, so stay tuned for a possible mini follow-up from me on Instagram in the coming weeks.
The Basics
Brand: Zodiac
Model: Zodiac x Craft + Tailored Super Sea Wolf ref. 691
Reference Number: ZO0001 (black) and ZO0002 (white)
Diameter: 36mm
Thickness: 12mm
Case Material: Stainless steel
Dial Color: Black (ZO0001) or white (ZO0002)
Indexes: Applied
Lume: Super-LumiNova on hands, numerals, or markers
Water Resistance: 200m
Strap/Bracelet: Three-link rivet-style stainless steel
The Movement
Caliber: STP 1-21M
Functions: Hours, minutes, central seconds
Power Reserve: 40 hours
Winding: Manual
Pricing & Availability
Price: $1,695
Availability: Immediately on Zodiac (black dial) and Craft + Tailored (white dial)
Limited Edition: 400 numbered pieces (black dial) and 100 numbered pieces (white dial).
For more, click here.
Hodinkee
