1970s Zodiac Sea Wolf SST 36000 (Ref. 862-952)

Zodiac made several sports models in the 50s-60s and were direct competitors to Rolex, Blancpain, and Tudor but are often looked over as they don't receive the same clout as the aforementioned companies. Keeping this in mind, Zodiac is one of the more undervalued Swiss timepiece companies to come from this "golden era" of sports watches. From then, Zodiac went on to produce countless other quality sport and dress models that to this day remain at an affordable price point but still carry the colorful Zodiac charm.

The Sea Wolf SST 36000 ref. 862-952 is one of the more unique models to hail from the 1970s "golden era" of watches. The SST 36000 features an odd, but beautiful coffin-shaped case, along with twin bullhead style crowns, an inner rotating super compressor-like bezel, and clear resin indices on the dial. The SST 36000 movement was the premier offering of Zodiac at the time, featuring a high-beat 36000 bpm movement and a quickset date function operated by pushing down on the winding crown. This amalgamation of features resulted in one of Zodiac's most avant-garde designs that is both a conversation piece and worthy of wrist time.

SPECS

Stock #		ZSWSST862952-2
Brand		Zodiac
Style		Sea Wolf SST 36000
Model		862-952
Serial		N/A
Size		Men's
Material		Stainless Steel
Dial		Matte Black
Millimeters		39
Bracelet		Stainless Steel Duchess Flat-Link Bracelet

CASE & BRACELET

The unique coffin-style case has been previously polished and exhibits honest signs of gentle use with the original case chamfers and geometry still present. The case retains its original twin Zodiac-signed crowns on the top of the case, the button crown at 11 o'clock operates the setting of the time and the quickset date while the crown at the 2 o'clock operated the inner rotating bezel. The case back retains its factory markings in excellent condition. The watch will come supplied on a stainless steel Duchess flat-link bracelet, which was sourced with the watch. The bracelet retains 14 links that show almost no stretch and will fit up to an 8-inch wrist.

DIAL & HANDS

The colorful black orange and white dial layout give this watch a handsome retro aesthetic and easy legibility. The center matte black portion of the dial is virtually flawless showing no aging. The clear resin indices are topped with reflective orange paint and backed with tritium lume that would cause the resin to glow when the tritium was still active. Under U.V. light inspection the lume exhibits no degradation on the markers. The inner rotating white and orange bezel is in excellent condition and retains its tritium triangle. The original tritium hands have aged to a dark green / grey patina, under UV light inspection the minute hand exhibits some superficial surface cracking and remains stable.