Good news for fans of classic dive watches: along with the Sea Dragon and Astrographic, Zodiac is also re-launching the Sea Wolf range — not only one of the earliest dive watches, but also one of the most popular of that era. In 1964, about 10 years after its introduction, Zodiac supposedly produced an impressive number of 10,000 pieces of a model that was, reportedly, worn not only by members of the UDT/SEALs, but, thanks to its reasonable pricing, most importantly also by many scuba divers around the world.
The release of the Zodiac Sea Wolf is scheduled for Spring 2015, with the United States and Asia as the primary markets, and Diveintowatches.com has already had a chance to see some of prototypes at the brand’s workshop in Bienne, Switzerland. What this means, of course, is that some changes can and most likely will be made to the different versions before the final product is released. (One of them, already decided, is a bracelet end-link that will be different than the one shown here).
However, at this point, it does look like the new Sea Wolf will be pretty close to the original. Thankfully, it is a bit larger than its rather small (by today’s standards) predecessor, but still small-ish (should be around 39-mm). Pictured above is the original 35-mm Sea Wolf (at left) next to one of the upcoming Sea Wolf re-editions. There will be different versions of the dial (including the characteristic dial with the large triangle indices and plain, stainless steel bezel), different shapes for the hands and, of course, several color variations. Bezels will be available with an acrylic inlay (as pictured) in various colors, or stainless steel with engraved markings. Some of the new Sea Wolf watches could be limited editions.
Zodiac has offered no info on pricing yet, the movement appears to be an STP 1-11 Caliber (Fossil acquired the former PWP in 2012 to increase its “Swiss Made” production capacity), a self-winding mechanical movement with hour, minute, seconds, and simple calendar and offering a 44-hour power reserve It measures 11½ lignes and has 26 jewels.
Next to the standard Sea Wolf, Zodiac is also planning on re-launching its bigger brother from 1972, the Super Sea Wolf (using one of the more common case designs of the era with a water resistance of first 750m, later 1000m). This model can be expected by the end of 2015, and the first designs show a very close match to the original pictured below:
