Toying with penning something new, and rummaging through my collection, it occurred to me that I had not written about a purchase I made a couple of years ago from Kibble watches. Not sure why really, as by any measure, the Zodiac Astrographic is both an interesting and striking time piece!
Upon looking at the internet there are actually a few decent reviews of the watch – including a re-issue in 2018/19 to mark it’s 50th anniversary. As such, I shall try not to simply regurgitate too much, but I will draw from this resource – and in the case of a few of images shall use with acknowledgement.
Firstly, I shall just cover, very briefly, Zodiac. The brand origins go back to 1882, when a watch maker, one Ariste Calame started his business in the watch-making hub of Le Locle, Switzerland. The Zodiac name was then patented in 1908. Pocket watches were made, with their own in-house movements. In 1924, an extra flat pocket watch was introduced – an interesting innovation at the time. The next major event can be traced to 1953 when the Sea Wolf (and later Super Sea wolf) diving watches were launched. By all accounts this model was very popular – including military usage. In fact, the US Navy Seals adopted the watch in the 1970’s. The next serious event came in 2001, when the Fossil Group bought the business for some $4.7m, with the manufacturing moving to Biel-Bienne. The brand continues and, judging by their website, still offer a range of sports and divers-types watches. These tend to range from some £1000-£3,000, and I am pleased to note that they draw on the brand’s heritage. As such, they are in my view attractive, well-made, and at reasonable cost.
Now, for this review, we need to go back to 1969. The world was in the throws of space mania, with numerous expeditions by the US and Russia into the great unknown. Consequently all aspects of this pervaded into the retail sector. No area was immune from it’s influence, and items ranging from; cars, furniture, radios, TVs and furniture were produced and had “space” elements. Watches were no exception, and one novel example was the Spaceman Audacieuse (previously written about on this site. Ed) – both in visual appearance and materials used. However, one watch that was quite ingenious in looks was the Zodiac Astrographic with its apparently “floating” hands. This phenomenon was not entirely new and some earlier clocks had already pioneered this, but it was unusual in a watch. Today, little is known of the genesis of the model, however it was launched in 1969 and if the adverts are anything to go by, would have caused a sensation. Aside from the curious appearance – two case shapes were offered – oval and TV (square-like), plus the seemingly “floating” hands, there was also a promise that the watch would be very accurate. In fact the pledge was pretty specific, saying that it would “not to lose or gain more than one minute each month”. This, in fact, would put it into chronometer rating levels that would later on be overseen by COSC.
So, as mentioned earlier, two case shapes were offered – along with two finishes. One was simply a brushed stainless steel appearance, with the other being in gold PVD. Different dial colours were also available – blue and gold, but later on brown and grey were added. The watch came on an integrated bracelet with a multi-adjustable clasp. The price then was some $137.
The watch I bought was the “TV” case shape in plain stainless steel, measuring some 35.5mm x 12.5mm. By all accounts would be viewed as a chunky item, and cannot be called slim! The lower midriff is polished, with the upper portion lightly brushed. As can be seen, there is no bezel. The crown is modest in size (and hence is a tad fiddly) and sports the Zodiac “crosshair” logo. The reverse reveals a solid case back.
Turning now to the dial – which really is the most important part of the watch. In a certain light this can be a quite vibrant blue, with a fine sunburst finish. At the top is a round date window – handy in some ways, but practically not so good as the shadow from the deep rehaut dims it somewhat. We then come to those “floating” hands. The hour and second hands are short white batons with an ochre strip in the middle. However, these are of course not really hands, but are simply printed onto clear acrylic discs. The hour disc is nearest the dial, then the minute one, and finally the second hand. The latter is in fact a red orb. I note – also from the sales blurb, that Zodiac describe the hands as “two satellites and a fiery moon”! Printed onto the inside center of the glass is the Zodiac logo, and this neatly hides the center pinion. Finally, there is the rail track. This also appears to be fixed to the inside of the glass, so appears to “float”. The hour markers are lumed.
The movement is interesting. It appears to be an automatic AS base, but various reviews report that it was modified by a collaboration between Girard-Perregaux, Eberhard, Doxa, Fabre-Leuba and of course Zodiac. Anyway, in this Zodiac model it is referred to as caliber 88D. This has a “hi-beat” of 36,000 vph, 21 jewels, anti-magnetic and shock/water resistant. The speed, for 1969, was pretty unusual, with only really Zenith and Seiko having previously pioneered this uptick. Having such a high beat improves accuracy, but of course it also requires more power to be generated – plus I suppose it may increase wear. Other useful aspects include a hacking feature, plus the quick date set – operated by pushing the sprung crown in.
Lastly, the bracelet. This is a fairly standard and efficient offering, and indeed similar styles exist to this day. This is a “no frills” type, so no differing polishing or brushing here!
As with most old and innovative technology, it can get tricky when things go wrong. In this case if the discs discolour or, worse, break. Also, clearly the whole effect only really works if the glass is clear and the discs don’t show dirt/dust etc. The date push can also fail – as mine did shortly after purchase, but James (Kibble) quickly resolved.
My watch is in excellent condition, with the case having little or no marks and the glass and discs really nice and clear. It also runs very well – but as I have not worn it for a month, I cannot vouch for the original claimed one minute per month accuracy! It is possible that someone in the not-too-distant past has done some servicing/restoration work on it, but if so, it has been sensitive. One thing for sure though is that it remains a quite wearable watch today, and of course a talking point. In terms of prices, well these seem to range from £500 – £1000. The latter level will probably include one in super condition, plus a box and papers, but these latter items will mostly be absent. Also, many will not have been serviced for eons as watchmakers are not so keen on touching them, plus, if so, the price may be a bit uneconomic. As touched upon earlier, Zodiac did a re-issue of the watch five years or so ago (to mark the 50th anniversary. Ed), so may be able to help in this area. Incidentally, I note that the price for this later piece was some $1,295.
Words & Images: The Writer (plus acknowledgements to Fratello and Chrono 24).