In The Shop – Vintage Watches: A 1960s Zodiac Sea Wolf, A 1970s Heuer Autavia GMT, And A 1960s Technos Sky Diver With A Tropical Dial
We’re back this week with, you guessed it, another round-up of vintage watches! Up for grabs is a diverse line-up of sports watches, including a few colorful dive and travel watches as well as some other all-time favorites. From a diver with a tropical dial to a lesser-known GMT with a “Pepsi” bezel, we’ve got something that will fit in any type of collection.
1960s Zodiac Sea Wolf Ref. 722-946B
The Zodiac Sea Wolf was, along with the Rolex Submariner and Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, one of the earliest dive watches to be commercially available. Ever since the Sea Wolf was released in the early 1950s, the Swiss company has been considered a leader in the genre, with the watch even regarded as a favorite among many professional and amateur divers of the time as well as among servicemen in the Vietnam War. Zodiac is also known for pushing the envelope with its colors and designs. While the Sea Wolf may have a traditional round case, the bright orange color scheme seen here was not typical for the time, especially compared to other popular dive watches of the era, which tended to favor black and blue tones. The colors seen here are quite funky, even for today’s standard, but they were a purposeful choice, intended to enhance legibility underwater. If you compare the variety of Zodiac Sea Wolves offered today to this vintage example, you’ll discover how the brand has drawn from its rich and colorful history for modern inspiration.
1970s Heuer Autavia GMT Ref. 2446C
Heuer is renowned for its historic chronograph production, with one of its most well-known designs being the Autavia, first released in the 1930s. The Autavia name is a portmanteau of automobile and aviation, as these watches were meant to assist professional drivers and pilots with tracking elapsed time. The first Autavias were stopwatches meant to be mounted on the dashboard of a car or in the cockpit of a plane. Heuer came out with the first Autavia chronograph for the wrist in 1962, and in 1967, under the leadership of Jack Heuer, the company added a fourth hand to indicate a second time zone. The Autavia GMT featured a 24-hour “Pepsi” bezel, featuring similar colors to the iconic Rolex GMT-Master. While this bezel’s fame precedes its original functionality, this bicolor …read more
