Zodiac watch 406.40.14 Chronograph ETA Cal. 7750 Vintage 1990s

SPECIFICATION

Reference : Zodiac 406.40.14
Movement :  ETA 7750
Age : Circa 1990s
Case Size : 39.5mm
Case Thickness : 15mm
Lug to Lug : 45mm
Lug Width : 18mm
Condition : Used Zodiac watch
Box and Papers : No
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months Warranty

POINTS TO MENTION

• In great pre-owned condition, with some light wear from use
  
• Case and bezel have some light scratches and marks
  
• Age related patina on the lume
• Fully serviced ETA 7750 movement
• Zodiac signed crown
• Paired with a brown leather strap

THE WATCH

On the dial between 4 and 5 is a gold 'dot'.

The 'dot' or 'point' series was designed to create a tiered system of technical watches, particularly focusing on divers and chronographs. The three tiers were Red, Gold, and Silver​​. Red point watches were designated as the “Professional Sports Watches” line, these watches were considered the workhorses of the line, the Silver and Gold points were known as “Professional Divers Watches” and “Elegant Sports Watches,” respectively. There was also a Blue point these were reserved for what became of the Sea Wolf line, labeled as “Ultra-Resistant Professional Divers Watches.”

Inside this watch is where it gets really good the ETA 7750. The 7750 chronograph movement is well-known in the world of watchmaking for being tough, reliable, and versatile. Since it was first introduced in the early 1970s as a valjoux 7750 and took over by ETA in 1984, it has gained a strong reputation for being accurate and long-lasting, which has made it a favourite chronograph calibre among both watchmakers and enthusiasts. The automatic workhorse runs a 28,800bph, has 25j and a power reserve of 46 hours approx. a date complication and its hackable, everything you could want from an automatic chronograph.

A BIT OF TRIVIA

In 1882 Ariste Calame sets up a workshop to produce specialized watches. The son of a watchmaker, Calame was obsessed with the thought of creating the most precise watch of all time. The result of his careful work became the first Zodiac — a pocket watch with a unique character. Thus began the foundation for a whole series of technical wonders in the world of Swiss watches. Because of its high quality and technical innovations, Calame's dynasty managed to become one of the fastest-growing companies in Switzerland. In 1908 Calame patents the name Zodiac as a brand. Zodiac manufactures its own calibers and movements that are used in the production of pocket watches, and the rest is history. 

At the Basel Fair in 1949, Zodiac launches the Autographic: a self-winding watch with a power reserve gauge measuring hours of power. This was one of the only two watches at the time to have a power reserve collection. 4 years later the Sea Wolf arrives — one of the first serious diver watches manufactured for the masses. that quickly lead to the Super Sea Wolf, an evolution of its predecessor. With a patented crown/stem system and improved caseback design, the water pressure rating increases to 750m.

In 1990, former TAG Heuer executive Willy Gad Monnier purchased the Zodiac brand and, based on the Zodiac watches that emerged from that period, brought a lot of TAG Heuer design influences with him.  Zodiac went bankrupt in 1997, with all its assets and inventory sold to a firm called Genender International in 1998. Genender stripped down the Zodiac product line, discontinuing many of its automatic models and the original Sea Wolf references, before eventually selling the company to its current owner, Richardson, Texas-based Fossil Group, in 2001.

OUR THOUGHTS

This Zodiac chronograph, is a great watch and has real character, it wears fantastically and its very versatile, Zodiac may not be the most well known brand, but you cant argue with the quality that they put inside of their watches. Any watch with a fully serviced, beautifully running ETA 7750 in it has to be worth a look for any collector.