I've recently been professing my appreciation of the Zodiac watch brand. Although the brand offers other models, its bread and butter is vintage-styled dive watches in fun and bright colors and materials.
Thus I purchased another fun colorway of the brand's Super Sea Wolf model, this white and blue version shown here known as the Whitecap (reference number ZO9291). It is the same basic watch as my Zodiac Aquamarine Dream Ablogtowatch Ariel Adams watch but is not a special edition. This article will focus on the difference, but be sure to read that article if you'd like to learn more about Zodiac and the Super Sea Wolf line.
First Impressions
Zodiac has a way with colors, and this white and blue combination really pops! Each of the different models takes on quite a different look through only the use of color.
Wearing the Super Sea Wolf
The Whitecap is 40mm wide (40.6 by my measurement) at the bezel, which overhangs the case slightly. This gives that fun vintage look and also makes it easy to grip. And you'll want to use this bezel, as it has a very nice action. It is fairly easy to turn and features 120 crisp clicks with minimal play between them.
The 13.6mm thickness includes the slightly domed sapphire crystal, so it looks and feels slim for a dive watch.
At 49mm lug-to-lug, it is fairly tall for a 40mm watch. This is thanks to the long, sharp lugs. Luckily they slope down to meet your wrist, making it feel very balanced.
Also, the lug holes are closer to the middle of the lugs, so you won't have an unsightly gap if you decide to wear it with a supplied, or aftermarket straight-end strap.
The hands and markers on the "standard" SSW are rectangular, and I like the differentiation of color between the hour and minute hands. Daytime legibility is quite good due to the contrast between the colored hands and the white dial. The hour and minute hands being different colors makes them easier to differentiate.
Blue Super-LumiNova is used on the Whitecap's hands and the bezel pip (which sits under a mineral crystal bezel insert). It is decent, but not as bright as a Seiko diver.
Bracelet
This Super Sea Wolf uses the same fantastic 5-link bracelet as the Aquamarine Dream (but does not come with a bonus rubber strap). The polished center links and brushed outer links give it just the right amount of flash, and it's very comfortable due to the small links being quite flexible.
I'm not typically a fan of butterfly clasps, but this one is quite slim and short making it more comfortable than most. Twin triggers keep it secure, and the integrated cap with an engraved Zodiac logo helps keep it from getting caught on things.
As with the Aquamarine Dream, it hides two spring-loaded links! Considering how compact that clasp is, this is a great feature. The spring tension is the perfect amount, giving just enough stretch. While I don't think that this could be used in place of a dive extension, for the 99% of us that will never need that, it is a much more elegant and comfortable solution than something like a bulky Tudor Pelagos clasp with its larger amount of travel.
If I had one small complaint about the bracelet, it would be that the butterfly opening amount is limited, making it tight to pull over my hands. my hands are wide compared to my average wrists though, so I don't think that this will be a problem for most people. It's pretty minor, and I'd rather keep the slim clasp if it means it takes me a small amount of effort to put the watch on.
Of course, I've been wearing the Zodiac on other StrapHabit straps. My current obvious favorite is the bright blue Vented Rubber Strap.
It also works really well on light blue or white Tropical Rubber straps! Keep reading at the end of the article to see other straps on it.
The Movement
This version of the Super Sea Wolf is powered by Fossil's "in-house" STP 1-11. Its bones are those of an ETA 2824 clone, but it has a number of upgrades including a thinner and longer mainspring that increases its power reserve to 44 hours.
This is the same movement that powered the Zodiac SSW 53 Skin that I reviewed recently, albeit with a date mechanism. Compared to the Chronometer-rated STP 3-13 in the Aquamarine Dream, the 1-11 in the does not have a swan neck regulator.
Conclusion
As with the other Zodiacs I've reviewed, the Whitecap provides a lot of bang for the buck. Although I try to avoid having too much overlap in my collection, I could see myself with a number of different fun colors in the watch box. I'm especially interested in some of the brand's ceramic SSW models.
If you haven't tried a Zodiac yet, I recommend checking one out!
Specifications:
Name: Zodiac Super Sea Wolf
Reference Number: ZO9291
Price: $1,395 (Discontinued)
Diameter: 40mm
Height: 49mm
Thickness: 13.6mm
Lug Width: 20mm
Weight: 137g
Movement: STP 1-11
Power Reserve: 44 hours
Water Resistance: 200m
Crystal: Sapphire
Crown: Screw-down
Bezel: Unidirectional, 120 clicks
Bracelet: Stainless steel butterfly with spring stretch clasp
Shop Other Straps for the Zodiac Super Sea Wolf :
Ridge FKM Rubber
Premium Sailcloth Colorway Collection
Tropical FKM Rubber
Vented FKM Rubber
Slim Ridge FKM Rubber:
Locking Keeper FKM Rubber:
Distressed Canvas:
Epsom Style Full Grain Leather:
