Zodiac Sea-Chron Watch Review

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Zodiac Sea-Chron

Last year Zodiac released the Zodiac Sea-Chron, or I guess I should say re-leased, as this new chrongraph model is a modern version of a vintage Zodiac model from the 1960s. This watch is not just the Sea-Chron in name only either, like some brands do. They didn’t take the name and put it on a new model that looks nothing like the original, matter of fact there is a lot of the same styling and design from the original, but as it should be, it has been upgraded in quite a few ways and stands on its own as a luxury chronograph watch. And I say luxury, as this Sea-Chron does not come cheap at $2,995. This Swiss-made piece uses a Sellita SW510B movement, has a sapphire crystal, a ceramic bezel insert, a 5-link stainless steel bracelet, and comes in two dial options, reverse panda and a blue dial with black subdials. Oh, and it’s quite the beauty.

Specifications

• 42mm Stainless Steel Case

• 20mm Lug Width 

• 50mm Lug to Lug

• 14.5mm Thick (17mm thick including crystal)

• Weight 190 Grams

• Domed Sapphire Crystal 

• Ceramic Bezel Insert

• Sandwich Dial

• Movement Sellita SW510 B

• 200m Water Resistant

• 5 Link Bracelet

Price $2,995

https://www.zodiacwatches.com/en-us/products/sea-chron-automatic-stainless-steel-watch/ZO3604.html

Before we get to the new model, let’s take a quick look at the vintage reference. As you can see the original Sea-Chron looks a lot like the modern version. Really, at a quick glance, you could confuse it with the modern version. The original was 39mm, and I am not sure of the movement used, but it was a beautiful chronograph then as it is a beautiful chronograph now, and I really appreciate how Zodiac honored the look and design of the vintage model yet it is not just a copy of that vintage reference, it’s a modern watch with modern materials with a heavy retro vibe.

But you aren’t buying the vintage model, as chances are if you reading this or watching the video you are interested in the modern Zodiac Sea-Chron and the first thing that I noticed is that this is not exactly the Zodiac Super Sea Wolf Pro Diver made into a chronograph, which is what I initially thought. This case is actually different, thicker because of the chrono movement, and the lugs have more curvature. Yes, they are both 42mm, but the Pro Diver is more of a no-nonsense diver while this is technically a dive chrono, but has more of that vintage appeal, which makes sense considering the original model.

The finishing of the case is a little more refined with some high polishing on the top of the case sides and lugs, as well as the bezel edge, crown, and pushers. The bracelet has alternating polished and brushed links as well, just like the vintage model. Much like you would expect of a watch at this price point, it is meticulously finished, with a nice transition and no rough edges or hot spots around the case.

The crown is just as large as the Pro Diver model, so very easy to grip, and the chrono buttons have a good feel to them when depressed, and in general, everything feels nice and crisp though I did find the crown to be noisy at times when screwing back down. The bezel though it has different markings is very much the Pro Diver bezel setup, with a 120-click operation and a ceramic insert.

The dial of the Zodiac Sea-Chron is quite special in my opinion, something I again overlooked when I initially saw images of this online last year. On this reverse panda, the dial is black surnay, which can be hard to see a lot of the time due to that domed sapphire. In a lot of light, it just looks like a matte or satin black dial, but getting up closer you can see the sunray pattern and if it hits the light just right outside, it really is stunning.

And when you look at all the details of the dial, you can see this is really where Zodiac honored the vintage Sea-Chron. The hour and minute hand, the shape of the dial indices, and the subdial placement, and they kept it a no-date dial as well (Don’t worry, this is a no-date movement). The one big difference is that this is a sandwich dial, and those white subdials and the indices come from the bottom dial, and create some dimension on the dial, and the one other noticeable change is the white tachymeter scale, giving even more contrast to this dial. For a chrono, it is very easy to read, and I just love the classic black and white dial, and that Zodiac Dot 12 o’clock marker might be my favorite part of the entire dial.

Around the back is pretty standard fare for Zodiac, and this case back is pretty much exactly what is on the Pro Diver model, but these are nicely made case backs, so no complaints from me, but I do wonder if they should have shown off the Sellita SW510 B movement. I’m sure it would have looked nice with a custom Zodiac rotor. Either way, this movement pretty much functions like a Valjoux 7750, a bi-compax chrono with a power reserve of 62 hours.

To my knowledge, I believe this to be an all-new 5-link bracelet on the Zodiac Sea-Chron, and is only used on this model. It very much matches the vintage model, though it looks like the vintage one had an all-polished bracelet and case, this one as I said alternates the brushed and polished links, and I’m cool with that. I do think these polished links can get scratched very easily, but the look is overall cohesive and is an extremely comfortable bracelet.

Part of the reason it is so comfortable is that all the links flow freely, and it just drapes across the wrist. While it is a dual deployant, it does have the stretch links like on other modern Zodiac watches, and if you can get the right fit after sizing, this bracelet will be a joy to wear. My only complaint? Pin and collars to hold the links together. Secure? Absolutely. PITA? Yes.

Here it is shown on my 7 1/2 inch (19.05cm) wrist.

One area that I feel Zodiac always falls a little short is their lume. I think the Pro Diver models have had the best lume of the more recent Zodiacs (the past decade or so since they have been doing the heritage recreations). The Zodiac Pro Diver Pistachio with its full lume dial may have the best lume of any Zodiac ever, but this Sea-Chron does not have Pro-Diver lume. It’s BGW9, and it glows nicely, but at $3000, I really want a strong long-lasting lume.

I am glad to have finally gotten this Zodiac Sea-Chron in hand to review, it’s an absolutely beautiful watch, from the case design and finishing, that reverse panda sandwich dial, and that custom 5-link bracelet. I haven’t seen the blue model in hand, but the showstopper is this reverse panda to me. That black and white is just so classic and dare I say classy, and I don’t think pictures on the website do this watch justice. There is so much more to this piece than I thought, and I love how they remained pretty faithful to the vintage model.

That is except for the size. I personally love the 42mm, but I do wonder in this market, and the current trend of smaller watches, should Zodaic stay true to the original and offer it in 39mm, or maybe both 39 and 42mm sizes? Of course, then we have that $3000 price tag. Do I feel it’s worth $3000? I mean in terms of materials and finishing and design? Yes. But at that price, there are so many options, and I’m not sure Zodiac is in that market position just yet. Let’s face it, a lot of price and value comes down to the perception of the brand, and the currently Fossil-owned brand has gone through a lot of changes in the last 40-50 years, trying to find and reinvent its identity. I will say this is probably the nicest Zodiac I have handled and reviewed in the last 15 years. If that means anything to you, you can see more at Zodiac Watches.