I like how you said the CW is almost feminine. It was my first impression out of the box: sophisticated nearly feminine on my 7.5 inch wrist. The watch wears smaller than the advertised 41mm is the L2L is short and I agree on the leather taper. I went with green Aquitaine on brown leather and part of me regrets not getting the bracelet for a more rugged look. The other part of me doesn’t like bracelets as I work on a laptop most of the time and I found the taper To be a bet too much. However on the leather one is toeter more taper. This is holding me off from buying a tropic strap from CW as I believe it has the same lack of taper. The leather looks ‘ok’ but it is very very comfortable to be honest. In general the watch punches above its grade especially since I bought it at 728 eur new from their yearly sale. Nice review!
Thank you for the in-depth review! It helps as I am debating between these 2 and leaning towards the CW, never a fan of Fifty Fathoms but this one and the colorway makes it pop, for the price and finish is making it a piece to add to the collection, have a Longines Legend Diver and Tissot PRX. Cheers and all the best!
Excellent job with a really in-depth comparison. I have not handled watches from either company. At some point I did consider getting watches from both though. Specifically the 'watermelon' Super Sea-Wolf (the green and orange one) and the Olympos from Zodiac and the Sandhurst and Dartmouth models from CW. However, in the end I decided to not get anything from these brands. Zodiacs, despite the very cool design and history, seem a bit too questionable in terms of qc. And I had a rather annoying experience with a sister brand of CW, Tribus, last year, when they notified me a month after payment that they did not have the piece I ordered in stock anymore. That put me off from Tribus and, by extension, and maybe incorrectly, from CW. In my opinion, CW watches look really great in terms of finishing and they have some really great features for the price bracket, but I don't think I've seen a model from them that truly grabbed me. And Zodiac, by comparison, would be a much more interesting proposition at their price point if they invested more time in qc and some finishing details.
@@mikegreig3338 According to an interview from 2021, Tribus was founded by the 3 sons of CW with the help of their dad who is one of the owners (or at least was) of the CW brand.
My understanding is that the 3-13 was *massively* problematic, and was cancelled. If you follow Zodiac on social media, all of the new models released at least in the last six months or so have been said to have 1-11s in them. Zodiac made a pretty big deal about the 3-13 when they released it, and they've been *very* quiet about it since. Models released during the 3-13 production run could have either, it depends what batch and when they were made. I have two Zodiacs, the ABTW ZO9283, and the ZO9250. The 9283 definitely uses the 3-13, and mine broke and had to be sent in to Zodiac for repair. No idea what's in my ZO9250. The swan neck regulator always seemed pointless to me. They've used COSC versions of the 1-11 before the 3-13 was released, and are using them again now in their latest models like the ceramic ZO9595. Clearly accuracy without the swan neck is not a problem. If they want to start messing with ETA's design, at least do something that will make a noticeable difference, like a silicon hairspring.
Wow, that is very interesting…thanks for the info. But what’s going on with so many vendors (teddy, jewelers, etc) that advertise a 3-13?? Are they using old stock? Or haven’t updated listings, or still want to say they have the swan neck regulator “feature”?
I should note that I also own a bunch of other watches at around this price point, including two Chris Wards, a C63 Sealander GMT, and a C60 Trident, as well as a Squale 1521 50 Atmos, an Oris D65, and a bunch of Seiko MM200Rs. Zodiac has by far the worst finishing of them all, their brushing is coarse and basic, and the case designs are extremely simple. Zodiac's crown action is also the worst, even compared to Squale's crown which is mostly sunken into the case and a bit of pain to use as a result. Zodiac's bezels though are quite good, definitely better than Seiko's which are atrociously bad, less tinny than Squale, comparable to Oris and not as good as my Trident which feels rock solid. As with Seiko, if you're a Zodiac fan you put up with the lousy QC and mediocre to bad movements because both companies are stellar at making colorful and interesting dials that recall models they both were making in the '60s. Chris Ward obviously was not around then, so the Aquitaine is kind of a mishmash of cues borrowed from other watches, like a Blancpain FF and Certina DS Action Diver had a baby. I prefer the Trident which feels much less "homage watch" to me. I really wouldn't worry about the bezel insert on the Zodiac. Hardened K1 is much better at resisting scratches than regular cheap mineral glass. Look at used listings for Zodiac SSWs, see how many you can find that have scratched up bezel inserts. I'll bet you'll have a tough time finding even one.
This is excellent analysis, thank you. Would like to see a comparison between the Aquitaine and D65. Really like the Trident 300, especially the bezel (minute markers 10-60 and the silver band). Might try to spring for one later this year.
The Zodiac looks terrible. Very tacky, don’t like the bracelet either. The Fossil/Kors relationship definitely isn’t something to brag about either! Lol CW is a fine looking watch. It’s more of a classical/retro diver though so the comparison isn’t really a fair one. Compare it with a #Tide( which is COSC)or a C60 Pro 600. They are great watches, I’m sure you’d like those more.
I like how you said the CW is almost feminine. It was my first impression out of the box: sophisticated nearly feminine on my 7.5 inch wrist. The watch wears smaller than the advertised 41mm is the L2L is short and I agree on the leather taper. I went with green Aquitaine on brown leather and part of me regrets not getting the bracelet for a more rugged look. The other part of me doesn’t like bracelets as I work on a laptop most of the time and I found the taper
To be a bet too much. However on the leather one is toeter more taper. This is holding me off from buying a tropic strap from CW as I believe it has the same lack of taper. The leather looks ‘ok’ but it is very very comfortable to be honest. In general the watch punches above its grade especially since I bought it at 728 eur new from their yearly sale. Nice review!
Thank you for the in-depth review! It helps as I am debating between these 2 and leaning towards the CW, never a fan of Fifty Fathoms but this one and the colorway makes it pop, for the price and finish is making it a piece to add to the collection, have a Longines Legend Diver and Tissot PRX. Cheers and all the best!
Excellent job with a really in-depth comparison. I have not handled watches from either company. At some point I did consider getting watches from both though. Specifically the 'watermelon' Super Sea-Wolf (the green and orange one) and the Olympos from Zodiac and the Sandhurst and Dartmouth models from CW. However, in the end I decided to not get anything from these brands. Zodiacs, despite the very cool design and history, seem a bit too questionable in terms of qc. And I had a rather annoying experience with a sister brand of CW, Tribus, last year, when they notified me a month after payment that they did not have the piece I ordered in stock anymore. That put me off from Tribus and, by extension, and maybe incorrectly, from CW. In my opinion, CW watches look really great in terms of finishing and they have some really great features for the price bracket, but I don't think I've seen a model from them that truly grabbed me. And Zodiac, by comparison, would be a much more interesting proposition at their price point if they invested more time in qc and some finishing details.
Tribus, although set up by The Christopher Ward, has absolutely nothing to do with the company Christopher Ward…
@@mikegreig3338 As far as I know, it is owned by CW and the sons, hence the name Tribus. Did the company change ownership?
@@AnCar88 no but the man Christopher Ward no longer has any connection with the company Christopher Ward
@@AnCar88 just to clarify Christopher Ward , a founder member of the company left the company Christopher Ward and set up Tribus independently
@@mikegreig3338 According to an interview from 2021, Tribus was founded by the 3 sons of CW with the help of their dad who is one of the owners (or at least was) of the CW brand.
My understanding is that the 3-13 was *massively* problematic, and was cancelled. If you follow Zodiac on social media, all of the new models released at least in the last six months or so have been said to have 1-11s in them. Zodiac made a pretty big deal about the 3-13 when they released it, and they've been *very* quiet about it since. Models released during the 3-13 production run could have either, it depends what batch and when they were made.
I have two Zodiacs, the ABTW ZO9283, and the ZO9250. The 9283 definitely uses the 3-13, and mine broke and had to be sent in to Zodiac for repair. No idea what's in my ZO9250. The swan neck regulator always seemed pointless to me. They've used COSC versions of the 1-11 before the 3-13 was released, and are using them again now in their latest models like the ceramic ZO9595. Clearly accuracy without the swan neck is not a problem. If they want to start messing with ETA's design, at least do something that will make a noticeable difference, like a silicon hairspring.
Wow, that is very interesting…thanks for the info. But what’s going on with so many vendors (teddy, jewelers, etc) that advertise a 3-13?? Are they using old stock? Or haven’t updated listings, or still want to say they have the swan neck regulator “feature”?
I should note that I also own a bunch of other watches at around this price point, including two Chris Wards, a C63 Sealander GMT, and a C60 Trident, as well as a Squale 1521 50 Atmos, an Oris D65, and a bunch of Seiko MM200Rs. Zodiac has by far the worst finishing of them all, their brushing is coarse and basic, and the case designs are extremely simple. Zodiac's crown action is also the worst, even compared to Squale's crown which is mostly sunken into the case and a bit of pain to use as a result. Zodiac's bezels though are quite good, definitely better than Seiko's which are atrociously bad, less tinny than Squale, comparable to Oris and not as good as my Trident which feels rock solid. As with Seiko, if you're a Zodiac fan you put up with the lousy QC and mediocre to bad movements because both companies are stellar at making colorful and interesting dials that recall models they both were making in the '60s.
Chris Ward obviously was not around then, so the Aquitaine is kind of a mishmash of cues borrowed from other watches, like a Blancpain FF and Certina DS Action Diver had a baby. I prefer the Trident which feels much less "homage watch" to me.
I really wouldn't worry about the bezel insert on the Zodiac. Hardened K1 is much better at resisting scratches than regular cheap mineral glass. Look at used listings for Zodiac SSWs, see how many you can find that have scratched up bezel inserts. I'll bet you'll have a tough time finding even one.
This is excellent analysis, thank you. Would like to see a comparison between the Aquitaine and D65. Really like the Trident 300, especially the bezel (minute markers 10-60 and the silver band). Might try to spring for one later this year.
Nice Vid!! Just can't stand green watches, and I'm an Eagles fan..
😂
Cant wait to see the lume shot on the CW
It’s kind of underwhelming if you are used to a Seiko diver, but not bad…
I would always choose CW instead of Zodiac, simply for the 5 year guarantee
I'm a woman and have a 7.25" wrist.
I will buy it for 5 bands
Gold bands??
The Zodiac looks terrible. Very tacky, don’t like the bracelet either. The Fossil/Kors relationship definitely isn’t something to brag about either! Lol
CW is a fine looking watch. It’s more of a classical/retro diver though so the comparison isn’t really a fair one.
Compare it with a #Tide( which is COSC)or a C60 Pro 600. They are great watches, I’m sure you’d like those more.
i know u