Crystal Pepsi For The Wrist: A Closer Look At The New Zodiac Sea Wolf GMT “Crystal” Topper Edition

Summer watch weather is on its way, and right now, nothing is hotter than a stainless steel sports watch with an integrated bracelet. Knowing this, Zodiac and Northern California specialty watch retailer Topper Fine Jewelers is launching an exclusive limited edition of the coveted Sea Wolf GMT for its customers.

And with its bold split-color bezel and universal Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) tracker, the timepiece also summons feelings of the easy-breezy, 1960s lifestyle.

Like all Topper collaborations, the retailer worked closely with the Zodiac to create a timepiece that was true to both brands’ lineage.

A family-owned business, Topper has been at the heart of the watch collecting community in California since 1940. According to Topper co-owner Rob Caplan, “This enables us to work with the best brands, like Zodiac, to deliver timepieces that are in direct response to uniquely specific tastes and demands.”
 

As the first dive watch with a rotating bezel, the Zodiac Sea Wolf was introduced at the Basel watch fair in the same year as the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, 1953. Both are credited with being the first commercially available diver’s watch, but the Zodiac Sea Wolf was rated at 339 feet, as opposed to the Fifty Fathoms’ 300 feet. By the late 1960s, the Sea Wolf had become one of the world’s best-selling tool watches. Advertisements of that era tout it as “The most popular watch in 3/4 of the world.”
 

So it comes as no surprise the new limited edition diver has a classic mid-20th century design that pays homage to the era when bright, bi-color bezels and brushed sunray dials were first introduced. “The silver dial with a red and blue bezel was a result of our teams wanting to produce a timepiece that remained faithful to a highly sought-after historical Zodiac GMT,” said Rob Caplan in a press release.
 

The Sea Wolf GMT “Crystal” Topper Edition delivers extra carefree vibes because it is such a robust watch. Each Zodiac Sea Wolf GMT boasts a Swiss-made Soprod C125 automatic movement. Built for adventure, this mechanism has a 25-jewel hand-winding automatic with date, independent 24-hour hand, 42-hour power reserve, a frequency of 28,880 BPH (beats per hour), and hacking seconds.
 

Housed in a stainless steel 40mm case with a sapphire crystal and 200m water resistance, this Sea Wolf GMT’s mix of brushed lugs, case, and integrated bracelet with a sharp, polished bevel presents a more formal look than most tool watches. Additionally, the bezel has been switched to a bi-directional mechanism with 24-clicks. Finally, its clean display, applied markers, and blocky hands make the Sea Wolf GMT “Crystal” Topper Edition a successful mix of dress and sport.
 

The Zodiac Sea Wolf GMT “Crystal” Topper Edition is Topper Fine Jewelers 10th 'Topper Edition' and is available exclusively at Topper Fine Jewelers, in a limited quantity of 182, for the very reasonable price of $1,795.
 

For more information, visit Topper Fine Jewelers’ website.

(Photography by Katarina Shoulders)