My first Sea Wolf returned to life

[YuriyV]

I'm not a collector. My point of interest is watch servicing, repair and restoration.
I'm with in the hobby 2.5 years and in the very beginning I think. So much remain to learn.
Am a big fan of Zodiac brand. Try to do them right, following principle "My next watch is better then my previous"
Hope it is achievable, constantly building my skills and part inventory.
Did many vintage Zodiacs before. Although hesitated to work on SW, considering them too tough for me so far.
But last month saw on the Bay a nice Wolf and decided to jump in.
It was arrived soon and I started inspection. The watch did not run. Very tough to manually wound. Rotor clamping inside. Hacking feature and quick set did not work. Calendar did not flip. The bezel did not move. But overall cosmetic state was acceptable. Luminous compound on the hands cracked. Crystal scratched. Used plastic Tropic band with Zodiac clasp provided.
After disassembly, I saw it has Zodiac 72B 21j movement. Which is in very good condition. Just dirty.
Rotors arbor was worn. It is why the rotor wobbling and touching other parts giving rattling sound. Replaced it with matching 72B 21j from used parts from the stock. Original one will wait when I will learn how to fix it. Have some ideas.
The calendar's unlocking yoke disintegrated and fell apart. One piece was stuck in pallets blocking balance. And most likely caused pallet arbor to brake. The yoke replaced by NOS part. Pallets repaired by replacing the NOS arbor.
Replaced mainspring from NOS.
After overhaul the movement works now very good (with in several seconds a day).

The case needed some attention as well. When I removed winding stem, noticed that there is no outer tube, protruding into the case. After closer view I noticed that the tube is broken. One half remains in the case. Other - stuck in the crown.
Previous watchmaker, or who ever he was, just fixed the issue gluing crown together with the stem and remnants of the tube. So I had no choice to replace stem, crown. And to install NOS tube. Now the crown securely locks the tube from dust and moisture from outside. And quick set works precise.
New mainspring and good rotor made manual winding nice and easy.
Washed and cleaned the bezel. Paying attention to remove thin deposits of mineral residue, using peg wood and brass tweezers and not to scratch internal polished surfaces. Now the bezel rotates smooth with distinctive clicks.
Polished and reinstalled the crystal.
Installed a new rubber gasket.
Applied matching luminous compound to the dial markers and hands.
Decided to leave the band with in the watch, because I saw mentioning of Tropic band in Zodiac catalogs. Hope it is original and right.
After two week wearing it on my wrist I could say I'm hooked. It is real marvel of design and engineering. Love Sea Wolves.
On other hand, it is very tough to execute the service. And needs a lot of attention to details. And good supply of parts.
Hope you guys enjoy the reading. Wish all the best to Zodiac lovers.

[YuriyV]

Forgot to take a picture BEFORE.
Here are AFTER:

[Butch]

 

Nice work YuriyV!

[YuriyV]

Impressed with high grade of the design and execution of SW. Especially like the tiny ball (latch) under the rotating bezel made from ruby not steel as in cheaper divers. Does it mean the watch 22j not 21j?