Looking for info on two vintage 60s divers, Candino Submarine and Zedon

[Dr.Sascha]

Hey OF, perhaps you can help me with info. on these two new acquistions, both divers from the 60s. The first is from Candino, which I know supplied the Swedish armed forces with watches at one point. The speedboat and scuba diver on the caseback seems to suggest some military provenance, but perhaps that's just advertising. They were clearly going for the "poor man's Tudor Submariner" look in any case, and pulled it off rather well, I think.



Also curious about this Zedon diver. I know I've seen this particular caseback on another model, but I simply can't recall where. It has that proper, chunky, almost brutalist diver feel.

I've found out a bit about the companies themselves (both Swiss, both from the 1st half of the 20th c. Candino is now owned by the Festina group, so the vintage models have no direct relation to the current pieces.

Thanks in advance for anything anyone can tell me about these newest ponies in the stable!

 

[omegastar]

Looking at the pictures, I think the second one (Zédon) is probably a French watch because the case is typical, the accent on the e in Zédon is also typical and finally the EBAUCHE SUISSE at the bottom of the dial. So the movement is probably an ETA or an AS.

 

[Dr.Sascha]

omegastar

Looking at the pictures, I think the second one (Zédon) is probably a French watch because the case is typical, the accent on the e in Zédon is also typical and finally the EBAUCHE SUISSE at the bottom of the dial. So the movement is probably an ETA or an AS.

I haven't cracked the back yet on the second, but am expecting ETA, since it's standard for that maker. Zedon is Swiss, but indeed aimed at the French market. "Zedon" was first registered as trademark in Switzerland in August 1943, to Donzé Frères & Cie of Saignelégier (NB: "Zedon" is an anagram of "Donze"). The company started in 1928 as Louis Donzé-Bilat, Montres Zédon, though there seems to have been a Donzé Frères going back to at least 1916. That trademark expired in 1964, but was reregistered to Zédon Watch & Cie SARL, of 41, rue du 31-Decembre, Genève. At that time the director was Albert Holzer, of d'Erlenbach (Berne).



I've found a fair bit about both companies (both Swiss with fairly long heritage), I'm just trying to figure out if there's a specific military aspect to either. Doesn't make the watch necessarily more valuable/desirable, I'm just curious.

 

[omegastar]

The watch was assembled in France !

 

[Dr.Sascha]

The Zedon uses the same case as the Le Forban Securite Mer. This makes me happy, since those are quite cool divers (and generally cost much more than what I paid for this one). But the Zedon is all-steel and has a bakelite rather than a metal bezel, both pluses in my book.

 

[JwRosenthal]

These are nice skin divers. Like many of the catalog assembled skin divers of the time (pick from catalog: a dozen cases, two dozen dials, half a dozen hand styles- mix &match, apply company name to dial), they were made with decent parts and seem to run forever.

 

[Tony C.]

I've owned a couple of Candino divers, and consider them to be well-designed. No military connection with that case back, though.