At least we all agree on what kind of fish it is!
As for the bezel; I agree -- it is bizarre, indeed. All of the points you make, I have noted above also.
As for the fit, it is perfect:
Moreover, it conforms to the contours of the original in every respect. Under 25x magnification, the grain structure of the material, which appears to be bakelite (but which will be confirmed on Monday or Tuesday of next week) is identical to the grain structure of my standard S.58 bezel.
Here is a nice comparison shot with a stock bezel/insert from Matt's site (who always has great photos):
The numbers on the odd insert are milled and filled and appear to match the dial fonts (only have the "2" to go by). The slash is radium and shows about 3 mR/h on my Russian Geiger counter. The slash is exactly the same size and color as the slashes at 3-6-9 on the original bezel.
As you say, the crazy part is the triangle and the slash! However, the whole thing is so completely professional that I don't think it was a mistake. A huge amount of work went into this thing. I did post an image above of a Cairelli submariner knock-off that had a vaguely similar configuration at 12. But that is the specific mystery within the larger mystery of the bezel.
Points that I think may be worth thinking about are:
--Many countries had begun to impose either bans or strict limits on government procurement of watches that contained radium
--A painted triangle is highly visible in the day but barely visible in the dark; vice versa for a radium hash mark
--The original S.58 insert is almost useless for diving. It is a style feature, really.
--The S.58 case and bezel are unique to that watch AFAIK (would love to hear otherwise!)
--The odd insert has a very useful layout for diving (countdown configuration, minutes marked over last 15, etc.)
--All of the dive watch mil specs of which I am aware have insert marking req'ts that the stock bezel would not meet
--At least one company (Enicar) had to design a special insert when it submitted its dive watch for gov't procurement
--The odd insert shows extreme age and so was probably installed at a time when (a) new inserts were available from zenith and (b) the watch itself could easily and cheaply have been replaced.
--The bizarre combination of slash and triangle might militate against the inference that this was a stock bezel from another yet-to-be-identified watch.
It is a proper mystery! I would love to solve it. I am hoping that the archive extract will help. If it was never sold, that would be great! If it was sold to a certain wholesaler in Rome, that would be great, too.
I am so glad to be talking about the insert!
Best, Hurley
PS. The Eterna Centennaire line, as the name implies, was a celebration of various 100 year anniversaries for Eterna beginning with the Centennaire 56 that celebrated the 100th anniversary of the founding of the company. I've looked in vain for something similar in connection with 58. Best, Hurley
I'm not going to comment on the whole dive vs. helicopter vs. airline pilots' watch debate. Hopefully the extract from Zenith will shed some light on that.
There are some things about the bezel on that watch that seem very strange to me:
1. If you Google up "
Zenith S.58", there are what looks to be a couple of dozen examples of similar watches online. Not one of them has a bezel that comes close to resembling Hurley's example.
2. The bezel on the watch seems to be very heavily worn. The fit of the insert on the left side of the dial seems odd. There are marks on the inside of the bezel which do not seem to be part of the insert.
3. What's up with the "dual" hashmark at the 12 o'clock position? You would think that a watch used by a professional or military officer would either have a white hash or a luminous one, but not both. If you adjust the bezel so that the luminous is straight up, all the other marks are going to be slightly off.
As far as the 1958 issue goes, it was not unheard of for manufacturers to name models after the year introduced and keep that part of the name beyond the initial year of issue. The
Eterna Centenaire 61 was one of those. I'm sure there are others.
Just my 2 cents worth.
gatorcpa
PS - The fish in the dive ad is a
clown loach. Funny little fellow. They love to sleep lying on their sides. If you're not observant, you might think they've passed on, but they are very much alive.
