There are more pictures on WUS (This is the tittle: Rare Zenith Diver And this is Tapatalk link: https://r.tapatalk.com/shareLink/topic?share_fid=13788&share_tid=5131951&url=https://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=5131951&share_type=t&link_source=app) never seen something like that before ...it seems an A3630 case and bezel, with a franken dial ... don’t feel comfortable with that Zenith star, with the blue colour, with the big indexs ... but who knows!
They don't belong to A3630. The bezel is quite different. Would be interesting to see a caseback photo, whether it even has Zenith stamped on it.
This actually is my watch. I'm sure it is original. Only there is no info to be found about it because it is so rare. I think this dial was not light blue to begin with but has faded. It probably was dark blue or gray if you ask me. Zenith actually used a 4 pointed star at one point. I've seen it on Zenith movements and casebacks aswell. Here is another one, same case, crown, hands and movement. Different dial but with same 4 pointed star. and here with another star
Caseback has a ref number stamped in it: 1085151. It is not signed Zenith. Maybe the casing in France, instead of Switzerland has something to do with that? The models with black dial i have posted above are also not signed by Zenith on the caseback, but also have a ref number. A different ref number though 1085156 Here is the topic on a french forum about those http://forumamontres.forumactif.com...ge-pas-courante-petite-revue?highlight=zenith
It’s the roughness of the dial that puts me off. If it’s not marked Zenith it was obviously cased by someone else. That and the case number doesn’t correspond to a Zenith number from that time period. I don’t believe it was cased in Besancon. All their watches were marked Zenith. For $60 you can get an extract from Zenith. That would tell you for sure
There are actually more Zenith watches made in Besancon that are not marked Zenith on the caseback. That does not make them not cased by Zenith or without orders from Zenith perse. Maybe they'd let a third party do it. Who knows. I bought it from a french antiques dealer, so if these watches were sold in France that could make sense. It has the same kind of paint deterioration some tudor snowflakes have. really small bubbles. which actually makes it more plausible to me. Scratches in the glass are distorting the minute track here and there. The dial looks really crisp and sharp. To me it is too much of a coincidence. There are 3 other watches i know of with exact same case etc. just with different dial. And even one of them has a different logo star on the dial than the other 2. Zenith has used an orange variation of the dial i have. The movement is signed Zenith, the hands are used by Zenith in more of their watches. I cannot believe somebody would just put this watch together with all these rare parts and even with a different ref. number on the case than the other dial variation has and made the dial somehow light blue. But i understand your scepticism. Getting an extract is a good idea! thanks
The 4 pointed star was used as the Zenith logo for a time. The red El Primero boxes had it. Off top of my head, don't recall seeing the logo applied onto a dial. Very interesting.
If i google Zenith Besancon, i'm finding more cases not marked. All of the above watches i posted are also not marked on the caseback. You think they are incorrect? A guy on that french watch forum i posted the link from even says he purchased the watch of the first owner who bought it in the 1960's.
From the topic on watchuseek. From the 4 pointed star on the dial, it is immediately clear that this was made in Besançon. This is also confirmed by the Besançon case number on the back (although the OP hasn't posted that). I think the manual movements cased in Besançon were all made there, including the cal 2522 and derivatives, as they all have Besançon serial numbers. But not the few automatics with cal 133.8 (in the late '50s) or 2542 PC (in the late '60s) which have entirely Swiss signed movements, including Swiss serial numbers. It is a bit strange that the case is not signed Zenith, but the case number clearly is a Zenith Besançon number. It is in the range of other Besançon case numbers which in the end (c. 1970) reached 1.177.xxx for stainless steel cases (highest Besançon case number I've seen). The style of the engraving is also the same. I'm not sure if the cases in Besançon were always signed on the inside, certainly not the gold ones. This one does look like a special delivery, sort of a compressor case.
I’m not saying it’s fake. There’s just something not quite right. Spend $60 and get an extract. Also, just because someone on WUS says it’s from Besancon doesn’t mean it’s true. I don’t understand how they can say that just based on a case number. It’s not marked Zenith and every watch has a case number. It could be from anywhere
I've actually talked to a more than a few of knowlegable collectors who all think the watch is correct and from Besancon. I'm sure it is aswell after researching whatever information there is about it on the internet. Same goes here, just because someone on Omega forum says something is not quiet right, doesn't mean it is true. But believe what you want, i'm going to enjoy the watch.
If I had that watch, I surely ask for an extract: have Zenith confirmation, increase the value of the watch ... Anyway, enjoy the watch. That’s why we are here.