It has been over 20 years since Fossil Group acquired historic Swiss watchmaker Zodiac, and it feels the brand is finally being given the investment and promotion it deserves.
Zodiac might have been mentioned in the same breath as iconic dive watches pioneers, Rolex and Blancpain, back in the 1950s, and has rebuilt its status since being bought by Fossil Group in 2001 on the back of the Sea Wolf family from that era.
Today it is reviving another family of watches from its archive, the Olympos field watch that was created in the late 1960s for the British Royal Navy, but follows the simple design philosophy of pieces made by twelve watchmakers for World War II infantrymen that became known as the dirty dozen.
These field watches were foremost reliable and readable, with simplicity, utility and durability the key criteria.
There is an immediate visual diversion by Zodiac with its field watches in the form of its case shape, which has an angular six-sided silhouette the brand calls the manta ray.
It also has its crown at 2 o’clock rather than the usual 3 o’clock position.
Modern field watches inspired by the dirty dozen tend to be larger than the 35mm to 38mm specification dictated by military buyers in WWII, and the Zodian Olympos is no exception with a 40mm steel case housing Swiss-made three-hand automatic movement.
They are on sale this month for $895.