A Pack of Wolves Pt. II
Review of the Zodiac Super Sea Wolf ZO9209
I often get sized out of sporty watches because of my small wrist size. When I was surprised with this Zodiac diver, I was so excited! I don’t know all of the measurement specs, but I can tell you that it sits perfectly on top of my 6 ¼ inch wrist without the lugs hanging over. It has a bold presence on my wrist, but it doesn’t look comically oversized or out of place. The dial is beautifully balanced with Arabic numerals at 3, 9, 6, and 12 o’clock and elegantly simple baton indices at the other hours. Triangles to anchor each of the numerals creates perfect visual balance. I usually like to have a date, but this dial is so balanced and readable that I don’t even miss it.
I have been an educator for ten years and have taught second grade for eight of those years. I’ve always worn a watch, even when it fell out of fashion with the uprising of smartphones. Having to pull out a smartphone and wake it to tell the time is too tedious, and smartwatches are unreliable and overwhelming. If the watch doesn’t sit perfectly on its charger, the wearer is left with a useless black square on her wrist. The way that those devices make you connected to everyone at all times exhausts me. It’s impossible to stay present when the device on your wrist is constantly trying to send you data beyond the time.
An elementary school day runs on a tight, to-the-minute schedule, so I need to be aware of the time always, and with minimal distraction. For example, lunch for my class this year started not at 11:15 or 11:20, but at 11:18 a.m. every day. A different class was scheduled to arrive every four minutes to optimize the lunch line. Tight schedules make readability a top priority for educators, and this timepiece does the job beautifully!
“My wife has been an educator in some way, shape, or form since I met her. The classroom is an unforgiving environment. While it is easy to romanticize all the ideal activities surrounding dive watches, I know for a fact her ZO9209 has endured an arena the watchmakers at Zodiac never envisioned and thrived at that. Her Super Sea Wolf always answers the call when she needs it, and even her students think it is cool.”
The only thing that I don’t love about this watch is that it seems like small wrists were not considered in the bracelet design. As soon as the weekend arrived, I took this watch to my local jeweler to have the bracelet resized. After three attempts, my jeweler told me “That’s all I can give you”. The watch is still just loose enough to fall below the wrist bone. It’s a hefty watch, so the weight shifts up and down the wrist throughout the day, causing some discomfort. After trying to wear it on the bracelet for about a month, I will need to transfer this watch to a strap to make it more comfortable for all-day wear.
“I am slapping her Super Sea Wolf on a Mushi Watch Straps Gray Fluted NATO once this review posts. I needed one on a bracelet for the photos.”
Overall, I love this watch. The intentional simplicity of this watch allows me to know the time with a quick glance at my wrist. Distraction from my students is non-existent because there aren’t any complications to visually sort through on the dial. The subtle sunburst effect is beautiful in the sunlight and even under the harsh fluorescent lights of the school house without distracting from the hands and indices. This watch proves that a diver watch does not have to be oversized to be attractive, sporty, and functional.
