eBay Finds: A Classic Zodiac Sports Watch, an Affordable Seiko 5, and a Rare Favre-Leuba with the Full Kit

eBay Finds is back! This bi-monthly installment will feature a selection of watches currently listed on eBay that have caught the eye of editor Christoph McNeil (@vintagediver). If you come across any hidden gems on the ‘Bay drop us a note at [email protected] for potential inclusion!

Zodiac Aerospace GMT

Starting this week off with a killer vintage Zodiac Aerospace GMT. Zodiac is definitely well known for their Sea Wolf divers, but the lesser-known Aerospace is a fantastic piece. It features a two-tone black and gray 24 hour acrylic bezel insert that is in great condition. The gloss black dial is crisp and clean, as are the steel stick hands. The GMT hand is painted red to stand out. The original crown is signed with the Zodiac symbol as it should be. The Zodiac caliber 75 automatic movement is clean and the seller states it currently runs well and keeps time. The watch comes on a cool vintage riveted oyster style bracelet that looks great with the watch even though it’s not original.

View auction here

Vintage 1953 Bulova

Next up is a brilliant vintage Bulova dress watch with fancy lugs. The 27mm wide yellow gold fill case is excellent with no wearthrough that I can see in the pictures. The fancy lugs have a knotted look and are really unique and cool. The dial is the classic butler silver color with applied arrows and Arabic numerals and a sub-seconds at 6 o’clock. The dial looks original to me and is in excellent condition, paired with the original gold dauphine hands. The crown is signed ‘Bulova’ as it should be. The “L3” date code on the back puts this watch from 1953. The manual wind movement is clean and the seller states it runs and keeps time. This gem is perfect to wear to your next cocktail party!

View auction here

Vintage Lord Elgin Automatic 

From a dainty Bulova dress watch to a gigantic knuckle-dragger diver. This Lord Elgin beast has a huge 43mm wide steel UFO style round case that is thick as well. The case is in nice shape with sharp edges, and the bezel is flat, wide and plain. The diver’s bezel is internal on this model and is rotated by turning one of the twin crowns. The hands are nice broad steel with lume in them, and the seconds hand has a cool arrow tip. The black dial is clean and has large applied steel hour markers and a day/date window at 3 o’clock. It comes on a solid steel oyster style bracelet that looks good on the watch but I’m unsure if it’s original. No movement pic but seller states it runs. If you’re looking for a big ol’ diver with a ton of wrist presence, here ya go!

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Vintage Seiko 5 Actus

This vintage 1975 Seiko 5 Actus is a great piece that shouldn’t stress your watch budget. The steel case looks unpolished with sharp edges. The charcoal dial is gorgeous with its radial brushed finish and applied steel stick markers and the classic Seiko day/date window at 3 o’clock. The small crown is recessed at 4 o’clock and looks original. The watch comes with its original H-link bracelet with the correct 5 Actus signed buckle. The seller states the watch runs well, but there’s no movement picture. These Seiko models from this time period are so reliable and robust and usually run forever. It’s a great looking classic Seiko piece that should be a reasonable price.

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Vintage Omega Seamaster 

Here’s a classic vintage Omega Seamaster for your bidding pleasure. This is an earlier model, with the movement serial number dating it to around 1950. The steel case looks unpolished and has light wear consistent with its age, but no abuse. The dial is a beauty and looks original to me. It’s a two-tone bullseye style design with a gold-ish color center and silver outer track. There are applied gold tone arrow hour markers as well as printed Arabic numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9. The crown is the correct Omega signed four leaf clover style. The Omega caliber 351 bumper automatic movement is clean and looks sharp, and the seller states its running well. Vintage Seamasters are getting fewer and farther between in good shape on eBay, so take a close look at this one if you’ve been after one.

View auction here

Favre-Leuba Sea Sky Chronograph

We’re finishing up this week strong with a stunning vintage 1969 Favre-Leuba Sea Sky chronograph, complete with boxes and papers. The large steel case is in good shape, and the black acrylic bezel insert is in great condition. The black dial has three silver subdials and looks excellent with some even patina. The seller doesn’t say if the bracelet is original, but my guess is that it’s not. No movement picture but the seller states it is powered by the legendary Valjoux 72 movement, famously used in the vintage Rolex Daytona. The watch comes with the original inner and outer boxes, as well as papers including the original sales receipt, which is super cool. I think the price range the seller has set is reasonable, but if I were going to make a run at it, I would request some more pictures of the watch since there aren’t too many in the listing. Great and rare piece though with the full kit.

View auction here