Latest Review
September 28, 2023 
You walk into a dimly lit room. The air feels heavier than it should and smells a touch musty. Sounds are muted but a dull bass thud is just audible. Your pulse is amplified with anticipation. You notice after your eyes adjust that everything has a faint purple glow. The lint on your shirt sparkles and the laces on your sneakers light up. On the wall, futuristic equipment with lines of bold illuminated color beckons you. You’re in an armory and must choose your side. You strap on your gear and wait. A screen turns on and the briefing begins.
Welcome to Laser Tag
Fueled by nostalgia for the 90s, with a touch of 80s too, the Zodiac x Worn & Wound Super Sea Wolf Laser Tags are a spiritual follow-up to our highly sought-after collaboration from 2021. Inspired by the sights, sensations, and joy of playing laser tag, they are watches that were imagined in three states of illumination – in light, in blacklight, and in the dark, each creating a different experience. Over two years in the making, the watches feature photoreactive elements on the dial, bezel, strap, and even the case and packaging. Two watches unlike any you’ve encountered before, the only question is, which side will you choose, Ultraviolet or Infrared?
The design of the Laser Tags brings the feel of the arena to the wrist. With primarily dark palettes, they set a mysterious mood and allow for highlight colors to emerge as though illuminated. Lines of color cut through deep, dusky tones, with more emerging depending on the environment’s lighting.
This includes the case. Featuring Zodiac’s 200m, 40mm Super Sea Wolf case plated in dark, sleek gray, they are built on a rugged and reliable frame. Not black, but rather a lighter shade, as if just the slightest bit of light were shown on objects in the dark. Milled directly into the metal of the case are channels that have been filled with luminous material. In light, they appear as white outlines, flattening the three-dimensionality of the form. In the dark, the case disappears and all that remains are the lines, now glowing blue.
In keeping with the game, two versions were developed representing the teams. As seen in the light, Ultraviolet has a background of very dark purple on the dial and bezel. A color as deep as the cosmos, markings appear almost to float within it. The dial is framed by a wide ring in a soft mint tone, and various light blue and pale green markings on the bezel reinforce the cool-toned team’s colors. Deep, sharp fuschia acts as a counterpoint, highlighting the markers, cross-hair, and 15-minute intervals on the bezel. The hour and minute hands are in faded blue and purple, while the seconds hand is a pop of green.
On the other side is Infrared. The dial and bezel have backdrops of deep scarlet. Dark, but still clearly warm, there is a clear contrast from the Ultraviolet squad. Crisp white circles the inner dial as pinks and reds add accents. Blue contrasts the otherwise sanguine tones, adding visibility to the hour markers, cross-hairs, and 15-minute marks on the bezel. The hour hand is dark purple, minute in orange, and seconds in bright pink, adding some variety.
In the laser tag arena, bathed in blacklight, new elements emerge. Within the center area of the dials is an array of hidden lines that come to life. The center of the cross-hair begins to glow, and the chapter ring fully illuminates. The lume fill of the hands, hour markers, and bezel pip all glow in shades of green and bright blue, version depending. The lines on the case light up as well, as does the logo on the crown.
The result, on the wrist, is that of an object energized from within. Rings and lines of laser light floating in space. A sci-fi wristwatch for a future designed decades ago. The difference in the glowing colors of the two teams helps distinguish between friend and foe when in battle.
The straps and packaging feature a crisscrossing “laser light show” motif. In daylight, the design is subtle, adding a fun texture that speaks to the theme. On the strap, when hit with blacklight, the pattern magically brightens adding a special accent when in the arena. The packaging too has been printed with glowing ink in various colors. In blacklight, the lines and logos light up in different colors depending on the chosen team.
The third state is in the dark. While some of the details will fade away, others remain bright. The lume on the hands, markers, bezel, and case stay strong while the more subtle textures on the dial fade away. The pattern on the strap will disappear as well. In the dark, only the most vital information remains for legibility.
The Zodiac x Worn & Wound Super Sea Wolf Laser Tags are a limited edition of 282 per color. They will be available for pre-order beginning 9.28.23 at 1pm Eastern on Windup Watch Shop and will begin to ship in batches starting early November.
Why Laser Tag? The teams from Zodiac and Worn & Wound that created this watch are all either late Gen X or early Millenial. The 90s was the defining decade of our adolescence. While the digital age had begun, growing up in the 90s, interactions were still largely limited to being in person as the internet was just taking root. Laser tag was a perfect synergy of elements of the day. Like a video game made real, it felt cutting edge (lasers!) and allowed you to play with friends.
And it just felt special. Entering the laser tag arena transported you out of the real world and put you into a sci-fi fantasy, if only for 15 minutes at a time. You were no longer sitting in your room imagining, rather, the blaster was in your actual hands. Playing also required going somewhere outside of your home, likely an arcade, meaning it was a planned event, something you looked forward to. It left you equal parts overstimulated and exhausted. It was always a great time.
Trying to capture the experience of laser tag in a watch required a lot of hard work. Conceived and initially rendered by Zach Weiss, the design and engineering teams at Zodiac, in both the US and Switzerland, pushed their capabilities to create the final product, a process that took over two years. From the lumed case (an element added by the creative team at Zodiac) to the various details that light up, many aspects of the design required research and development. The final result is something both brands are very proud of.
With 90s fashion returning, it’s not uncommon to pass by some kids wearing baggy jeans, Nirvana t-shirts, carrying a skateboard and a backpack. We likely looked similar when were that age, but we didn’t go home to a connected world. And it makes me wonder, does laser tag mean to them what it did to us?
The Zodiac x Worn & Wound Super Sea Wolf Laser Tags are a tribute to those experiences. A different time that doesn’t seem quite as long ago as it really was, and can never be repeated. Wear the Zodiac x Worn & Wound Super Sea Wolf Laser Tags to remind yourself of those days and maybe inspire yourself to head to the local laser tag arena and play a round or two.
