Astrographic
Zodiac Astrographic
The Astrographic was released in 1969 and is still one of the most bizarre and striking mechanical watches you will encounter. The hands are printed on rotating, transparent discs in the manner of older mystery dial watches. A fire-red ball orbits the edge, representing the seconds. It caused quite a shock when it first hit the market. And it still raises eyebrows today. It has recently been reissued but here we discuss the original models.
History
There appear to be two distinct case shapes, a rounded-off square TV and a domed UFO style. They came in stainless steel and gold-plated versions for most models. There were also ladies versions. The movement was the highbeat SST designed in conjunction with a number of other Swiss companies (Longines, Zenith, Eterna, A Schild, Favre-Leuba, and Girard Perregaux.
