Sorry Jeff, your claims of Zodiac at the time are not true. At the same time Heuer was begging people to buy a Viceroy for a paltry $88 through a cigarette promotion, Zodiac had 15 different Chronograph models in their catalogs for the year. That is pretty strong for the time (at least before Swiss companies started calling 30 or 40 identical looking chronographs that have different dials each a separate model). Additionally, looking at Heuer's pricing at the time (using materials from your site) the upper end chronographs were $185 and $220. Zodiac's using the same higher-end movements (72, 72C etc) were $175 to $195. So, regardless of any other assumptions, the prices were not that different meaning that the whole "Poor Man's watch" is really more of a "Poor Choice of Description" and not genuinely true. The pricing on a comparative Heuer and Zodiac now does nothing to reflect their original brand position. So, even though I will be bashed because I disagree, what I am saying is in print and not just belief.

: As always, Mark provides some excellent context. Indeed, the
: cases came from one manufacturer, the dials from another, the
: hands from another, etc., and it was Heuer that assembled the
: elements to produce the completed chronographs.

: When you look at a brand like Zodiac or Dugena, in the 1960s, you
: will see that their catalogs included nice lines of dress
: watches and dive watches, for example, but very few
: chronographs. Brands like these did not have the capacity to
: work with chronographs -- you see, even after the watch company
: received the Valjoux movement, considerable work was required to
: adjust and fit the chronograph, etc. So when these other
: companies wanted to add some chronographs to their catalogs,
: they would call on a company like Heuer to produce some
: chronographs under the recipient's name (Zodiac or Dugena, in
: this example). A brand like Zodiac might have offered a few
: different chronographs in its catalog, some made by Heuer some
: made by other manufacturers.

: Jack Heuer has often referred to the fact that there were hundreds
: of Swiss watch brands in the 1960s, but very few that produced
: chronographs . . . perhaps in the 12 to 15 range.

: Interesting stuff, in my view.

: Jeff

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