Introducing
Seiko 5 "Black Sun"
Circa 1970s
What's this? A classy Seiko 5? No way.
There's this stigma about mass production. When you're busy making many of one thing, something's gotta give, and usually it's design. I don't think Seiko has ever shrimped on quality. A lot of the Seiko 5s in the mass market has a generic swap-color template. You'll usually find the same thing in different color variations, and that's ok for a company wants to capture market share.
Many colors of the same thing means more people will probably get to like some of them, right? The long tail theory and all of that.
This Seiko 5 Black Sun proved me wrong.
From Far you're greeted with the solid large appliqued hour markers at 12, 6, and 9. It's quite unusual for a Seiko 5 to have digits that large, so when this one came around I had to look.
The tapered indices for the rest of the hour markers adds to that classy approach of the Black Sun. The use of black and silver going down very well with me.
The magic happens when you go up close. The dial presents itself in a black sun burst, reminiscent from higher end dress watches. The amount of blank space accorded to the dial seems purposeful, like the designers held back in desecrating the gentlemanly visage of the Black Sun.
Everything is held back in the name of elegance - the minute tracks are minimal, the lume restricted to tiny dollops on the outer track, even the typical 21-jewel marking on the dial has been tastefully removed.
While I could have asked for a nice dauphine hand to seal the deal, the baton hands of the Black Sun do quite well.
This particular specimen has aged very well - not overly corroded or dirty, The shine in the bracelet is still there, and the digits and indices are nicely tarnished. Contrasted against the brilliant black dial, it intensifies the whole appeal of the vintage watch. There's a bump, there are scratches, there are patinas and tarnishes - wonderful.
1970s Vintage Seiko 5 "Black Sun"
Hour, minute, second hands with day-date display
Eng/Arb day display
Sunburst black dial
36mm stainless steel case
42mm lug-to-lug
19mm lug width
7S26 automatic @ 21,600vph
Mineral glass crystal
Non-Seiko stainless steel bracelet
[SOLD]
