Introducing
Seiko 6139-7100 Chronograph "Black"
Circa 1976
The chronograph is one of the most amazing complications to make it to the modern wristwatch. It allows one to take time into one's hands and capture parts of it for recording purposes. What was committed to memory can now be checked and recorded.
It was official, it was complicated, it was downright freaking awesome.
The dawn of timekeeping soon progressed, as it were, to incorporate many different iterations and executions. But one form eluded watchmakers - the automatic chronograph. Somehow the rotating weight couldn't gel well with the chronograph mechanism, and the horological arms race began to create the world's first automatic chronograph.
Seiko won, by the way.
The 6139 automatic chronograph was presented to Asia in 1969 by Seiko. It was an awesome achievement and true to Seiko's fashion, mass production soon began. The 6139 soon grew in popularity as limitless interpretations of the 30-minute chronograph hit the market.
This black reference is one of them, and in pretty good condition too.
Presented in a Seiko Japan stainless steel bracelet still in its original wraps, the Seiko 6139 Black is as sporty as you can get - slim silver hour and minute hands cutting across the jet black polished dial. The 30-minute recorder sits comfortably at 6O', its tiny red hands aligning perfectly with its bigger brother poised to slice across the dial.
The column wheel chronograph clicks solidly and easily, not like the stiff cam-activated of now. Moving at 21,800vph, the chronograph seconds in bright red makes for good viewing.
The appliqued day date window kinds of breaks the symmetry of the dial, but it's a Seiko trait so I can forgive them. Pearl white tachymeter and minute track surround the luminous hour indices, all sitting under the dome acrylic crystal. Flawless execution.
1976 Vintage Seiko 6139-7100 chronograph "Black"
Hour and minute hands with day-date display
Eng/Arb day display
Polished black dial
38mm stainless steel case
44mm lug-to-lug
19mm lug width
6139 automatic chronograph @ 21,600vph
Acrylic crystal
Seiko Japan original stainless steel bracelet
[SOLD]
