1980 Vintage Seiko 5 7009-8580 "Radioactive"

Introducing

Seiko 5 7009-8580 "Radioactive"

Circa 1980

Large cushion case, a void of a black dial, large fearless green markers - what's there not to like about this watch?

It's like out of a the depth of nuclear waste, when the world is dark and lifeless, the first sound you hear is the beating of this 7009, risen from society's fallen, echoing across the barren wastelands. 

The green hits you, hard. Then the rest of the watch falls into place.

You noticed that if the watch was given silver markers it would no less be a handsome offering, but a rude twist of fate in the maker's office gave it green digits, and it's somehow worked out well, even in spite of the lack of lumibrite on the markers.

Remnants of the silver construct stand unfazed by the obscene intrusion, offering a welcome contrast between casual and classy - sword hands and day/date window, and the outlines of each hour marker.

And all this, encased in a stainless steel skeleton, perhaps the best kind to brave the harsh realities of desk diving.

1980 Vintage Seiko 5 7009-8580 "Radioactive"

Hour, minute and seconds hands with day/date display

Eng / Spn day display

Matte black dial

35mm stainless steel case

40mm lug-to-lug

19mm lug width 

7019 automatic movement @ 21,600vph with quickset push for day change

Acrylic crystal

Seiko stainless steel bracelet

S$60

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1971 Vintage Seiko 5 Superior 6309-5530 "Cassandra"

Introducing

Seiko 5 Superior 6309-5530 "Cassandra"

Circa 1971

You don't see a lot of the Seiko 5 Superiors around. They're pretty special with the water resistant print on the dial. Cassandra here even adds a wave pattern guilloche the face.

Sword hands sweep the oval dial, which wears large on the wrist. There's a certain strangeness about a gold dial with wave guilloche, but the one presented here pulls it off pretty well, studs and all. 

An oyster bracelet completes the look - a shiny wrist watch endeavoured with a graceful gold, hidden beneath the sportiness of a stainless steel case.

1971 Vintage Seiko 5 Superior 6309-5530 "Cassandra"

Hour, minute and seconds hands with quickset day-date

Eng / Rom day display

Gold dial with wave guilloche pattern

35mm stainless steel case

40mm lug-to-lug

19mm lug width

6309 automatic @ 21,600vph

Mineral glass

Stainless steel bracelet

S$80

Email

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for orders or enquiry

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2013 Seiko SRP231K 4R36 Baby Tuna Shrouded Diver

Introducing

Seiko SRP231K 4R36 

Baby Tuna Shrouded Diver

Circa 2013

The Seiko diver series of watches need no introduction. Having celebrated 50 years of diving watch making this year, the Japanese giants have no doubt cemented their mark in horology history.

Among their wallet-friendly ranges of diving watches is the Baby Tuna, or the Sardine. So named because the huge case resembles that of a tuna / sardine can. 

The SRP series of shrouded divers offer a plastic shroud for protection against the harsh reefs and rocks that the diver will face down under. The uni-directional bezel then sits comfortably inside the shroud except for the two grooves to allow the diver to utilize the bezel. 

The dial is also very well constructed - matte black forms the perfect backdrop for the white Lumibrite markers and hands, providing unrivalled legibility in low light conditions. Each luminous hour marker sits in small grooves cut into the chapter ring, a small detail that goes a long way with me.

The 2013 series of shrouded divers also come with the nicest hands on a Seiko diver I've ever encountered, making the appreciate of the timepiece even more worthwhile. 

Strapped to the significantly sized case is Seiko's accordion rubber strap, which allows for maximum comfort even while the diver's wrist expands during the dive.  

All in, the Seiko SRP231K is an excellent offering for a sporty outfit. It may be designed to dive 200m down, but it'll also fit a nice t-shirt and jeans. Surprisingly trendy for a utility tool. 

2013 Seiko SRP231K 4R36 Baby Tuna Shrouded Diver

Hour, minute and central sweeping seconds

Eng / Rom day display

Black dial

45mm stainless steel case with plastic shroud

50mm lug-to-lug

22mm lug width

4R36 automatic @ 21,600vph

Hardlex crystal

Seiko rubber diving strap

S$450

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for orders or enquiry

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1974 Vintage Seiko 6139-7070 "Aquatimer" Chronograph

Introducing

Seiko 6139-7070 "Aquatimer" Chronograph

Circa 1974

This 6319 sat on the display shelf for a few weeks before I decided to take it home. I think it's best to use the thought process that I went through to illustrate why it sits in my collection today.

First of all, it's blue. Who doesn't like blue?

One of the initial thoughts apart from the dial color was the depth of the face. There were effectively three layers to it - the minute track, inner dial where the day/date window were cut separately, and then the chronograph 30-minute totalizer subdial.

Add in the tachymeter bezel and you've got one heck of a dial to look at. 

Next would be its hands. All white oars. which was what gave me its namesake of the IWC Aquatimer. The straight lines and no nonsense design details accorded the watch its aesthetic style in addition to its functionality. 

Thanks to the hands, the dial faded into the background, only to be admired when you're done telling the time. And I do have to add that the dial in the daylight is too good to be true.

Last but not least is the simple, oft-overlooked detail of how the totalizer subdial cut into the minute track dial. The long printed hour markers at 5 and 7'O have been perfectly cut into, their ends cut into a curve following the subdial's circumference.

Oh yes, time to bring this home.

1974 Vintage Seiko 6139-7070 "Aquatimer" Chronograph

Hour and minute hands with quickset day (push) and date

Eng / Arb day display

Deep blue stepped dial

39mm stainless steel case

44mm lug-to-lug

19mm lug width

6139 automatic chronograph @ 21,600vph

Mineral glass crystal

Seiko Canvas Strap

S$450

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[SOLD] 1966 Vintage Seiko Seikomatic 6206-8040 Weekdater

Introducing

Seiko Seikomatic 6206-8040 Weekdater

Circa 1966

The Seikomatic Weekdater oozes class with its highly polished exterior (and you should really scroll down for movement pictures). While the large single language day wheel at 6'O is a step away from the marque's tenant of technical simplicity, it is nonetheless a welcome step.

The dial is a silver white, a flat dull base complementing the polished markers and hands to make the watch very legible. I touched on the atypical aesthetic emphasis on this watch with the large day window, and the raised chapter ring marking the minutes adds to that, making the Weekdater a little less business. Just a little.

The sharp dauphine hands are also polished to a smooth shine, their lengths corresponding to the hour indexes very well. It's a very pleasing sight to see the tip of the hands just graze along the perimeter of the invisible circles. #WatchNerd

Perhaps the one gripe I have about this piece would be the overly simplistic lugs. What with the minimalistic dial and elegant face, the least Seiko could do was a little sharpening. The unimaginative lumps are most unappreciated here. 

Screw open the caseback, however, and you're treated to a visual feast of gold and steel, new as the day it was made. A 26-jewel automatic 6206 movement stuns. 

Excuse the lugs though.

1966 Vintage Seiko Seikomatic 6206-8040 Weekdater 

Hour, minute and central sweeping seconds

Silver dial with polished hour batons

35mm stainless steel case

40mm lug-to-lug

18mm lug width

6206 automatic @ 18,000vph

Acrylic crystal

Blue aftermarket leather strap

SOLD

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1985 Vintage Seiko 5 7009-4001 "Alien"

Introducing

Seiko 5 7009-4001 "Alien"

Circa 1985

A year before Sigourney Weaver made the big screen as the Ellen Ripley, this watch made it out of the Daini Seikosha - a bright new light among a sea of conformity.

Calling this guy strange is an understatement. While the Seiko 5 did in deed come in all forms and shapes, it was very odd for something of this combination to be cast out into the market. 

Tonneau shaped case, bright yellow inner bezel, an odd blue guilloche dial gives it a very sporty premise. Which is totally off set with unapologetically dressy dauphine hands and applied hour baton indexes. 

But I guess its ingenuity and uniqueness lie in its contradiction to the normal standards of what made a pleasant looking time piece.

1985 Vintage Seiko 5 7009-4001 "Alien"

Hour, minute and seconds hands with day/date display

Eng / Arb day display

Guilloche bright blue dial

34mm stainless steel case

40mm lug-to-lug

20mm lug width 

7019 automatic movement @ 21,600vph with quickset push for day change

Mineral glass crystal

Seiko stainless steel bracelet

S$70

Email

thevintageseiko@gmail.com

for orders or enquiry

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1980 Vintage Seiko 5 7009-3100 "Datejust"

Introducing

Seiko 5 7009-3100 "Datejust"

Circa 1980

There's something classic about the whole black and gold formula, even more so when it's presented on a vintage dial with broad sword hands and no-nonsense hour batons. The watch reminds me of the old 1980s Rolex Datejusts, and so gave it its name.

The classic look begins from far away - the traditional oyster three-link bracelet, joined to the solid case with the smooth bezel, mineral glass flat and smooth. The links hang loose, a sign of vintage wear, and feels absolutely comfortable around the wrist. 

As you approach the dial, the black/gold combination hits you - pure vintage class. You're greeted to a polished black dial, setting the stage for the elongated bars of gold that form the rest of the watch face. You almost wish the day and date window wasn't in the way of such gentlemanly suave, but appreciate the utility of such a feature in a daily beater. 

And while faint, the lume on the hands provide the increased legibility you know you'll miss once the sun sets. 

There's more than simplicity in this watch. There's the feeling of the good old days, lost to the rapidly shifting tides of the modern world. How you wish for a distraction away from the distractions, a simple black face rid of the mundane complexities of life.

1980 Vintage Seiko 5 7009-3100 "Datejust"

Hour, minute and seconds hands with day/date display

Eng / Arb day display

Polished black dial

34mm stainless steel case

40mm lug-to-lug

18mm lug width 

7019 automatic movement @ 21,600vph with quickset push for day change

Mineral glass crystal

Seiko Japan stainless steel bracelet

S$80

Email

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for orders or enquiry

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1971 Vintage Seiko 5 6309-4230 "Stark"

Introducing

Seiko 5 6309-4230 "Stark"

Circa 1971

Television is addictive. The same can also be said for the tv cases and dials. Seen here in the stark white, it's really hard to resist.

Let's start with the crystal this time. Keeping true to the television dial, the acrylic crystal for Stark has a lovely dome reminiscent of old retro tubes. Very nostalgic, and well worth looking at from the side. 

Moving inwards to the inner bezel, the 24 hour markings remind us of the many hours that the television keeps us entertained, the hours passing like minutes as our eyes stay glued to the programs,

A silver screen greets us as we look towards the middle of the dial. Polished white hour markers, silver hands, a bright white sweeping seconds set the stage for the silver dial, completing the look.

1971 Vintage Seiko 5 6309-4230 "Stark"

Hour, minute and seconds hands with quickset day-date

Eng / Rom day display

White dial 

35mm stainless steel case

39mm lug-to-lug

20mm lug width

6309 automatic @ 21,600vph

Acrylic glass

Stainless steel bracelet

S$70

Email

thevintageseiko@gmail.com

for orders or enquiry

Click here for ordering information

Visit the Catalogue for more selections

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