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

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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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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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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

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for orders or enquiry

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[SOLD] 1979 Vintage Seiko 5 7009-8331 "Seamaster"

Introducing

Seiko 5 7009-8331 "Seamaster"

Circa 1979

As far as dials go, this has to be one of the most impressive ones I've seen on a Seiko 5. It presents itself with a classic majesty, its many elements combining to a very solid wrist presence.

Let's start with the dial. It doesn't get much better than the vertical guilloche trenches cut deep into the dial. It was what attracted me to the Omega Seamaster 150 and it's here again on this very affordable timepiece. 

The designers of this watch knows exactly what they're doing, minimising each element to their bare essentials to not just complement the emblematic dial but to also to let them each have their own moment in the spotlight. 

Gold is naturally the color chosen to complete the jet black dial. Polished hour indexes escape  commonality with indents and spots of lumibrite at their ends, an aesthetically surprising and useful application in line with the Seiko 5 mantra.

Sporty baton hands are in the same gold, also applied with lumibrite. A harsh white day and date display sits beneath the gold window at 3'O, once again a choice of practicality over a fashion decision. Topping it off is the applied Seiko 5 emblem and printed Suma logo on the dial. 

All of that class sits underneath a mineral glass crystal, with a less traditional give-link bracelet completing the sports watch look.  The large stainless steel case melts seamlessly into the links and bracelet, not letting the dial lost its thunder to watch lugs.

I almost feel like keeping this guy for myself.

1979 Vintage Seiko 5 7009-8331 "Seamaster"

Hour, minute and seconds hands with day/date display

Eng / Rom day display

Polished black guilloche dial

36mm stainless steel case

42mm lug-to-lug

20mm lug width

7009 automatic movement @ 21,600vph with quickset push for day change

Mineral glass crystal

Seiko stainless steel bracelet

SOLD

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[SOLD] 1977 Vintage Seiko 5 6309-6240 "Zip"

Introducing

Seiko 5 6309-6240 "Zip"

Circa 1977

White dials look stylish. Period. And matched with straight horizontal lines, it makes for a very neat looking watch face. Zip is the kind of watch that gets eyeballs glancing your wrist's way.

The stark white dial is decorated very nicely with thick horizontal lines, creating a sort of wave effect that really gives the dial a distinct class that you don't expect from an economical watch like this. 

The Seiko 5 emblem and polished hour batons are applied onto the face, breaking the artistic symmetry. The polished day-date window follows suit.

The baton hands add to the sporty look, light lumibrite faint from the years of application. Topped off with a three-link oyster bracelet, Zip is a very nice companion for those who like a touch of white on a hot summer's day, or tucked under a sleeve for the corporate workhorse.

1977 Vintage Seiko 5 6309-6240 "Zip"

Hour, minute and seconds hands with quickset day-date

Eng / Arb day display

White dial with printed horizontal lines

34mm stainless steel case

40mm lug-to-lug

19mm lug width

6309 automatic @ 21,600vph

Mineral glass

Seiko stainless steel bracelet

[SOLD]

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1982 Vintage Seiko 5 7009-870J "Sergeant"

Introducing

Seiko 5 7009-870J "Sergeant"

Circa 1982

No nonsense. That's what I think this watch is. And hardball. And tough.

Large arabic numerals make no mistake when telling the time, the thick baton hands pointing where they're supposed to.

The gold hands hint at the hidden side of Sergeant - on closer inspection, like more tough guys, there is refinement. The numerals are lined with a gold border, offering a treat to whoever takes a closer look.

And with time, you get over the crude, utilitarian outlook and start to appreciate the beauty in something that is made to last.

1982 Vintage Seiko 5 7009-870J "Sergeant"

Hour, minute and seconds hands with day/date display

Eng / Arb day display

Polished black dial with large arabic numerals

35mm stainless steel case

40mm lug-to-lug

10/20mm proprietary lug width

7009 automatic movement @ 21,600vph with quickset push for day change

Mineral glass crystal

Seiko stainless steel bracelet

$S60

Email

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for orders or enquiry

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1978 Vintage Seiko 5 6309-8170 "Hulk"

Introducing

Seiko 5 6309-8170 "Hulk"

Circa 1978

Big, green, mean and solid, is what I would use to describe this watch. Presented in a bulky stainless steel case and three-link bracelet, the watch exudes a toughness that places it in sports watch territory for me.

Matched with visible signs of wear and weathering, Hulk stands out with a deep green dial in every sense of the word.

Firstly, the green hue of its face can be seen as one tilts the watch towards a light source. There's a sense of mystery in it that I very much enjoy for watch dials. 

Then there's the tall hour markers that is very clearly defined from the face of the watch, gold in color and polished bright. The markers are matched with the chunky hands that have visible signs of wear.

Because where's a tough guy without touch hands?

It even wears large too, at 36mm with across and 41mm lug-to-lug. Definitely a good vibe from this one. Very manly.

1978 Vintage Seiko 5 6309-8170 "Hulk"

Hour, minute and seconds hands with quickset day-date

Eng / Spn day display

Dark green dial

36mm stainless steel case

41mm lug-to-lug

10/20mm proprietary lug width

6309 automatic @ 21,600vph

Mineral glass

Seiko stainless steel bracelet

S$60

Email

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for orders or enquiry

Click here for ordering information

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