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Vintage Seiko Diver Watches: A Peek into Seiko’s Early Days
Mar 26, 2024
Dive watches are considered the universal version of watches that almost every watch connoisseurs have in their collection. Indeed, the range of features, prices, and models available for this tool watch resulted in growing popularity. Adding to that is the idea of vintage watches that make a special place for watch collectors. Some of them aren’t even easy to get and that makes it more challenging to do it. As in this article, I want to specifically focus on the popular vintage Seiko diver.
Among the Swiss brands, the names Omega, Patek Philippe, and Panerai could be ones that are identical to vintage pieces that cost thousands. However, when it comes to Japanese watch brands, you can’t leave out Seiko watches without making a list of their well-known past collection.
To put it simply when talking about the vintage Seiko diver watches, the list of watches can be categorized between affordable watches and those included in Seiko’s high-end collection. They consist of numerous amount of watches with diverse features to spoil you. In this article, I’ve made some references that I personally think are the most popular vintage Seiko diver watches you can have.
Seiko 6217 (62MAS)
Be impressed with the bold and rugged look of the Seiko 6217 which is the first vintage Seiko diver watch. The watch was in production from 1965 to 1968. Although the watch is the first step for Seiko in the dive watches world, they have managed to provide excellent features, especially during that time. Every element on the dial is lumed along with its large markers for perfect legibility.
This watch is equipped with 150m of water resistance — a good number for a variety of water activities. Powered by the cal. 6127 automatic movement, it beats at 18,000 bph. During that time, the watch was sold at $150 USD which definitely grows to thousands of dollars in the present day.
Seiko 6106-8100/9 Sport Diver
This watch brand keeps updating its Seiko diver watch lineup. The Seiko 6106-8100/9 Sport Diver, if compared to the previous collection, is more colorful and somehow adds another beauty to the watch. It is released in 1968 and definitely embodied a classic looking as to how many watches were in the past. Seiko provides a range of colors to be chosen from yellow, green, silver, blue, and even a funky blue piece with chevron markers.
It actually has a slimmer profile with only a 38mm watch case and 19mm watch lugs. Not to leave out for a dive watch is indeed a bezel that in this watch is available in a rotating bezel. It was $200, now it is estimated to cost $500 in a good condition.
Read also: The Glorious Past: Modern Interpretation of Vintage Seiko Watch
Seiko 6159-7001
Haven’t been fully satisfied with the previous collection, Seiko released a new model which is equipped with more impressive features. The Seiko 6159-7001 is one of the vintage Seiko diver watches that hold 300m of water resistance. The design went through quite many changes, especially to meet the standards of offering 300m water resistance. They used a monobloc case and screw-down crown — the crown was then moved at the 4 o’clock position.
Not only that, every element on the dial is applied with more luminous material compared to its predecessor. This watch was released in 1968 and stayed in production for only a year.
Seiko 6105-8110/9 “Captain Willard”
This vintage Seiko diver watch is probably the most well-known vintage dive watch collection for Seiko. The “Captain Willard”, as the name implied, got the spotlight when it was first used by Martin Sheen, playing “Captain Willard” in Apocalypse Now. That exposure managed to bring Seiko’s dive watch collection to get more attention from the world.
Even today, you still can get its modern reinterpretation under the name of Seiko Prospex 200M Automatic “Captain Willard”. Taking a different approach to its previous watch dimensions, this watch has a bigger watch case measured in 44mm. The vintage “Captain Willard” was quite in a long production from 1970 to 1976.
Price: $1,050.00 USD
Seiko 6306-7000/1, 6309-7040/9 “Turtle”
At the time Seiko stopped the production of its “Captain Willard” edition, they continued with a different nuance with the “Turtles” collection — you probably wondering why that name and so do I. The great news about this collection is that it was sold massively that became the signature of Seiko. This vintage Seiko diver watch collection was released in 1976 and remained in production until 1988.
During its production, Seiko made an abundance of models, designs, and updates to this collection. For now, this vintage watch can be valued with a premium price tag of an average of $1000. As it gained more popularity, this vintage Seiko diver watch is also reissued as a modern reinterpretation as in Seiko Prospex Turtle 200M Automatic.
Price:
Truth to be told, my list of references might not consist of your Seiko’s favorite collection. Yet, the fact is that Seiko has an enormous watch collection that varies. Therefore, you might have a different taste of liking. After all, Seiko remains indifferent when producing their watches, it’s still the solid and unique ones that make watch collectors stay with Seiko.
