Seiko and Citizen watchblog

The Citizen Collection

2011-03-04T07:31:00.000-08:00

My Citizen collection has always been the little brother of my Seiko collection but over time, it has grown to a pretty decent size. It is a bit more focused than the Seiko collection, and probably has a higher average quality both as I have not tried to get every possible variant but also as Citizen watches are generally cheaper so you can get better examples at lower cost. I did a collection post in May 2009 on the old forum but I have now added so many watches that it seemed like a good idea to do an updated post.

As you can see below the core of the collection are the early 60s handwind dress watches and the early 70s electronic and tuning fork watches. I also like the solid 70s styling of the Crystal Seven series.

As usual, pictures are click-able for larger versions and file names containing additional information about the watch.

Vintage

Alarm

Deluxe, Super Deluxe and other High End Hand Wind

Homer and other 60s Handwind

Jet, Super Jet and Auto Dater

Seven Star and Crystal Seven

Other Autos

Leopard

Chrono Master and High End Autos

Chronos

Sports and Divers

Electronic and Tuning Fork

Quartz

/ martin

Full Collection Post (553 pics)

2011-01-08T08:15:00.000-08:00

Collection updated with purchases until December 2010.

- martin

Pre 1945

Post 1945

Automatic

Super

Unique

Cronos

Cronos Selfdater and Cronos Special

Marvel

Gyro Marvel

Lord Marvel / 36000

Laurel and Motorist

Fairway

Crown

Crown Selfdater and Crown Special

Goldfeather

Liner

Skyliner

Champion

395/400 Series

603 Seikomatics

Seikomatic / 62 series

Sportsmatic

66 Series / Sportsman

622 Series

Seikomatic 8000

Presmatic / 51 Series

LM

LM Special / LM DeLuxe

King Seiko

Grand Seiko

Vanac

Advan / Actus

7000 Series

7S Series

DX / 61 Series

63 Series

Bellmatics

GMT / Duotime

5000 / 6000 Series Chronos

7000 Series Chronos

Sports / Pilot

Divers

Quartz and Kinetic Divers and Dive Computers

Electric

Quartz

38 Series Quartz

Quartz Chronos

Quartz Other Multifunction

7A28 / 7A38

LCD Quartz

Grand Quartz / King Quartz / Quartz VFA / Quartz GS / Superior / Other HEQ

Credor

Alpinist / 4S / 6R / 4L Series

Kinetics

SUS

Ladies watches

Kids watches

Pocket Watches

Alba, Wired, Issey Miyake

Alarm Clocks, Clocks and Stopwatches

Quartz Timing Chronometers

Boxes

Radios

Merchandise and Accessories

Repair Sets

Catalogs and Newsletters

Collection Update 52 pics

2011-01-08T08:10:00.000-08:00

It was more than 9 months since I posted a collection update. Even if the collection has not expanded with the same speed as before, there have been some interesting purchases during 2010. As usual, I will make an update post with large pics and some comments as well as a complete collection post with thumbnail pics. Enjoy.

The Good Stuff

After you have collected for a while and get a decent size collection, there are always a few watches missing. They are usually either very expensive, very hard to find or both. All of these watches have been on my wanted list for a while but I have not gotten around to buying any of them.

The first one is my Credor Phoenix with the 8L75 caliber. This watch does not get as much attention as it did a few years ago but it is still a marvellous watch. Prices have stayed the same for a while so it is a fairly cheap way to get a high end watch with a classic design. I am sure these watches will remain classics.

The next one is my 9983 caliber Superior Quartz. It is used but was sold complete with box, tags and manual. With an accuracy of 5 spy it is still among the most exact watches almost 35 years after its introduction. My watch looses a few seconds per month but still within reasonable limits and could probably be improved with a service and a calibration. If anyone has a quartz timing device that they do not need, please let me know.

The last one in this top team is the 7T82 caliber SBHP011 Honda Limited edition. I have been looking for this watch for a while but always found them too expensive. Luckily a cheaper used one turned up on the Japanese auctions so now I sit and look at the spinning hands on the 1/100s timer. An excellent racing design with the red accents and one of Seikos few SS/resin combination straps makes this a very nice watch.

The Vintage

Seiko has not been as adventurous with their vintage designs as for example Citizen and Orient. There are however a few exceptions. And when Seiko go over the top, they do not pull any stops. This 1960s Liner with the lace design dial is absolutely excellent.

It is the twin of my other Liner with a similar design.

The other interesting vintage is the Champion Flying Fish. A special edition with a famous flying fish caseback. I did a separate post on these before http://www.thewatchsite.com/index.php/topic,9029.msg45686.html#msg45686

As you might know, one of my quests is to get every variant of the 603 caliber Seikomatic. I have about 25 and new ones are getting few and far between. The only new one in this update is a fairly nice silver version.

The vintage category also has a few pocketwatches. This one is a Seikosha Extra Flat probably from the late 30s with a nice art deco design.

The Electronics

Since the early 60s, Seiko have put their watches into transistor radios fpr both time and alarm functionality. Usually the watches are specially adapted manual wind calibers. The most famous was the Sony radio posted in a previous update but there have been many others. The new one is a National (now known as Panasonic) travel alarm radio from the early 60s. This was purchased with the kind help of Tony Lewis in NZ. The 50s car dashboard design is particularily appealing.

Another interesting product is this Seiko Fieldboy from the early 80s. It contains an FM radio, a flashlight and a quartz watch. Perfect for an excursion in the woods. Unfortunately the plastic gets old and brittle very fast so the Fieldboy is disintegrating.

The 70s

Again, compared to Citizen, Seiko was not the most adventurous in their 70s watch design (Advans and Vanacs excepted) but there are a few nice examples in the lower end 61XX and 70XX series. The first one below is particularily good with the brushed cushion case and the orange second hand.

That said, Seiko sports watches were more or less uniformly excellent. As Gabe and a few others buy all the good ones, I have had to settle for the 7S36 remakes. These watches do not get that much attention in Japan so I have managed to get a few in very nice condition a rather low prices.

The Classics

There are a number of Seiko watches which are veryrepresentative of Seiko and their period of creation. They should be included in every collection (and often are). These watches usually come in a lot of variants and are not very expensive so you can always find one you like and can afford.

The 4S15 Alpinist (Sports 200 version)

The 6139 Chrono (6022 version with pulsations bezel)

A239 World Time Quartz (note the blob over Texas, it is the BP oil spill)

7N21 SUS Quartz (unusual Kaji Brand green version)

6619 Sportsmatic (coin bezel)

5626 Certified Chronometer

5740 Hibeat Arabic numerals

The Albas

There have been a lot of post regading the Alba Ray series divers so I will just post the pictures.

Alba is also making a few multifunction watches that compete with the Casio treks. This was a good companion on my summer vacation in the Japanese mountains. Unfortunately, it is impossible to find manuals in English so this watch probably has a bunch of functions that I have not yet figured out.

The Ladies

If you look in a Seiko catalog, you will find that there are more variants of womens watches than of mens. Prices and quality are also more or less similar for comparable models. However, womens watches (and women) are more or less absent from the collectors market and the forums. One small exception are the womens small and midsize divers that get some attention. The 2625 caliber quartz divers are excellent watches and the 2517 watch is a great looking watch (even if it is more of a sports than a divers watch).

This 2706 caliber is a nice example of a colorful early 70s dress watch.

The Stopwatches

Ever since the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, Seiko has had a large presence on the Sports timing market. With the Quartz chronometer and the 89 series mechanical stopwatch (both introduced for the 1964 Olympics) they took sports timing to a new level of accuracy. For more pics of the 89 caliber, see this post http://www.thewatchsite.com/index.php/topic,13421.0.html. They should really make these watches with a seetru caseback. I have been looking for an 89 series watch for a few years but they are seriously expensive. The other stopwatch is a neat 88 caliber.

A few others worth a brief mention

At first, I thought this was a SE Asian repaint. I have then seen a few more of these from Japanese sellers so they are probably legit. Excellent if the only dial color that matches your outfit is pink (such as purple).

Not as hard to match as the previous pink watch. Goes well with fish.

Neat early 90s quartz with a full Lumibrite dial. Works excellently if you need to guide large aircraft for landing.

The 5619 Duotime has an independently adjustable hour hand for a second time zone. Advertised in the early 70s as a watch for the international business man, it was a short lived experiment which was prone to breakage of the plastic setting wheel for the extra hour hand. Came in black and blue dials. This one was well maintained by sweephand before it entered the collection.

The Merchandise

The swag part of this update has a Quartz keyring from the 70s with the Seiko Quartz logo and a pin from the 1995 World Athletics Championships in Gothenburg.

Perhaps not really merchandise but a nice 60s design in this Seiko Kitchen timer.

The Books and Catalogs

Seiko publishes semiannual catalogs with the products to use as sales material for the dealers and distributors. I have tried to have a selection from different periods to cover as many periods as possible. Unfortunately, the earla catalogs (before the late 70s) are very hard to find.

Seiko also publishes monthly news letters to their resellers. The newsletters contain articles about Seiko manufacturing, tips on how to display watches, details on advertising campaign but not very much on particular watches. Still, an interesting resource especially if you can read Japanese.

The Rest (where I could not figure out anything to say)

The problem with having a collection is that you buy watches that you do not need (or ever want) just because they fill a gap in the collection. As I cannot remember why I bought the watches below, they probably fall into that category.

- martin

Collection Update November 2008

2010-02-27T10:11:00.000-08:00

Following the previous posting format, I thought I would have one post with all of the new watches with large pictures and a few brief comments and then a full collection post later today. As you can see from the post, not much traditional dress vintage but rather more divers and kinetics. I do not think this reflects changed taste or a change in direction of the collection but rather that I have exhausted the supply of the core parts of the collection such as Seikomatic, Marvels and similar.

These are the watches acquired during the past three months.

Not many vintage watches in the latest purchases. I seem to have most bases covered so there are not much new interesting things coming up. These three are however quite good. First the marvel with the textured dial. If you saw the separate slideshow post, you have seen the excellent condition of this watch with the polished and matt contrasting oarst of the case intact. The watch also has the fancier copper coloured movement.

The Seikomatic is rather unusual with the two-toned dial.

A Skyliner with a nice 3D effect with the contoured dial and the protruding hour markers.

This watch is very interesting as Seikos first electronic watch from 1968. If you want to know more, check out the Nagano post on gmtplusnine.

Next up is two quite different 5626 calibers from the opposite side of the scale. The top one is the chronometer certified KS and the other one if the plain LM deluxe. The KS probably cost twice as much when new and four times as much today but there is not much difference between these watches

A bunch of colourful kinetic divers. As mentioned in the separate post last week, these are very well made but surprisingly cheap watches.

I thought I should get a 6105 to see what all the fuzz was about. A nice watch, no doubt.

The next pile is some Alpinists and Alpinist wannabees. The first one is the most real one, a SSASS 8F56. The colour if this dial is excellent and together with the high end 8F56 quartz caliber, this is a real explorers watch.

A real Alpinist without the Alpinist name. The 4M15 South East Asian Sports version. Exactly the same as the 4M15 Alpinist but without the logos.

This one, an 5M42 caliber AGS Spirit that only looks like an Alpinist.

This is one of the top watches in this pack. A handwind 4S24 from the Laurel series. A fantastic watch with a sterling silver case and a real gold bezel. The texture of the dial does not reall come through in this photo but is rellay brings life to the dial. The blued hands adds an extra touch of 30s styling. I would have appreciated a bit more cohesion in the fonts though.

This is the Gabe pack of five 6106-54XX watches. All in great restored condition. I was very lucky to be able to acquire these.

A few of the 51XX series in this pack as well. I like the 51XX, a technically advanced but underappreciated caliber. Teh first one is a Sports style 5126 caliber. A very well made solid watch, but with a slightly strange bezel design. The dial is one of these very deep blue dials that Seiko is so good at making.

The second 51XX series is a 5146 30j hi-beat Presmatic, as usual with the hex crown inset quickset button. It does not show very well in this picture, but the crystal is faceted, with three horisontal facets.

This is the original Fieldmaster. A 5M22 kinetic caliber with a titanium case. A very comfortable watch. This also comes in a variant with a fully lumed dial.

A SKJ137 kinetic diver purchased from Molle. A fantastic watch even if I can never get the deeply jade green dial to photograph well. It also has one of my fancier straps, a Hirsch with molded and adjustable ends.

A lot of Kinetics in this update. They do not seem to be very appreciated in Japan so they are quite cheap, even if they were usually high end and expensive when new. A change of capacitor to the new long life versions and you have a great watch. This is a 5M45 from the SUS series with a GMT hand. Same caliber as the old Landmasters and Flightmasters but a fraction of the price. This watch also has a very nice heavy SS bracelet.

Back to the normal vintage stuff with a 6117 Navigator. This is the most common grey dial version but still a very well designed watch in great condition.

The collection has always missed a good rally sports watch so this 6119 fit the hole perfectly. Unfortunately, it comes with the thick concave crystal that does not photograph well so the blue dial does not come out as well as it should.

The two-tone dial variant of the 6139 "Speedtimer" version. I like the contrast between the dressy grey-black and the sportier hands and text.

I had been looking for a white dial diver and this mid-size 6458 seemed like an excellent purchase. Ty has an excellent post on the 7458/6458 series divers.

This is the Giugiaro 7C43 diver. A very cool offset design but unfortunately plagued with lousy plastics in the shroud. The plastic usually dries out and cracks only after a few years, even with very careful use and storage. The watch originally came with a specially made squarish strap but most of Seikos 18mm straps match quite well.

A 7N35 quartz diver bought for the pearly dial and funny bezel. Cost almost nothing so it can wait for one of the daughters to get interested in watches.

I have been looking for a cool Wired watch. This one is from one of the earlier Wired XYZ series from 2004. As most of the Wired watches, this was only made in a very small series for a limited time. Only drawback is the relatively pedestrian 7T92 caliber.

I got two watches from Molle with my SKJ diver. A Sportsmatic and an Actus, both in great shape.

One of my few LCD quartz watches. I bought this one for the dot-matrix part of the dial which has some very cool effects.

An unintersting 5606 bought only for the faceted blue/purple crystal, which I thought might fit one of my Vanacs.

/ martin

Collection Update February 2010

2010-02-27T10:05:00.000-08:00

I decided to do a small intermediate update, for which the reason will be clear when the full collection post goes up later today. This update also contains a few items, which have been stored or forgotten and therefore not included in previous posts.

GS and KS

I have previously not focused on GS level watches as I think the price difference between a good GS and an excellent KS has been too large. There are however a few exceptions where a KS is just not sufficient. The easy example is the 61 series GS which have no corresponding KS level. I already have a 6145 GS in the standard GS design but I think the version with the block style indices and silver dial also needs to be considered.

The second crucial GS is the 6155/6 GS special series. Tweaked to an accuracy of -2/+4 s/day it is only ever beaten by the 61VFA and 45VFA at -2/+2 s/day. I have not timed this watch but it looks like it is running well. The dial is a bit aged but the 6156 is not a very rare watch so replacement dials should be available.

If accuracy is a requirement and quartz does not scare you, the 9F83 caliber at 10s per year is a fair choice. It has even been tweaked to 5s in the SBGT027. This SBGT003 is an early example of the modern series of 9F83 watches.

GMT+9 article about the SBGT027 is here.
http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2008/06/14/new-seiko-grand-seiko-sbgt027-5-seconds-per-year-accuracy/

The 45 series hi beat watches is one of Seikos best handwind calibers. Standard KS design is a classic 7000 case.

7016

The 7016 comes in range of colour variants and two different 5000-series cases (as well as a round case style). I like this dark grey version with the blue accent, which brings a bit of life to the design. It also has the angled 5000 case which is a bit more 70-ish than the rounded 5010 version. I am never quite sure about the correct colour of the subdial hands but this black and white combo is at least the most common style.

I did a previous post about this watch with a few more pictures.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/78440/message/1266753712/7016+mystery

Jose 7002 Diver Mods

Jose Sotto, watchcooking on ebay, has made a few recognisable diver mods in the last few years. The first ones were 6309s a few years ago but the new ones are 7002s, presumably as the prices of 6309s have risen and it is harder to make the figures add up. There must be at least USD 100 in parts and labour in one of these mods. I guess the starting watches are those that are not sellable otherwise but the end result looks really nice. The graded dials in vibrant colours and the hours markers at the back of the crystal are excellent touches.

Here is a good post about the previous 6309 mods.
http://www.network54.com/Forum/78440/message/1196597446/Jose+Sotto+has+been+%26quot%3Bcooking+for+me+again%26quot%3B-For+starters+we+had-%26gt%3B%26gt%3B%26gt%3B%26gt%3B%26gt%3B%26gt%3B%26gt

Crystal Chronometer

I will just refer to my article below for these chronometers. As an update, there are now only three left with two of them running within a few minutes accuracy.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/78440/message/1198952723/Seiko+Quartz+history+and+the+Crystal+Chronometer+%28many+pics%29

Brochures and merchandise

I got the below items as a set at auction. The first one is a Seiko export marketing brochure in English from the late 60s with sales figures and fancy pictures of machines and factories. The second one is an early 60s spare part manual including pages on the 603 Seikomatic, Lord Marvel, Champion and others. I am not sure why Seiko made one of these as their sales outside of Japan at that time must have been minimal.

This is a neat 12 watch Italian Seiko Kinetic watch portfolio. Another 50 or so of these and the collection can go travelling.

These are Japanese display stands. From the design, I would guess that they are from the mid to late 60s.

I do not know how Seiko rates their dealers but with more than 500 purchases in 5 years, I do not feel like am cheating when using these dealer signs. My accountant/wife wishes that there was more selling and less buying though.

/ martin

Collection Update January 2010

2010-02-27T10:04:00.001-08:00

These are the new watches in the collection acquired from September to January (plus a few that I forgot in previous posts). Complete collection post is just above.

Old quartz

The 38 series watches from 1973-75 is the core of my early quartz collection and these are number 11 and 12. As you can see from the watches below, they had a very wide range of designs often with a colourful 70s twist. The top one, with a very unusual faceted crystal is probably the fanciest design I have seen on the 38 series. Both the crystal and the case is assymetrical and slants toward the bottom.

Interesting early 60s stuff

The first one is a 5717 one button chrono from 1964. The 5717 was introduced for the Tokyo Olympics as a part of the Seiko Crown series and came with a silver dial and a more uncommon black dial.

I have the silver one as well.

The second watch is a Seikomatic 6201 caliber SilverWave 50m "diver". As said in previous posts, this is both the first 50m rated Seiko as well as the first Seiko watch with a the "seiko-wave" caseback.

Again, this joins a silver version already in the collection.

Not to be confused with the later quartz SilverWave. This one is a 7546 quartz caliber SilverWave Z.

High End Quartz

In addition to the 38 series, I tend to pick up a few more high end quartz watches. Usually cheap and very well made, these watches are specced and (if you are lucky) also run as well as the best Seiko quartz movements of today. I assume that these watches, being 30-40 years old, could stop working any day but so far I have been lucky with my purchases.

The first one is a 58 series King Quartz which I bought for the very intersting dial, which looks exactly as if it was made from slate stone.

The second one is a mid 80s Majesta which is interesting because it has the dual mode 9063 caliber. While Seiko initially achieved higher accuracy with their twin quartz models (which has two quartz crystals which can be used to correct each other) the dual mode has a single crystal which (as far as I can ascertain, their is very little information on this caliber) has two frequencies and can do the same correction internally. It is rated at +/-20s per year which is seriously good.

Bits and Bobs

Just another 5626 caliber KS. Not sure is the text on the dial is original as there seems to be a few Japanese sellers that redial normal KS to certified chronometer KS, which adds about 30 per cent to the price (if original). I have a green and a blue version of these as well but I will spare you the pictures.

Chronos

The Chronos series (not to be confused with the dress vintage Cronos brand from the late 50s/early 60s) consists of low/medium priced quartz watches from the early 80s. The exist in a lot of variants, often in this bland and boring 80s design. I have picked up a few because of some interesting quirks (as also because they cost about USD 25 each). The first one is a 5C23 caliber quartz alarm clock with the unusual 10 o'clock crown for setting the alarm.

The second one is a special anti-magnetic version with a rather measly 60G rating.

Kinetics

Kinetics are another overlooked part of Seikos history. Usually having been marketed as expensive watches, they use high quality materials and are very well finished.

The first on is a 5M23 shrouded watch. I have had a period when I thought gold and black watches looked nice.

The second one is a good example of how out of fashion these watches are. This 5M43 caliber watch has sapphire crystal, display back, brushed/polished very well made case, deep black enamel dial with polished hour markers and a solid link bracelet, all in NOS condition. The only niggle would be the unnecessary fixed 24h bezel. This and similar watches sell for less than USD 50.

Third one is a rare SKJ045 titanium kinetic. I spent a few weeks looking for SKJ watches and they seem fairly common on the local European ebays but almost non existant in Japan.

Everyday stuff

One thing I promote to my friends are the everyday mechanical Seikos. You get a decent 7S caliber, display back and a classic design for less than USD 50. A real bargain.

Same is true for quartz.

6R15

I have a search set for the SARB and SCVS series 6R15 watches. You really cannot get too many of these and with the prices for current models being around the USD 400 mark and above, a very slightly used one from the mid 00s is a bargain.

Sports and divers

Classic mid 70s 7006 caliber sports with radiant yellow dial. No collection is complete without one.

This watch will probably never see water but the S800 watches is a nice example of a Seiko dive computer.

Uncommon but a bit boring stuff

The first one is a rather rare 7018 chrono with flyback function.

The second one is an early 60s 17j Sportsman with a very unusual dial.

Italian football stuff

This is an 8M32 quartz caliber football sports timer made as promotional material for the 1990 world cup in Italy. They seem to be very common in Italy in NOS condition so they must have made a few too many.

Vintage dress

The vintage dress part of my collection is now getting close to the 100 mark. I always think that I have the last or best dial variant or a specific brand but there always seems to be one more.

I do not buy very many watches with arabic dials but this early 60s 560 caliber Crown was too good to let go. The numbers are very well made and polished and applied to a silvery dial. Well above the quality of your average Seiko Crown.

Second pack are two great early 60s Liners. There is a separate post about these watches with dial close ups from a few days ago.

Rounding up is a Cronos with a dial with carved hour markers and an interesting assymetric text design and a Marvel with applied gold accents. The Marvel is almost unused and it is a bit unfortunate that the dial is spoiled.

Square Goldfeathers

You have probably seen a lot of round Goldfeathers, the Seiko high end dress watch from the early 60s (if not the are a few examples in the full collection post above). More unknown are the square Goldfeathers that was made at the end of the life of the brand in the mid 60s. Available in both SS and gold, they have no Goldfeather designation on the dial but the caseback has Goldfeather text and an excellent representation of a feather (unfortunately caseback is etched so they wear off very easily). The gold version below is one of the best preserved goldplated Seikos that I have and it has a much deeper gold colour than most of my other 60s gold watches.

Really really really old stuff

A Laurel, Seikos first wristwatch from 1913. The movement and dial on this watch is in good condition but I need to find someone to reattach the second hand.

The really really serious stuff

I have so far stayed out of the more expensive modern watches as I think they are much too expensive compared to buying high end vintage watches such as 1960s GS. However, there are a few models that are a few years old and have come down a lot from their original prices so that they are no longer ridiculously expensive.

The first one is a Credor Node with the 8J80 quartz calibre. There is a separate article about this watch a few weeks ago with a few close up pictures of design details.

The second one is a SARA series watch with the elusive 4L25 caliber. An absolutely amazing dial on this watch. If I can get some decent pictures, there will be a GMT+9 article on this watch during spring.

I guess you all know this one, a 2000 Historical Series 600m 8L35. I got this (comparatively) cheaply on French ebay. Seems like the French have good taste in watches.

Banners

I think this banner came from a dealer who used it at a grand Seiko promotion. At 10ft by 2ft, it is rather stunning.

Pins

Seikos sports timing business and sponsorship of sports events means that there are a lot of Seiko branded pins. Cheap and cheerful, most of them cost only a few dollars.

Medallions

A lot of Seiko watches in the early 60s came with medallions attached. The medallions correspond to the caseback designs and have bronze, silver and gold levels. My first idea was that this would correspond to 30, 50 and 70m ratings but that grading is not consistent. I have however not seen any 30m watches with silver or gold medallions. Bronze is fairly common but silver and gold is very unusual and full sets are extremely rare.

Box

The Seikomatic SelfDater Box from the early 60s is consistent in design with the other Seikomatic boxes. I have yet to understand the link to Venice.

Book

This is an almanac that Seiko distributed to their resellers in 1970. It contains specifications of watches and other Seiko products as well as a Japanese-English watch dictionary for the export oriented reseller. There will be a detailed article about this almanac in GMT+9.

/ martin

Collection Update August 2009

2010-02-27T10:02:00.000-08:00

It has been 5 months since the last update so there are a few more pictures than usual. I will do this large pic update with a few comments followed by the full update later today (EDIT: Full collection now online as well). As my purchases seem to gather neatly into distinct parts, I have grouped the watches together here as well. A few of these watches have been subject to previous individual posts with additional information.

Early Watches

I have finally bought a version of Seikos first wristwatch, the Laurel from 1913. There are at least two versions of these, one with a red "12" marker and this one with the black one. There are also different orientations of the dial, with this one having a 90 degree twist, which does however not seem to have been unusual at this time. The Laurel is a small but not tiny watch at 31mm. It is the fancy version in a silver case. The other two are a post-war Seikosha Precision, unusual for having the Seikosha rather than the Seiko name and a very early Super from the 1950s.

SUS

A few of these watches should have been posted earlier as the are not recent purchases, but they were quickly apportioned to my wifes watch collection. I think the two coloured-dial green and red ones are the best of this pack, but the full lume dial is also a very nice watch. The coloured dials have a great luster and fullness to them which does not come through properly in my pictures. Green SUS is on its original rubber strap, which is a very unusual design for a Seiko watch. All in all, the SUS series have a lot of very nicely designed watches where most of them are still quite affordable.

Electronic and Electrical

This section goes from the very interesting horseshoe shaped 3102 caliber which was Seiko first electronic watch in 1969, through one of the best electrics the 0723 caliber Elnix SG from 1972, a nice blue dial EL-330 to a pair of very late green dial NOS 0703 caliber Elnix from 1975.

38 Series Quartz

The early 70s 38 series is the core of my quartz collection and I always seem to find more interesting variations. This time, my favourites would be the red dial QR and the 3802 with the drop shaped case and the 3D dial. Noteworthy is also the gold QT and the textured dial on the 3003. All of the 38 series watches are extremely well made to justify their very high pricing at the time. Most of these watches cost more than the most expensive Seiko mechanical watches.

Design and Designers

Seikos collaboration with international designers is well known and often leads to watches with excellent design.

The first one is an Alba Chrono in the Riki Watanabe series. It has the typical Riki design elements with a very legible minimalistic design.

The second one is the Alessi "Record" watch.

Another minimalistic design is this Issey Miyake by Tokujin Yoshioka. It has a bit of a Ron Arad feel to it while being very Japanese. Check the GMT+9 articles on both the TO watch, the Alessi watch and the Riki series.

Wired watches often have solid designs. This square XYZ-version is one of the better.

Merchandise

It is always fun to have a few merchandising items. The most interesting is the AGS man. It is about 6 inches (15 cm) high and made of plastic. I have not figured out if you are supposed to hang a watch on it, but there is not obvious way to do it.

The rest

An additional 603 caliber Seikomatic with a very unusual gold accented dial. I now have about 20 different verions of the 603 caliber Seikomatic.

A NOS Contra with hang-tag. I also have the compass module but this is the European version so it does not have a LCD module.

The Type II was the first mass-market Seiko Quartz watch in the mid-70s. This one a a very good TV-dial design which to me is very 70s.

An unusual design in this Quartz watch which I assume should be hung from a belt or similar.

A solid chunky Hibeat KS with the 5626 caliber.

This is one of my favourite dress diver watches. It has an excellent deep black dial well balanced by the silver bezel. As usual the 5M Kinetics also have very high quality cases and dials and cost far below what they should. This one was less than USD 100 and it is practically unused.

Also an excellent watch with the 5M65 GMT Kinetic caliber, where perhaps the bezel styling does not appeal to everyone. I think it It is however Seikos first watch made in Brightz Titanium. I do not have any other Brightz Ti watches, but I am perfectly happy with the texture and polish of this one. It does loose its shine a bit quicker than the SS watches but is not really sensitive to scratches.

It does not show in the picture, but the dial on this watch has the typical deep blue Seiko colour. Bracelet is original with a good 70s design.

A few PVD watches from the early 70s. A quite boring 6139 but a much more vibrant all black 7019 Actus where the red second hand is a good accent.

Two Seikomatics. The first is the excellent 39j 6216 and the other is a 6218 with the uncommon sapphire crystal. Don has a few good posts on the 6216 over at the Seikoholic forum for more information.

A 6618 caliber watch for the blind.

6M37 Yacht Timer. A lot of nice functions and gimmicks on this one. The compass bezel on the 24h subdial seems however a bit superfluous for the experienced yachtsman.

A modern but classic 6R15 Spirit. This design will never get outdated. I was surprised by the chunky case which makes the watch feel more substantial than it is.

Nice two-tone dial Advan with an assymetric case.

This was a souvenir from the 10 year anniversary of the graduation from the law school at Nihon university. The lawyer who sold this watch could not have been happy with his classmates (or his choice of occupation).

I have a standard SKX orange dial diver but the Japanese version with the gold accents is a better design, IMHO.

Yobokies mod. Looks like the new Seiko divers (or a Sinn).

This 8T23 caliber was Seikos first Kinetic watch and is more of a proof of concept than a practical watch. It is hand would (therefore the very large crown) and takes at least five minutes of effort to get a a full charge. The small LED at 6 will tell you when to stop winding.

The Seiko World Time LCD watch is a classic. A bit less known is this titanium Alba version.

Very few classic watches seem to be added to my collection lately. I was however a bit short on 18K version and this linen dial early 60s Goldfeather is the real deal.

Going from old to modern this H023 caliber Sportura has every function imaginable. I thought this watch would be much too large for me but the wrist hugging design of both the case and the strap makes it easy to wear, even on very small wrists.

This Solar V14J caliber chrono is more familiar from the Audrey series but this one is also quite interesting. Note the see tru bezel and the minute markers on the dial.

Finally the least interesting watch. A mondaine copy quartz that I got for the kids.

/ martin

Collection Update March 2009

2010-02-27T10:00:00.000-08:00

Continuing the previous concept with a large picture post with the new watches and some brief comments and a full collection post with thumbnails later on, here is the full picture version with watches and things acquired since the end of November. Most of these watches have been posted in separate posts over the last few months.

Radios

This is a slight sidetrack from the watch collecting but perfectly allowed as both of these transisitor radios from the early 60s contain Seiko watches. The watches are standard watch movements probably based on the Champion but downjewelled to 7j. They have also been fitted with an electrical alarm function so that the radio could be set to turn on at a specific time. The radios were purchased from fellow SCWF-er Hamish and Harry Bishop did a very good article on these actual radios here;http://www.harrybishop.ca/?p=1758.

38 Quartz

Another of my favourite collecting themes are the early 70s high-end quartz watches. The 38 series, introduced in 1971, was the first broadly marketed Seiko quartz watch after a few experimental versions in 1969 and 1970. These watches are of very high quality and finish as they had to compete at GS level with their prices. The QT was comparable to the KS range.

Early quartz watches were usually conservative in styling but this one is a bit more daring with larger hour markers and a faceted dial.

This repair kit contains all parts (or it did when it was new from the factory) to make a 38 series watch including transistors, quartz crystal and assorted buts and pieces.

The real vintage stuff

This is the Golf version of the Seiko Cronos, made in the early 60s in order to cash in on the golf craze in Japan during this period. I did a separate post with more pictures on this watch here;http://www.network54.com/Forum/78440/message/1228999928/The+Seiko+Cronos+Golf+version

Another themed watch is the Motorist, which was meant to be worn on the side of the wrist. Separate post on this watch here;http://www.network54.com/Forum/78440/message/1235723661/The+elusive+Motorist

In my quest to get all dial versions of the 603 caliber Seikomatic, another two watches have been added. The crosshatched blue stripy one is rather fun. I think there are another eight versions remaing for the complete set.

A slightly uninteresting Sportsman watch but it has the cool dolphin caseback. Again, separate post is herehttp://www.network54.com/Forum/78440/thread/1235246822/Porpoise+-

The final vintage watch is a 10B caliber from 1947 with a 14K Gold Plated bezel. As noted in the separate post, http://www.network54.com/Forum/78440/message/1229198689/One+old+-+one+new), this watch must have been the inspiration for the 1990s reissue Laurel.

The expensive but really great stuff

With the Swedish krona plummeting against the USD and the JPY, expensive watches are getting more and more out of reach. Before getting too expensive, I managed to get two watches that I could not really afford.

The first one is the 5M65 Kinetic Flightmaster. I think this is an excellent watch which is extremely wearable with its medium size (about 40mm) and titanium casing. It also has the excellent quality and attention to detail of the Seiko Masters. I particulairly like the jet black dial and the two tone bezel with its sculpted effect in the silver part.

The other expensive watch is a NOS 0853 caliber King Quartz from 1976. The separate post has a picture that better shows of the fantastic dial;http://www.network54.com/Forum/78440/message/1235721950/New+King+Quartz

Pocket watches

Until the second world war, Seiko was producing more pocket watches than wrist watches but this is a relatively overlooked part of Seiko watchmaking. After finding a few articles on the web and additional information in the new Tokunaga book, I thought I should beef up my Seiko pocketwatch collection. These three form interesting counterpoints in Seiko pocketwatch history.

The first one is the Excellent, Seikos first luxury watch from 1899. This watch was used as gifts from the emperor and these examples fetch upwards of half a million yen in the auctions today. The Excellent was a great improvement in quality on Seikos first watch, the Time Keeper and cost three-four times as much. This separate post http://www.network54.com/Forum/78440/message/1236343649/Passed+the+100+year+mark) has a few more links and pictures. The movement decorations on the Excellent is really amazing.

The next one is another classic, the Seiko Railroad Watch. Produced from the late 20s, it has been a mainstay of the Seiko lineup being produced until the 70s (and the replaced by a quartz version). Even from the early watches accuracy was specified at 30s per month compared to normal wristwatches which seldom exceeds 5s per day. My Railroad watch below is from 1961 but it has a design that was almost unchanged from the first watches. It also has a very interesting hacking function where the second hand continues to the full minute and then stops.

The third pocket watch is a WWII watch made in 1945. It is interesting mainly because of the 30s design and the center second. This caliber (or a slightly earlier predecessor with the same construction) was Seikos first center second watches.

This box came with the Excellent but I have not been able to determine if it is original to the watch. This type of box was used by the Seiko Group retail outlet, the Hattori store in Ginza in Tokyo all the way until the 30s.

Early LCDs

The final frontier of my Seiko collection principles were LCD watches. I had no real interest in these watches until a few months ago when I started reading about these watches. Disregarding the boring and often very similar styling, these watches were as technically advanced as the the analog quartz watches and often matches them in both pricing and popularity during the 70s. Seiko spend lots of money in developing LCD panels and were really very far ahead of the competition in both legibility and longevity of LCDs. In order to manage collection size, I decided to stick to the 70s and in particular the front button 06LC series, which was Seikos second LCD series after the 05LC (which are very rare and far too expensive for me) supplemented by a few of the later watches with interesting design or features.

The first three watches are early 06LC from the first half of the 70s, the first one with an unusual blue front panel.

An M series watch from 1977. M supposedly stands for Multifunction.

A mid 70s alarm watch from the A series.

This was Seikos first calculator watch in 1977.

Other Quartz

This version of the 7A28 has been on my watch list for quite some time as I think the design is one of the best of the 7A28/38s. After a few blurry photos on ebay, this turned out to be in great shape with an original bracelet.

I got this 7T34 flight slide rule watch from Italian ebay. I thought they had made a mistake when the watch was listed as new with guarantee and manufactured in July 2006. I could not imagine that Seiko was still making the 7T34 after almost 20 years, but that turned out the be the case. The watch came on a very cool Seiko original waterproof leather strap.

This is a 7223 caliber, commonly known as a Quartz Bellmatic, Seikos first quartz analog watch.

This Fieldmaster was purchased as I did not have a watch with a lanyard hold.

An fun dual alarm Spirit that came off Yahoo Japan for almost no money at all. A practical travel watch when you need something that is useful but does not look expensive.

Divers

A bought the cheapest Tuna I could find. For USD 200 and an extra USD 30 paid to a helpful Dutchman to replace a few lost shroud screws, I am quite satisfied with this one.

A not very original 7002 but still in nice condition. You wonder why someone would want to spend at least USD 75 on aftermarket parts and service and then sell the watch for half that amount.

This was a SCTP pick-up. An early Kinetic diver with the auto-quartz logo and designation. A must for any serious kinetic collection.

This must be one of the most solid watches in the collection. Lots of steel in both case and bracelet and a very well made watch. I am not that fond of the design but these watches are out of fashion in Japan so prices are rock bottom.

A stealth version of the SCWF watch.

The rest

A very mixed bag in this section. The LM Special was bought as it is one of the few Tonneau-cased Seiko vintage watches (and as ity has the very good 5206 caliber).

I find myself drawn to the early 70s watches with the slightly avant-garde designs and the colourful dials. The Actus SS have a lot of good designs from this period. A very good hacking 6106 caliber with a very cool ruby red dial. Seiko put a lot of effort into the coloured Actus dials and they are one of the bargains of the early 70s watches. If you look closely you can see that the dial is not uniform but has a slight brushed wave pattern.

Very similar to the previous Actus SS is this 6106 caliber Advan with the green dial and the faceted crystal. This is a bot more fashion forward with the psychedelic pattern and the unusual case but still a very nice example of Seiko 1970s styling at its best.

Any fan of Japanese industrial design should have a Riki Watanabe watch. The GMT+9 article tells the full story;http://www.gmtplusnine.com/2007/03/25/alba-riki-watanabe-collection-a-step-above/

And a wall clock

A 30s wall clock that works well. Cost almost nothing to buy but a fortune to ship from Japan. Keeps very good time.

/ martin

Collection Update September 2008

2010-02-27T09:57:00.000-08:00

I have not made any collection updates for almost 6 months so I thought it was time for a new one. This time I am trying a new format with large pictures and a few comments in the update post rather than just posting thumbnails. Commentary will be a few tidbits and off-the-cuff remarks rather than the more researched posts I sometimes post, as the more detailed posts are better suited for specific brands or models rather than one of these broader selections. A few of these watches have been posted in "look what I got" posts previously so you might recognise both the watches and my thoughts about them.

The full collection post will be unchanged. I will be doing separate updates to the Orient collection and the Citizen collection later.

Please excuse the quality of the photos as I have changed my photo setup to a new lighting setup with better lighting. However, I have not yet learnt how to get rid of reflections in the more complicated situations.

OK, so here we go.

The first two watches are 3823 caliber Quartz VFA from 1971. This was Seikos first commercially viable Quartz watches. Extremely accurate for the time at 5s per month but slightly expensive at JPY 150.000 (about half a car or 6 KS watches)

The next watch is a more normal watch in the same series, a 3863 caliber QR from 1974. Still accurate at 20s per month but a bit more affordable at JPY 40-50.000 (or 2 KS). As you can imgine, both this watch and the 3823s above are made to extremely high standards in order to be able to compete with the high end mechanical watches.

A more normal 5626 High-beat KS from the 70s. I bought this as I like the coloured grade dials which to me is an essential 70s design element. Also a very well made watch from the very end of Seikos mechanical period.

Getting into Kinetic territory with this 5M25 from 1987. This is a very early kinectic when they were still called AGS for Automatic Generating System. Seiko must have felt a need to show the user that something was actually happening inside the watch as this ha a weight on the dial side which is connected to and turns at the same time as the winder.

Next Kinetic is an icon in Seiko history, the Landmaster. This is the second generation which introduced the GMT hand. For anyone that wants to learn about Landmasters, look for petew posts on the forum.

One of my more modern watches, a 5M62 diver. I bought this one because I liked to solid but classic styling and the tire-type bracelet (and because I got it very cheap).

This is my combined Sportsmatic/Seikomatic SilverWave. I did a separate post on this one here: http://www.network54.com/Forum/78440/message/1209295621/A+Silverwave+mix+and+mod

A cushion cased 6119. This watch has an excellent case, which seems almost unused. As you can see from Isthmus posts, this watch has an interesting construction with the lume located under the hour markers. Unfortunately on this watch, the lume has aged a bit so the green lume has bled through the original orange colour of the markers. However, I think this adds a bit of extra personality to the watch.

A 6119 Sports Diver. Nothing much to say except I like the blue bezen and the red semaphore second hand.

A 6138 Bullhead. The Japanese Speedmaster model with original bracelet. Finally I realised that every serious Seiko collection needs a Bullhead.

and a Monza.

A 6139 Speedtimer with an unusual textured bluegreen dial in good condition and inner bezel.

6217 MAS. For me, the real Seiko diver. Do not miss Harry buyers guide where this watch is featured with a much better picture. http://www.larrybiggs.net/scwf/index.php?mod=103&action=0&id=1212077662

An unusual 6F24 Tidal chronometer quartz watch. Just setting this watch correctly takes a while but as there is no tide within 500 miles of where I live, it is not crucial. Instructions are here:

A 7005 Sports Diver renovated by Clement looking like the day it was born. Even if this is not one of Seikos flashier blue colours, I think it works very well with this watch. To me, the second classic Seiko diver. As you can see, I am strictly the desk diver type of person.

A lot of Speedmasters in this post. This is the 7017-6050 Rally Bezel version from 1971. A large and chunky watch in very good condition but I need to find a better matching bracelet.

One more icon, the 7A28 Speedmaster Bike watch with rotating case so that you can turn it 360 degrees. Teh watch is from the first Giugiaro series for Seiko. I got this one NOS from Italy. The Italian Seiko distributor seems to have good contacts with Seiko as there are often a good supply of rare Seiko watches and special editions made only for Italy. The watch was made in December 1982 so it is a very early 7A28. Most of the literature lists 1983 as the introduction of the 7A28 but I have often found that Seiko seems to stockpile watches prior to the introduction so that the serial can be earlier then the year of introduction.

A watch from the junkpile, this Sports 100 7A38-6020. I got it for the very cool subdial hands and the PVD case. If you want to see how this watch should look, Derek has a fantastic example here: http://www.larrybiggs.net/scwf/index.php?mod=103&action=0&id=1205189068

Blue Samurai. The blue is much better than the black . I thought this would be much too big for me but it wears very well, especially on a leather strap. Ironically, this is one of my watches that gets the most attention. Spend a lifetime finding rare vintage dress watches and the most popular watch is a modern run of the mill diver. .

A trio of reissue Sports Divers. As you can see, the last six months has been a very sports-divery time in my collecting. However, I like these watches very much. Very high quality and true to the originals.

As mentioned above, the Italians seem to get a few special edition Seikos. This is a 7T22 quartz caliber (I have not seen or heard of this caliber other than in this watch). It is supposedly from the Seiko Rally series and has its own brand logo in the form of a stylised R on a green background (see button on strap). Otherwise, a good shot at the rally-theme with nice touches such as the button on the strap, the red text on the bezel and the chrome dots on the dial.

This 8S23 was one of Seikos first Solar watches in the late 70s. The solar panels are the triangular shaped parts of the dial. There is also a version of this watch which has honeycomb-shaped panels. Due to the unually rainy Swedish summer, this watch has not been used very much yet.

The 9581 was Seikos first forage into GS territory in 1988 after the GS brand was abandoned in the early 1970s. Seiko then dropped the Grand Quartz brand in favour of GS. The 9581 is a very well made watch, even if slightly small for todays taste. It is one of the very few Seiko watches that uses a 17mm lug. The caliber is very high end and is rated at 10s/year, which would make it one of the worlds most accurate watches even today, 20 years later. It is also one of the cheapest ways to get a GS.

The Alpinist also came in a few "stealth" versions, such as this goldplated Champion 850. The exact same watch as the more well known black and silver versions, it has the real Alpinist caseback.

For soem unknow reason, Seiko used its thinnest movement from the Goldfeather to stick in one of its larger watches, this pocket watch from 1964.

A Gyro Marvel from the SCTF (or should I say SCTP). An early less common variant with the AD mark and the applique Gyro Marvel logo.

In the early 80s, Seiko decided to reuse the SilverWave brand for a lot of low-medium grade Sports watches. This is a colourful H556 version which I have seen also in green and yellow. A fun beater watch.

Next SilverWave is this B&R-style 2628 caliber from 1981. The 2628 is usually used in womens watches but presumably used in this watch as a small movement with a seconds sub-dial was needed. One of Seikos more military style watches which really does not look like anything else in Seikos lineup.

Another very interesting technical experiment from Seiko witrh the H711 caliber in 1987. This is a titanium cased watch with a LCD display layered at the back of the crystal. This did not work very well as the LCD display was impossible to see if you were outdoors or in most direct light. The watch was discontinued after a very short time.

I have said iconic quite a lot of times in this post and now it is time again for this H810 caliber Fieldmaster. This is a great toolwatch with distance meter and plastic caseback. Best Fieldmaster summary is in Tys post here: http://forums.timezone.com/?t=rview&th=607516&goto=1812026

A magnificent 1st generation Lord Marvel with a slightly aged dial and the engraved Lord Marvel signature. Learn all you need about Lord Marvels in Koheis post here: http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=tree&goto=3517662&rid=0

I like the analogue watches with the LCD display for alarm, chrono etc as it keeps the main dial a bit less cluttered. This is a Flightmaster style Sports 150. Another NOS find from Italy. This watch has an very nice high quality bracelet.

This period has not had very many of my core classic dress watches but a few of then turn up at the end. This is an early 60s 603 caliber Seikomatic. One of the best watches in this period. It came NOS from Taiwan including case, tags and manual (not a very big manual for this type of watch). It is also one of the most unusual and rare Seikomatics with the two tone black and silver dial. In real life, this watch is magnificent.

Another 603 caliber Seikomatic. The interesting thing about this watch is the pie pan-type dial which brings out the structure of the dial very well.

At the end of its life the 603 caliber was renamed the 6201 and was the core of the 62 series watches. The 6201 was made only in this style (AFAIK) and not in very large numbers. A precursor to the more designed styles of the mid-60s.

From a very late 603/6201 Seikomatic to a very early 603 caliber Seikomatic. This J14075 was one of the first Seikomatics made and it had a very unusual design with the structured edge and the graded dial. To me, it seems more like one of the last watches from the 50s than one of the first ones from the 60s.

Seiko often reused dial designs from its high end watches in its lower lines such as the Champion and the Sportsman. This is probably the best Sportsman I have ever seen and would have been a big gamble for your ordinary low level salaryman that was the target customer for the Sportsman range.

Last watch is the most unusual watch in this post. This is the Seiko Nooka classic designed by Matthew Waltman in cooperation with Seiko in 1999. Waltman and Seiko later ended the collaboration and Waltman continues to produce watches under the Nooka brand, like these ones here: http://nooka.com/story/#id=story. He has not had many new ideas since the first one, has he ?

/ martin

Full collection post - (501 pictures)

2010-02-27T09:51:00.000-08:00

Collection updated with purchases until end of February. 500 was not the end of the collection. Perhaps 1000 is. As usual, thumbnails are clickable and file names have info on calibers etc.

/ martin

Pre 1945

Post 1945

Automatic

Super

Unique

Cronos

Cronos Selfdater and Cronos Special

Marvel

Gyro Marvel

Lord Marvel / 36000

Laurel and Motorist

Fairway

Crown

Crown Selfdater and Crown Special

Goldfeather

Liner

Skyliner

Champion

395/400 Series

603 Seikomatics

Seikomatic / 62 series

Sportsmatic

66 Series / Sportsman

622 Series

Seikomatic 8000

Presmatic / 51 Series

LM

LM Special / LM DeLuxe

King Seiko

Grand Seiko

Vanac

Advan / Actus

7000 Series

7S Series

DX / 61 Series

63 Series

Bellmatics

GMT

5000 / 6000 Series Chronos

7000 Series Chronos

Sports / Pilot

Divers

Quartz and Kinetic Divers and Dive Computers

Electric

Quartz

38 Series Quartz

Quartz Chronos

Quartz Other Multifunction

7A28 / 7A38

LCD Quartz

Grand Quartz / King Quartz / Quartz VFA / Quartz GS / Other HEQ

Credor Quartz

Alpinist / 4S / 6R / 4L Series

Kinetics

SUS

Ladies watches

Kids watches

Pocket Watches

Alba, Wired, Issey Miyake

Alarm Clocks, Clocks and Stopwatches

Quartz Timing Chronometers

Boxes

Radios

Merchandise and accessories

Repair Sets

The Citizen Collection

2007-09-29T06:28:00.001-07:00

My Citizen collection is not at all as extensive as my Seiko collection but I thought I would make an effort to photograph and structure the Citizens as well. I have not prepared any detailed information on the watches as my reference library on Citizen watches is very small and the information on the internet including the SCWF is scarce. I have done some cut and paste from my previous posts on individual watches and additional information is available in my previous Citizen collection post here together with some movement and caseback pictures;

As usual, all pictures are clickable for a larger version with additional info in the picture title.

Early 50s

Citizen got into mass production of watches after the war pretty much at the same time as Seiko in the late 40s early 50s and spent most of the 50s producing simpler dress style watches such as the ones below. As with Seikos "S" mark, we have a Citizen "C" mark. The other watch has a more unusal Citizen logo that I have not seen on any other Citizens.

Deluxe and Super Deluxe

Citizens first big hit and first million seller came in 1958 with the Deluxe followed up by the even fancier Super Deluxe from 1960. These watches were a broad range of medium/high quality dress watches in a wide range of styles and qualities from 21j to 25j. This watch is also the basis for the Citizen Chronometer.

Early 60s low/medium grade

In parallell with the Deluxe and the Super Deluxe from the late 50s until the mid 60s, Citizen also had a range of medium quality watches with the Junior and the Homer as the big sellers. I think that the Ace below has a discolored dial but still looks quite nice.

Jet Autodater

The Jet Autodater and the Super Jet Autodater were the Citizen big selling automatic watches of the mid 60s. Both watches us the rotary style autowind movement. The also came in a very wide range of styles all the way upto a 39j 150m diver watch.

Alarm

In the late 50s, Citizen purchased / licensed a Schild/Poljot alarm movement and continues to make alarm watches with this movement until the late 60s.

Early 60s high end dress

After the Deluxe and the Super Deluxe ranges, Citizens dress watches were continues in 1962/63 with the Hiline and the Diamond Flake. The Diamond Flake was a direct competitor to the Seiko Goldfeather and managed to beat it in the competition for Japans thinnest watch by 0,2 mm with the Diamond Flake movement at 2,75 mm and the Goldfeather at 2,95 mm.

Seven and Crystal Seven

Getting back into the mid 60s, Citizens sportier side were represented by the watches in the Seven series. The first one was the Crystal Seven introduced in 1965 replacing the Autodater Jet series as Citizens most common medium quality watch. It was the first watch in Japan to be sold with a Sapphire Crystal, as is evident from the name. The line was priced from JPY 11,500-19,500 at the time and was an instant success, selling more than one million watches in the first year. It had a very broad range with 21,23,27,30,33 and 43 jewels with the 33j version featured below. You can note that both the Crystal Seven and the Seven Custom below seems to have been the inspiration for Citizens recent reissue of automatic watches. The Seven Star V2 is a slightly later watch in a lower price range made in the 70s when Citizen wanted to reach a younger market segment. It has an interesting day/date window similar to the Citizen Monthly.

Early 70s high beat

The Leopard is an early 70s watch with both 36000 and 28800 high beat calibers. Below is a 36000 version.

Electrics

Citizen was a very early entrant to the Electric/electronic part of watchmaking. The Citizen X8 has a 25j 0800 caliber and was introduced in March 1966 at a price of JPY 32,000 which was comparable to the price of the 62XX GS at that time. I have not found any exact data regarding accuracy but some sources claim that it could easily have achieved Chronometer certification. The watch also exists in a caliber 0802 Chronometer version (which is supposed to have proper certification) introduced in 1969 with a very similar looking caliber but probably with a 19800 beat instead of the original 18000 bph. The Cosmotron X8 was the successor to the X8 being a simpler and cheaper watch.

Chronos

The backbone of the Citizen automatic Chronos are the 8110A and the 8100A calibers, differing only in the extra dial of the 8110A. These are 23j flyback hibeat (28800 bph) movements made from the early 70s all the way into the 90s. As a lot of people, I started out with the Bullheal, graduated to the Monaco but would now say that the PVD 8100 is my favourite.

Citizen memorabilia

This is a commemorative wall clock given to the best Citizen watch seller in some city or district for the year 1967. It is about 30x50 cm and the movement has been exchanged for a quartz movement but it is still pretty cool.

/ mart