Been for a while an avid Seiko fan and have collected a few as they are mostly quite affordable and the watches don't lose value over time, in some cases they could become more valuable as fans snap them up and they become popular for one reason or the other.
Daylight in shade
Seiko has been in business since 1881 and in the early years they cleaned the floor with all the European watch manufacturers in many exhibitions and accuracy tests taking first prizes. They still produce today a multitude of various watches ranging from about 100EUR to thousands of EUR with the same time accuracy as from the beginning.
Seiko5's are entry level watches for any enthusiast or just for the simple need for a timekeeper. Excellent for daily wear and still accurate in telling the time. This particular movement has also a date and day complication which can be quickset from the knob. Quickset: no need to turn day by day but you can adjust quickly day and month at first notch of the knob, at 2nd notch you adjust time. N.B. always go adjusting with the time, not against time, as it might damage the movement.
The movement is automatic and is charged by a "rotor" which means you don't need batteries. The rotor is the halfmoon shaped metal piece that can be seen on the transparent backside, when it moves back and forth with the movement of your arm it will charge the spring by your energy as you go by your daily life.
The one below is a tad up from the ordinary Seiko 5 line up (see the horizontal stylised "5" which I assume represents number "5" and letter "S" (for sports) put together. The movement is a 4r36 (every Seiko has the movement reference and serial number etched on the back) and the normal 5's usually has a 7s26 movement. The difference between these movements is mainly accuracy, further info can be gotten here.
In case you ever get your hands on an old Seiko and wonder about its history you can insert the serial number in this website to decode the manufacturing date. Putting the movement number in a search engine can reveal other info such as what has made it famous or if the movement itself is special in some way. Good examples are the "Captain Willard" featured in the famous movie "Apocalypse now" starring Martin Sheen wearing this early dive watch. Another is the "Pogue" that was the 1st Seiko worn in space by Major Pogue.
This watch below is much more elegant live, as viewing angles and lighting conditions changes so does the watch appearance. The crystal is slightly convex so it has a magnifying effect on the dial making it easier to tell time and date.
Daylight in shade
Numbers are easy to read and the white on blue dial looks fantastic. The numbers are bright in light, but the Lumibrite (self illuminated, phosphorescence) is not too bright in the dark. Still bright enough to tell the time in dead of night. So many details going on this watch face. This particular design is sometimes referred to as "military".
No comments:
Post a Comment