Seiko Centennial Pocket Watch
Jun 27, 2019 6:25:54 GMT -8
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siralan, pip, and 4 more like this
Post by leffemonster on Jun 27, 2019 6:25:54 GMT -8
Whilst browsing our favourite auction site at the weekend I spotted an unusual Seiko item that had been recently listed. A search on the internet turned up very little, other than a couple of historic posts on other auction sites. The item was only on auction, but I messaged the seller to ask if they were open to offers. Thankfully, they were - and a deal was done.
A couple of days ago the postman delivered a package containing this -
A slim, brown-flock SEIKO branded box with a little bit of wear on the edges. Opening it up revealed the contents -
It even has the blue sticker still on the case back!
From what I can gather, these were apparently produced in 1981 to mark the centenary of SEIKO, and were issued only to authorised dealers and not sold to the general public. A couple of pieces I found on the internet suggested that only 100 were made, but I don’t know if this is actually the case or not.
As you can see, the case back is engraved with the signature of (presumably) Kintaro Hattori, the founder and president of K.Hattori & Co. established in 1881.
The watch wasn’t running, and I admit to being a little concerned as to what I might find when I popped open the case back. Thankfully, I needn’t have worried - there was no sign of battery leakage.
The watch is powered by the tiniest of movements - the 14-jewelled 6730A quartz movement, with a casing diameter of 18.5mm maximum and measuring a mere 1.1mm in height. Here it is inside the 34.5mm case -
The case number is stamped on the reverse of the case back -
I had to order some replacement batteries as my stash didn’t include any, but using a similar diameter battery did prove that the movement was indeed functioning. This is a 2-hand movement with the hands moving every 20 seconds, confirmed under the microscope by observing the gear train.
The batteries arrived today and with a new SR346SW installed, it’s in full working order again. The octagonal case is bi-coloured with silver tones on the upper and lower edges, and gold tones on the two outer edges. The crown is set at the 12 o’clock position (it is a pocket watch after all) inside the hinged clasp for the chain. The chain itself is around 30cm in length and has a double-signed belt slide at the end.
The dial is black and silver, with simple hour markers and extremely delicate hands. The minute hand shows some signs of tarnishing, but I’m not going to mess with it. The 6730A technical guide explains that the clearance between dial and hands is very limited, such that standard hand removers can’t be used. Instead, it recommends using a vinyl sheet to pull the hands up with. Knowing my luck, if I tried it I’d end up bending them beyond repair 😆
I really like the look of this watch, and am very pleased to have added it to my collection. Here’s some more pics -
If anyone knows any more about this watch, or can confirm/correct what little information I know about it, it would be greatly appreciated.
It’ll probably spend most of its time ticking away in the presentation box, but it’s nice to own a piece commemorating the centenary of what we know today as SEIKO.
Thanks for reading!
A couple of days ago the postman delivered a package containing this -
A slim, brown-flock SEIKO branded box with a little bit of wear on the edges. Opening it up revealed the contents -
It even has the blue sticker still on the case back!
From what I can gather, these were apparently produced in 1981 to mark the centenary of SEIKO, and were issued only to authorised dealers and not sold to the general public. A couple of pieces I found on the internet suggested that only 100 were made, but I don’t know if this is actually the case or not.
As you can see, the case back is engraved with the signature of (presumably) Kintaro Hattori, the founder and president of K.Hattori & Co. established in 1881.
The watch wasn’t running, and I admit to being a little concerned as to what I might find when I popped open the case back. Thankfully, I needn’t have worried - there was no sign of battery leakage.
The watch is powered by the tiniest of movements - the 14-jewelled 6730A quartz movement, with a casing diameter of 18.5mm maximum and measuring a mere 1.1mm in height. Here it is inside the 34.5mm case -
The case number is stamped on the reverse of the case back -
I had to order some replacement batteries as my stash didn’t include any, but using a similar diameter battery did prove that the movement was indeed functioning. This is a 2-hand movement with the hands moving every 20 seconds, confirmed under the microscope by observing the gear train.
The batteries arrived today and with a new SR346SW installed, it’s in full working order again. The octagonal case is bi-coloured with silver tones on the upper and lower edges, and gold tones on the two outer edges. The crown is set at the 12 o’clock position (it is a pocket watch after all) inside the hinged clasp for the chain. The chain itself is around 30cm in length and has a double-signed belt slide at the end.
The dial is black and silver, with simple hour markers and extremely delicate hands. The minute hand shows some signs of tarnishing, but I’m not going to mess with it. The 6730A technical guide explains that the clearance between dial and hands is very limited, such that standard hand removers can’t be used. Instead, it recommends using a vinyl sheet to pull the hands up with. Knowing my luck, if I tried it I’d end up bending them beyond repair 😆
I really like the look of this watch, and am very pleased to have added it to my collection. Here’s some more pics -
If anyone knows any more about this watch, or can confirm/correct what little information I know about it, it would be greatly appreciated.
It’ll probably spend most of its time ticking away in the presentation box, but it’s nice to own a piece commemorating the centenary of what we know today as SEIKO.
Thanks for reading!
