<<< Seiko Sea horse >>>

[brandrea]

I thought I'd post this here to see if anyone can provide information on this reference.

The chap I'm asking for, was told that this may potentially be Seiko's first waterproof reference?

Another details are appreciated.

Thanks



20230724_113400.jpg

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[RW16610]

Interesting watch! I know nothing about it, but look forward to someone sharing the history of this piece.

[Old Expat Beast]

Brian, unless worn off, the caseback will have the reference number and serial number, which will date the watch, which is early to mid 1960s, I believe. A clear pic of the back would be useful.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Brian, unless worn off, the caseback will have the reference number and serial number, which will date the watch, which is early to mid 1960s, I believe. A clear pic of the back would be useful.

Thanks Adam. I’ll see if my friend can send me a shot.

Any idea whether this reference is one of the first waterproof models by Seiko?

[Old Expat Beast]

One of them, yes, but there were quite a few Sea Horses through the 1960s, from about 1961. The first waterproof Seiko was a Sea Horse, but we would need to see the numbers on the back to date it and get a ref #.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

One of them, yes, but there were quite a few Sea Horses through the 1960s, from about 1961. The first waterproof Seiko was a Sea Horse, but we would need to see the numbers on the back to date it and get a ref #.

Hi Adam, here is a picture of the caseback ... I hope this helps

20230725_053451.jpg

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[Andad]

Waterproof changed to water resistant around 1970

Adam is correct, I would guess this one at around 1963?

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by brandrea

Hi Adam, here is a picture of the caseback ... I hope this helps

Attachment 1381444

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Hi Brian, this is a ref 6602-8010 made in April 1967. So not a very early waterproof piece. You can google the reference and learn more. I'll pull up an old catalog pic if I can find one later

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Hi Brian, this is a ref 6602-8010 made in April 1967. So not a very early waterproof piece. You can google the reference and learn more. I'll pull up an old catalog pic if I can find one later

Thanks as always for the great information Adam

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[ewand]

Seiko's branding strategy in the 60s and 70s is a mystery. "Sea horse" was applied to quite a variety of watches, such as this 6619-8010 from May 1965:
IMG_20220607_191852.jpg

They used "WATER PROOF" throughout the 60s until the US regulations changed, and switched to WATER RESISTANT or WATER RESIST from 1969-70 onwards depending on the model.

As to what was first? Who knows... what about this 1961 Blue Yacht:
IMG_20200409_101446 (Custom).jpg
IMG_20200409_101513 (Custom).jpg
20190401_233711 (Custom).jpg

Only made for about a year, this one dates to Sept '61. It has a crazy circular brushing on the dial, supposedly only seen on one other Seiko model:
IMG_20200409_101745 (Custom).jpg

The movement in the Blue Yacht is a Cal 603 which was also used in arguably Seiko's first watch aimed at divers, the SilverWave ref J12082, also introduced in 1961. Same movement was renamed 6201 and a later variant went into the 62MAS.

[Old Expat Beast]

I should've kept my Blue Yacht, it was a really nice one. Had a few early 60s Seiko divers including this 1962 Cronos, which I sold to a member here.

Here's a pageof waterproof snorklers/swimmers from a June 1961 Seiko Newsletter . . .

[brandrea]

Wow Incredible photos and great information

It’s so interesting to know more about the brand. That dial is quite stunning Adam

[ewand]

Wow, that is/was a cracking Blue Yacht - the case back particularly!

My Silver Wave from Jan '63 - supposedly this model introduced the case back association of the wave as signifying dive watches:

20190604_093536 (Custom).jpg
20190609_071345 (Custom).jpg

[Old Expat Beast]

Nice Silver Wave, and that 4 o'clock crown is a pretty early example, too. I see it's also got the same eight-sided special-dial star as the Blue Yacht, too. Seiko really got a lot of mileage out of the Silver Wave name, even using it on quartz analog and digital watches over the decades.

[RW16610]

Lots of great information shared here! Seiko has such a fascinating history generally speaking, and this watch or line seems to be no exception to that.

[ewand]

Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast

Nice Silver Wave, and that 4 o'clock crown is a pretty early example, too. I see it's also got the same eight-sided special-dial star as the Blue Yacht, too. Seiko really got a lot of mileage out of the Silver Wave name, even using it on quartz analog and digital watches over the decades.

Careful; you might let the genie out of the bottle here...

The 8-pointed star and SD suffix supposedly mark the dial out as special; in early GS terms they pointed to precious metal hour markers, though who knows if the same logic applied to relatively modest Seikomatics like the Blue Yacht and early Silver Waves.

In trying to search for an answer to "why...?", I came across a 3-year old thread on SCWF where I posted more detail to see if anyone knew, but drew something of a blank...

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by ewand

Careful; you might let the genie out of the bottle here...

The 8-pointed star and SD suffix supposedly mark the dial out as special; in early GS terms they pointed to precious metal hour markers, though who knows if the same logic applied to relatively modest Seikomatics like the Blue Yacht and early Silver Waves.

In trying to search for an answer to "why...?", I came across a 3-year old thread on SCWF where I posted more detail to see if anyone knew, but drew something of a blank...

There's a section on the two types of dial stars (4 and 8 points) on Seiko and GS in one of my Japanese Dragonfly reference books. I'll see if I can find it later and translate it with my phone.

[ewand]

There's a 6-point star, too, "AD" vs "SD" ... see
https://www.fratellowatches.com/seik...s-first-diver/

Screenshot 2023-07-27 110808.png

[Old Expat Beast]

Originally Posted by ewand

There's a 6-point star, too, "AD" vs "SD" ... see
https://www.fratellowatches.com/seik...s-first-diver/

Attachment 1381961

Yes, I forgot about that one. There's a GS with one on the cover of the book I mentioned yesterday. Here's that page, and the cover...and an old one of mine.