Seiko Branding Dictionary (expanded!

)
Hello all WIS! Would you please contribute to this existing and recently updated (by me)
article? It is on the forum but I intend to edit this document somewhat smarter and keep it
updated and linked for download (feel free to use it as you please). As of yet I have to
include the pictures. First things first though. Here it is:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/xqnekcdt6e...nary.docx?dl=0

Also check out the visual guide, a real family tree in the
making: https://www.dropbox.com/s/17ns95kgyj...0Tree.jpg?dl=0

Would you post your edit or contribution? You can also do this in dropbox of course. I will
integrate it and update the link.

For those without facilities:

Seiko Branding Dictionary

Here is a growing reference list of the general features and attributes that make up Seiko’s
different watch related companies, brands, sub-brands and watch product lines/families,
both vintage and current. This list does not pretend to be 100% accurate or complete, but
hopefully it is close enough to serve as a solid reference guide.
It is important to note that this list is a work in progress and not everything listed here is
necessarily specifically a sub brand. For example there are watches that have the tsunami
logo on their casebacks yet belong to the Prospex sub-brand, while others do not. As a
result, please understand that this list mixes two different but intertwined marketing
methods used by Seiko"model lines" and "specialty badging". In addition, also remember
that Seikofreely used more than one sub-brand name on a watch so as to denote a specific
attribute not found on the regular sub-brand. For example, some of the 613x & 701x lines
of mechanical chronographs were indeed marked "Speedtimer", but there were also those
marked "SPORTS Speedtimer". The difference, as we've been told (& confirmed by some
research) is that Seiko phased out the "SPORTS" badging by 1975. So, these "specially
badged", possibly home market (Japan) varieties of the chronos started being called just
"Speedtimer" in 1975. So, it could be wise to refer to the "SPORTS" & "Speedtimer" as
special badging (like certain car manufacturers specially badge a limited edition of a
standard model).
If any watch brands, sub brands, product lines or special badges are missing from the list,
please point it out so they can be added. Please contribute any information you have and
feel free to expand and/or correct anything already posted. Thank you.
Content
Actus............................................. ..................................................
............................................... 4
Advan............................................. ..................................................
.............................................. 4
AGS............................................... ..................................................
............................................... 5
Alba.............................................. ..................................................
............................................... 5
Alpinist.......................................... ..................................................
.............................................. 5
Aka............................................... ..................................................
................................................ 5
Angelfish......................................... ..................................................
............................................. 5
Analogue chronograph 7A28/7A38..............................................
.................................................. 6
Arctura........................................... ..................................................
.............................................. 7
Bell-Matic............................................. ..................................................
....................................... 7
Brightz........................................... ..................................................
............................................... 8
Business.......................................... ..................................................
............................................. 8
Champion.......................................... ..................................................
........................................... 8
Chronometer....................................... ..................................................
........................................ 8
Coutura........................................... ..................................................
............................................. 8
Credor............................................ ..................................................
.............................................. 8
Criteria.......................................... ..................................................
............................................... 9
Cronos............................................ ..................................................
.............................................. 9
Crown............................................. ..................................................
............................................. 9
Diver 1 – automatic 150m..............................................
.................................................. .............. 9
1965-1968 – 6217/6215..............................................
.................................................. ............. 9
1968-1977 – 6105-8009 aka “the turtle”...........................................
....................................... 10
1976-1988 - 6309.............................................. ..................................................
..................... 10
Diver 2 – automatic 150/200m..............................................
.................................................. ..... 10
1988-1996 - 7002.............................................. ..................................................
..................... 10
1996 – 7S26.............................................. ..................................................
.............................. 10
Diver 3 – automatic 300m..............................................
.................................................. ............. 10
1968 - 6215/6217/6159..............................................
.................................................. ............ 10
Diver 4 – Professional 600m..............................................
.................................................. .......... 11
1975 - 6159-7001/7010 aka “the Grandfather Tuna”.............................................
................... 11
Diver 5 – Quartz Professional 600m..............................................
................................................. 11
1978.............................................. ..................................................
......................................... 11
Diver – Aka “Tuna”............................................ ..................................................
......................... 12
Diver – Aka “Monster”......................................... ..................................................
....................... 12
Diver – Prospex - Aka “Sumo”............................................
.................................................. .......... 12
Dolce & Exceline.......................................... ..................................................
.............................. 12
Dolphin........................................... ..................................................
........................................... 12
DX................................................ ..................................................
.............................................. 13
Elnix............................................. ..................................................
.............................................. 13
Galante........................................... ..................................................
........................................... 14
Galaxy............................................ ..................................................
............................................ 14
GLX............................................... ..................................................
............................................. 14
Goldfeather....................................... ..................................................
......................................... 14
Grandfather Tuna.............................................. ..................................................
.......................... 14
Grand Seiko (GS).............................................. ..................................................
........................... 14
Grand Quartz............................................ ..................................................
.................................. 15
GS Astronomical Observatory Chronometer(Special Badge)............................................
............... 15
Gyro Marvel............................................ ..................................................
................................... 15
Ignition.......................................... ..................................................
............................................ 15
IZUL.............................................. ..................................................
.............................................. 15
Kinetic........................................... ..................................................
............................................ 16
King Seiko (KS).............................................. ..................................................
.............................. 16
King Quartz............................................ ..................................................
..................................... 16
LASSALE........................................... ..................................................
.......................................... 16
Liner............................................. ..................................................
............................................. 17
Lion.............................................. ..................................................
.............................................. 17
LM (Lord-Matic)............................................ ..................................................
.............................. 17
LM Special / Lord-Matic Special...........................................
.................................................. ....... 17
Lord Marvel............................................ ..................................................
.................................... 18
Lorus............................................. ..................................................
............................................. 18
Lukia............................................. ..................................................
............................................. 18
Marine Master............................................ ..................................................
............................... 18
Marvel............................................ ..................................................
........................................... 18
Navigator Timer............................................. ..................................................
............................. 18
Premier........................................... ..................................................
........................................... 19
Presmatic......................................... ..................................................
.......................................... 19
Prospex – Sea, Sky, Land..............................................
.................................................. ................ 19
Prospex – Landmaster Alpinist..........................................
.................................................. .......... 19
Prospex – Spring Drive Spacewalk Limited Edition...........................................
.............................. 20
Pulsar............................................ ..................................................
............................................. 20
Quartz (SQ).............................................. ..................................................
................................... 20
R-SUS............................................... ..................................................
........................................... 21
Rainbow........................................... ..................................................
.......................................... 21
Rivoli............................................ ..................................................
.............................................. 21
Ruse.............................................. ..................................................
............................................. 21
Sarb.............................................. ..................................................
.............................................. 21
SARG.............................................. ..................................................
............................................ 21
S-Wave.............................................. ..................................................
......................................... 21
Seahorse.......................................... ..................................................
.......................................... 21
Sea lion.............................................. ..................................................
........................................ 22
Seiko............................................. ..................................................
............................................. 22
Seiko 5................................................. ..................................................
...................................... 22
Seiko 5 diamatic.......................................... ..................................................
............................... 22
Seiko 5 Sports............................................ ..................................................
................................. 22
Seiko Clock Inc............................................... ..................................................
............................. 22
Seiko Credor............................................ ..................................................
................................... 23
Seiko Epson Corporation....................................... ..................................................
...................... 23
Seiko Holdings Corporation....................................... ..................................................
.................. 23
Seiko Instruments Inc...............................................
.................................................. .................. 24
Seiko Time Systems Inc...............................................
.................................................. ................ 24
Seiko Watch Corporation....................................... ..................................................
..................... 24
Seikomatic........................................ ..................................................
......................................... 24
Selfdater......................................... ..................................................
........................................... 25
SII............................................... ..................................................
................................................ 25
Skyliner.......................................... ..................................................
............................................ 25
Special........................................... ..................................................
............................................ 25
Speedtimer 6138/6139..............................................
.................................................. ................ 25
Speedtimer 6139-7100 aka “White helmet”...........................................
...................................... 26
Speedtimer 6139-6002 aka “Pogue”...........................................
.................................................. 26
Spirit............................................ ..................................................
.............................................. 27
Spoon............................................. ..................................................
............................................ 27
Sportsman......................................... ..................................................
......................................... 27
Sportsmatic....................................... ..................................................
......................................... 27
Sportura.......................................... ..................................................
........................................... 28
Spring Drive............................................. ..................................................
................................... 28
Super............................................. ..................................................
............................................ 28
SS................................................ ..................................................
............................................... 28
SUS............................................... ..................................................
.............................................. 29
Timesonar......................................... ..................................................
......................................... 29
Tsunami wave logo.............................................. ..................................................
........................ 29
Tuna.............................................. ..................................................
............................................. 29
Turtle............................................ ..................................................
............................................. 29
Vanac............................................. ..................................................
............................................ 29
VFA (Very Fine Adjusted)......................................... ..................................................
................... 30
Vivace............................................ ..................................................
............................................ 30
Weekdater......................................... ..................................................
........................................ 30
Wired............................................. ..................................................
............................................ 31
Wired XYZ............................................... ..................................................
................................... 31
World Time or World Timer.............................................
.................................................. ........... 31

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Actus

(Sub-brand) - Lower end Japan market Seikos produced in '70s (maybe also late '60s), that
were comprised of both Seiko 5 Actus and regular Actus and with an emphasis on styling.
They seem to come in both rather conventional and "mod" case/dial designs, but the "mod"
ACTUS not as radical as the typical Advan & VANAC styles. This series used 6106 and 7019
movements (maybe others BUT these two are the most common ones) Date languages
were English/Japanese only. The word Actus is a Latin word meaning unit of length,
progress/moving through, series/sequence, act, performance (of play), delivery, action, or
deed.

Advan

(Sub-brand) - A specially styled (60's "mod") versions of 6106, 7019, & 7039 caliber
powered watches. This was a mid-range line (while the VANAC line mentioned below was
the upper quality line of "mod" styled watches.

AGS

(Product Line) - An acronym for "Advanced Generating System" or "Automatic Generating

System", which was used on some of the earlier Kinetic powered quartz watches. At their
introduction in 1988, Kinetic watches were branded as “Auto Quartz”. In 1989 this was
changed to AGS (or the full, Advanced Generating System or Automatic Generating
System); and finally, in 1997, the name was replaced by Kinetic.

Alba

(Brand) –

Alpinist

(Sub-brand) - a Japan market line of watches first introduced in 1961, which was inspired
by the Japanese concept of Yamaotoko. According to Seiya Kobayashi, this term translates
into English as “mountain man”, and generally describes the Japanese tradition of amateur
mountaineering in which people pass time by to climbing Japan’s mountains during
weekends and holidays. To these folks, having dependable climbing gear is important. The
Alpinist line consists of five generations, with the first one being first released in 1961 (the
hand-winding Laurel Alpinist). This model was followed in 1963 by the Dauphine-hand
Champion 850 Alpinist. SEIKO then retired the line for 30 years, only to revive it again in
1995 with the popular automatic/hand-winding 4S15 caliber models, which was only in
production for two years. Due to the popularity of that model, in 2003 seiko released a
titanium-cased, Perpetual Calendar Quartz Alpinist with red GMT hand, and in new 2006 a
stainless steel automatic/mechanical Alpinist powered by the 6r15 caliber which closely
resembles the 1995 model. You can read more about these on seiya’s article
here http://yeomanseiko.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!3318BA07329CD633!488.entry

Aka

(Brand) –

Angelfish

(Special Badge) According to Mr. Tokunaga, the Angelfish case-back mark is an emblem
that represents water-resistant ladies watches of the time (mainly the 1960’s).

Analogue chronograph 7A28/7A38

In the early ‘80s, Seiko decided that LCD technology was splendid, but how about building
an analogue, 3 register quartz chronograph? One that didn’t go ‘beep’ and flash a lot of
scrolling numbers at you. Being Seiko, that’s what they did and made the very first
analogue quartz chronograph, quite an impressive achievement.
Contemporary ads proclaimed “Watch history being made” and with
the watch photographed against the dashboards of Porsche 911s and Ur Quattros, it was
clear Seiko were pitching it high, justly so as the 7a series - 7A28 and 7A38 - does that
wonderful Seiko thing of seeming simple but actually being eye-wateringly impressive.
Movement
Seiko planned to take on the Swiss at their own game. So rather than a modular, disposable
plastic movement, the 7a series had a proper, quasi-decorated 15 jewel metal movement
that could be regulated, disassembled and repaired. It even has a very traditional finger
damper spring on the centre seconds pinion. Seiko really threw investment, thinking and
effort into this one. This explains why, despite often impressive abuse, so many survive.
Notice those little rectangular plates over parts of the movement? Each of those protects a
tiny stepper motor – one for each of the chronograph functions. And that’s what
this watch is all about. Press the button at 2 o’clock and the chrono starts. Instead of a
blizzard of flickering digits, the centre seconds ticks off the seconds one at a time while the
1/10ths dial zips round. In fact, it’s moving at 1/20th second intervals. The minutes total up
over at the 9 o’clock subdial and there’s a running seconds at 6 o’clock.
Today, that’s all pretty unremarkable. But back in the early 1980s, when most watches had
little grey, digital screens, this was serious stuff. And it got better. Hit the button at 10
o’clock and the chrono keeps running, but the hands stop. So not only do you have a
chrono, you have a split timer.
If you enjoy fiddling, you’ll discover something else about the 7a series… if you push and
hold the 4 o’clock pusher, the two chrono subdials and centre seconds whizz round and
reset themselves. And all this for around $250 back in the early ‘80s – that’s a blinding
amount of watch technology for a mere $650 in today’s money. The movement even found
its way into watches carrying rather more upmarket logos, including the Ferrari ‘Cal. 531’.
But the lovely thing with the 7a series watches is that they have something for everyone…
If you like your complications, you’ll find something in the 7a series that suits you. There
are tide timers, moon-phases, Sports Quartz, fishing models (the 7A48-7050 Fishing Master
with a moon phase and tide indicator), military versions (as supplied to the RAF and the
South African Airforce – see the splendid Mr Brandon Cripps’ article on the military variants
of the 7 here: Time Spec: Seiko 7A28 RAF Gen 1 Chronograph. If you fancy a military 7a
though, you’ll need deep pockets. Even a couple of years ago, you’d see these for around
£300. Now, they’re being posted on auction sites at up to £995.
Movie fan? You can go after the 7A28-7001 Giugiaro-designed chrono that pops up (along
with a few nasty critters) in Alien. Even Bond got in on the action and wore a 7A28-7020 in
View to a Kill.
Like horological mythology? You can happily spend time chasing the ‘Vulcan Flightcrew’,
yellow-faced variant, the 7A38-701B. The story goes that RAF aircrews on the Vulcan long-
range nuclear bomber were issued these. The yellow dial apparently made them easier to
read in the Vulcan’s darkened cockpit. One of these went for nearly £600 back in 2011
despite there being no good evidence for the whole Vulcan thing being actually, you know,
true. They may never have been issued watches (the casebacks certainly don’t carry
military markings), but they’re still indisputably handsome.

Arctura

(Sub-brand) - Midrange new designs for the international market. Debuted in 2003 (I think)
with the SNL001P Kinetic chrono with the 7L22 movement. Largely a dressy affair with a
hint of sportiness. The Kinetic Auto Relay models (5J32) appeared shortly with the latest
7D46 Perpetual Calendar appearing in 2006 or so.

Bell-Matic

(Sub-brand) - A family of automatic watches characterized by having a mechanical alarm

that can be set by an internal rotating bezel and activated/deactivated by a pusher located
near the 2:00 position of the case. They were available in a wide range of styles and models
during the late 60’s and 70’s and featured some of the largest non-diver cases produced
by Seiko at that time. They are predominantly powered by a variant of the 4006 caliber of
movements.
How you set the alarm is simple. Pull the crown out to the first position and rotate counter
clockwise until the red marker is pointing towards the time you want it to go off. Press the
crown in, wind, then pull the button at 2 o’clock. When the hour hand points to the time, a
little bell rings, much like an old fashioned alarm clock. The alarm works by a mechanical
hammer pounding on sounding spring and it is for a good 10 seconds only. If you are an
antique watch lover, the ring tones give you the pleasure of nostalgia....
In addition to these functions the crown also serves to set the time and the alarm button
can quick-set the date. But don't go pressing the quick set date button anywhere near the
24 hour day/date change or else you could cause damage or problems to the mechanism.
There is no quick-set feature for the day. The day can be set by turning the crown from
10:30PM to 2AM, repeating this back-and-forth until the desired day is reached. Do this
until the day is one day before the current one and set the time to 6:00am. Then push the
button until the date is one day before the current one. Now pull the crown back out and
swing the hands forward until the day/date change and set the proper time.
The Seiko 4006A movement cannot be hand wound. It has a frequency of 19,800 A/h and
has a power reserve of 42 hours.

Brightz

(Sub-brand) –

Business

(Sub-brand) - ( aka Bell-matic and Business A) The Business brand was used on a few
Japanese market Bellmatics during the late 1960s, which were powered by the 4006
Bellmatic caliber (Business Bell) and the 27j 8306/46 Seikomatic caliber. This sub-brand
seems to have been part of a short marketing campaign intended to emphasize the
attractiveness of Seiko watches to the Japanese “salary-man”.

Champion

(Sub-brand) - The Champion was Seiko's low end handwind watch introduced in 1960 in 17
and 19j versions. The Champion evolved with the Champion Calendar (1962), the Champion
850 (1963) and the date version Champion 860 (1964). The Champion also existed in a few
specialised versions, of which the Champion Alpinist is the most famous.

Chronometer

(Sub-brand) - Chronometer grade pre-1960s models. Probably mainly hand-windable,

Coutura

(Sub-brand) - North American market dress/sports dress watches. Not available in SE Asia.

Credor

(Brand) - See "Seiko Credor" entry below.

Criteria

(Sub-brand) - Recent introduction to the South East Asian Seiko lineup (Hong Kong,
Malaysia and Singapore); they are mostly blingy and slated for the younger buyer market.
First introduced with the 5T52 World Timer and 7T62 chrono quartz movements sometime
in 2002 and the 7s36 Criterias appeared in 2004. I don't know if Criteria is circulated in
Thailand.

Cronos

(Sub-brand) - Daini designed and manufactured high-end Manual watches produced from
1958 to 1964 in 17, 21 and 23j versions. Also available as Cronos Selfdater (with date)
from 1961 and Cronos Special (with extra adjustment) from 1963. The Cronos was Seikos
mainstream offering in the late 50s, similar to the Marvel and was priced from JPY 5700.
The Cronos line were generally precursors to King Seiko and Grand Seiko and not quite as
high-end. A refinement of the Cronos movement was later used in the King Seiko.

Crown

(Sub-brand) - Suwa designed and manufactured high-end manual watches of the late 50’s
and early 60s. They were precursors to the Grand Seiko and not quite as high-end. The logo
looks something like the Rolex logo and in some instances, was used in conjunction with
other sub-brand names, such as in a 6218 Seikomatic Weekdater & a 6216. These are both
highly jeweled (35j & 39j) movements with a quality level only slightly below that of their
contemporary Grand Seikos & associated Chronometers.

Diver 1 – automatic 150m

(Sub-line)
1965-1968 – 6217/6215

The divers are a Seiko universe all in themselves, almost since its big bang present in all
catalogues. There are many models. Japan's first diver’s watch, introduced 1965, was an
automatic 150m Diver, calibre 6217-8000/8001 (62MAS). It was a watch with an outsized
crown, rotating bezel with a special gasket and wide hands and dial markers. The launch of
this model marked the start of Seiko's pursuit for ever greater reliability and safety. In
1966, the watch proved its reliability and precision on the 8th Japanese Antarctic Research
Expedition. In 1968 discontinued.
The watch contains elements that one would expect from a dive watch: large, luminous
hour markers, luminous hands and a bi-directional rotating bezel. The crown of the watch is
at 3 o’clock and is absent of crown guards at this stage. The watch measures 39mm which
places it as a larger sized watch by 1965 standards. The movement, cal. 6217, is a 17 jewel
automatic movement running at 18,000 pbh. Seiko was very proud of this initial effort and
felt it was a good competitor in the dive watch market. When released the diver was
available for 13,000 Yen, roughly around $150 USD. In today’s money that would come out
to just over $1,000. Now, being over 40 years discontinued, the 6217 series fetch well into
the thousands of dollars. The variant Seiko6215 was available from 1967-1969
1968-1977 – 6105-8009 aka “the turtle”

One of the more popular Seiko dive watches, probably due to it’s more accessible price
range as well as length of availability, is the Seiko 6105. The 6105 was produced from
1968-1977 in either a cushion-case style (6105-8000 & 8009) or the more traditional style
of case (6105-8110 & 8119). This 150M water resistant watch was available on US military
bases and as such it became quite popular with US soldiers during the Vietnam war; there
are many examples of G.I.’s wearing a 6105 in combat. The 6105 could withstand almost
anything. Before its production ended in 1977. The 6105-8000 (the cushion case) has as its
most famous sibling the 6105-8009 (the turtle case), which was immortalized forever as
the watch worn by Captain Benjamin L. Willard, portrayed by Martin Sheen, in the movie
Apocalypse Now.
1976-1988 - 6309
Outside of the Professional line a year later Seiko released the popular successor to the
6105, the Seiko 6309, available 1976-1988. The 6309 is also a 150M rated dive watch and
was produced from 1976 to 1988. Like the previous model it replaces, the 6309 is also a
cushion case watch although not as dramatic as the 6105. This was also popular with the
military like the 6105 before it and is very popular with collectors as well as it can be had
for a few hundred dollars

Diver 2 – automatic 150/200m

1988-1996 - 7002

Calibre 7002 was the successor of the 6309, it was initially up to 150m, but later on 200m.

1996 – 7S26

The 7002 was replaced by the 7S26 calibre, the SKX007

Diver 3 – automatic 300m

1968 - 6215/6217/6159

This timepiece of 1968 with a 10-beat high precision automatic caliber, with manual winding
capability, featured stronger and brighter hands and dial markers.
Seiko doubled the water resistance of the watch and used a monobloc case as part of that
process along with a screw down crown. The design of the watch changed to move the
crown to 4 o’clock; the markers and hands are also different on this model as well. the
hands are thicker and contain more luminous material over its predecessor and the dial
used a combination of square and round markers. In 1968 Seiko released the 6159, a
variation on the 6215 with the same hi-beat caliber used in the Grand Seiko of the time.
This was a big step up and earned the watch the Professional moniker. The look of these
two watches will be familiar to many as it was resurrected in the currently
available Seiko Marine Master. As with the 6217, the 6215 and 6159 are highly collectible
and very much sought after by collectors of Seiko and dive watches and again can run
several thousand dollars.

Diver 4 – Professional 600m

1975 - 6159-7001/7010 aka “the Grandfather Tuna”

The world's first diver's watch in 1975 with a titanium case, the Professional Diver's 600m
was the watch that changed the world's standards. It featured a two-layer case construction
for greater security against shock and corrosion. The new accordion-style strap ensured
ease of use by expanding and contracting as the divers' depth changed. Over 20 patents
were granted to this world-leading timepiece.
The beginnings of the Seiko shrouded diver lie with the introduction of the 6159-7010, aka
“the Grandfather Tuna”. It’s a magnificent titanium watch, with L-shaped crystal gasket,
ceramic-coated titanium shroud, automatic movement and no helium escape
valve. Seiko was at the time seeking to create a watch that could hold up well for
professional saturation divers and came up with the first Tuna.
The Professional 600M consisted of several firsts, many of which are standard on today’s
dive watches. It was the first watch with a titanium case, used for its light weight and high
corrosion resistance; the strap had ribbed sections on each side to allow for shrinking and
expanding of the diver’s wet suit; and the case itself was constructed as such to prevent
helium gas from entering the case during saturation dives. This last innovation eliminated
the need for a helium escape valve that many Swiss brands had begun putting into
their watch cases to bleed out the gas. In addition the watch looks like a big, beefy
tool watch. It has a shrouded case, large arrow pointed hands and large luminous markers.
The watch addressed all the concerns put forth by the professional diver who wrote
to Seiko years earlier. The watch was extremely successful and was the launch of
the Seiko Professional Diver series, which continues today.

Diver 5 – Quartz Professional 600m

1978

The Professional Diver's 600m, the world's first saturation diving watch in 1978 featuring a
quartz movement.
In 1983, it performed perfectly at 1,062m below the surface aboard the Japanese Manned
Research Submersible ‘SHINKAI 2000

Diver – Aka “Tuna”

See Diver 4 – Professional 600m

Diver – Aka “Monster”

Diver – Prospex - Aka “Sumo”

Seiko Sumo Prospex Automatic Dive Watch with Black Dial and Stainless Steel Bracelet:
SBDC001 (SBDC003, SBDX001, etc). This is a highly coveted Seiko automatic
dive watch that has been nicknamed Sumo. It features a Seiko 23 jewel automatic (6R15)
movement, a date display, highly luminous hands and markers treated with Lumibrite for
awesome low light visibility, a screw down offset crown, a uni-directional diving bezel with
luminous PIP at 12:00, Hardlex mineral crystal and a solid etched, screw-down case back.
The 6R15 Seiko movement is self-winding and it can be hand wound. The movement has a
50 hour power reserve and it is accurate to +25 to -15 seconds per day. Comes on a
stainless steel bracelet with a double locking fold-over push-button clasp with a divers
extension. It includes manual and a yellow Seiko Prospex box.

Dolce & Exceline

(Sub-brand) - A Japan market line of thin and dressy high-end quartz watches. Many of
these are powered by thermocompensated or atomic sync movements.
Dolphin

(Special Badge) - According to Mr. Tokunaga, the Dolphin case-back mark is an emblem
that represents self-winding types of water-resistant gentlemen’s watches of the time
(mainly the 1960’s). In addition, George K. reports HERE, that a modern version of the
Dolphin caseback badge is/was also used on the Kinetic Fin Divers casebacks from around
1998 through 1999 (please correct this timeline if it is incorrect). If you follow the link
provided you can see a picture of the caseback of one of Geroge's three Fin Divers showing
the more cartoon like, stylized and raised Dolphin logo, which is rendered, not unlike seiko's
well known full Tsunami Wave logo.

DX

(Sub-brand) - A line of inexpensive Seiko Automatics consisting predominantly (but not

exclusively) of caliber 6106 (a, b & c) & 70xx caliber powered automatics, produced during
the 1960's, 70's & early 80’s. These watches were produced during a time in
which Seiko experimented widely with design. DX is an acronym for the word Deluxe and it
was originally supposed to reflect the supposed general luxury character of the watches. In
reality, they were generally affordable and tended to offer design touches typically found in
more expensive watches of the time, such as iridescent or textured dials, applied markers,
and/or painted hands and markers. Styling ranged the gamut from conservative to pretty
far out. Some DX models were also offered in a regular line (such as Seiko 5) and aside
from the DX markings are indistinguishable from the regular model. In at least on case that
I know of, the watch evolved over time keeping the same case but changing the movement
(and jewel count). By the time the DX designation was used in its later days, it doesn’t
seem to have really meant much any more.

Elnix

The fascinating Seiko Elnix is an electric watch and quite uniquely so. Seiko had five series
of electronic movement calibres with the Elnix marked as the last Emperor; the most
advanced and last transistorized electric watch.
This watch came out of Seiko factory in march 1974, actually at the beginning of a newly
designed dial and a flurry of new Elnixes - the red in the Elnix logo was discarded in 1975
catalogues. Interestingly, the Elnix 0703-7020 below has the old hand style but the new
logo. Buying it nowadays would set you back some 496 dollars, so a vintage buy of 90
dollars is a steal as far as I am concerned.

On the dial the gold colour Elnix logo spirals upward arrow-style (symbolizing electricity).
Underneath the nostalgic logo is the symbol of Daini. This watchis equipped with day-date
functions, it also has a smooth sweeping second hand which is a dead give away that it is
not a quartz, but to confuse matters, it is also not an automatic. You see, this watch is
powered by the 16 Jewels 0703A. It has a frequency of 4 Hz and an amplitude of 8 beats
per second or 28,800 bph. (That puts it in the same league as a chronometer). A 1.55 volt
Silver Oxide Battery breaths life into the movement, not a rotor... These watches still use a
balance-wheel and should not be confused with quartz-controlled movements or
Bulova's Accutron "tuning fork" technology.
The production for Seiko Elnix however is short lived.... as soon after the Quartz would
dominate the Japanese watch industry. But they are an important milestone; and most of
these watches still run problem free forty odd years later.

Galante

(Brand) - A recent up-market model Seiko for the Japan market. Galante watches are
mostly high and fashionable elements are incorporated in the designs. Looks like a Credor
Node (see below).

Galaxy

(Sub-brand) –

GLX

(Sub-brand) - I think it stands for "Galaxy". A little known sub-range from Seiko. Not sure if
it's still in production but it's most probably was for the Japanmarket.

Goldfeather

(Sub-brand) - A short-lived line contemporary with the first KS (1950’s) that was slimmer
and not quite as high end as latter Grand Seiko’s. However, there is one anomalous model
in that line - the 609000. Instead of being the "classic" ultra-slim (for it's day)
uncomplicated (in the styling sense, not mechanical sense) dress watch, this one is rather
"chunky"/solid and has "mod"/fashion influences, but not to the extent that most
VANAC/AdVan models do.

Grandfather Tuna

See Diver 4 – Professional 600m

Grand Seiko (GS)

(Brand) - Since 1960, it has been Seiko’s highest end line of chronometer grade
mechanical watches. In many ways comparable or superior to the best
mechanical watches produced in Europe. All are manufactured in Japan and are
predominantly available only to the Japanese market (though some have said that some
models have been made available in Hong Kong) be prepared to spend serious money for
one.

Grand Quartz

(Sub-line) – This was the first excursion of the mechanical GS into quartz land. It went toe
to toe with the King Quartz and had many styling characteristics in common.

GS Astronomical Observatory Chronometer(Special Badge)

A very limited line of watches used in the Swiss observatory competitions in the '60s.
Gyro Marvel

(Sub-brand) - The Gyro Marvel was Seiko’s first independently developed automatic watch.
It was introduced in 1959, as a subset of the Marvel Line. The Gyro Marvel’s caliber is based
on the Marvel caliber and exist only in a 17j version. Like the Marvel, they formed Seiko's
top watch line of watches during the late 1950’s. Sadly, the Gyro Marvel was relatively short
lived and was replaced in Seiko’s lineup by the Seikomatic in 1960. The price of a Gyro
Marvel in 1959 was ¥5,900.

Ignition

(Sub-brand)
IZUL

(Sub-line)
A spring drive chronograph - 2 models- fixed case model came with 2 dial colours- rotating
case only white dial. The watch is of course based on the Spacewalk design (but without a
GMT hand), and actually had a few versions when it came out in 2007. A few watch lovers
out there know about this Japan only watch from 2007. The Izul is awesome to behold and
is in all titanium.
The movement is the illustrious Seiko Spring Drive chronograph that has a 12 hour
chronograph, date, and power reserve indicator for the 72 hours of power reserve. Like I
said, these models have the GMT hand removed, and instead wish to emphasis the
chronograph complications. I've talked about Spring Drive a lot. If you don't know about, it
you should want one. Really all the allure of a decorated, manufacture made mechanical
movement, with the accuracy of a quartz watch. No batteries, ever! It is all powered by a
mainspring. Magic, I know. The watch focuses on the Japanese ideal of perfection (also an
ideal for Seiko). ) One thing the watches do, that has been a goal of many for so long is
have a PERFECTLY smooth sweeping seconds hand. No mini ticking. Nothing but smooth as
butter "glide motion" hands. Very impressive to see. Also, the watch is 100% silent. Put
your ear up to it, and you can't hear a thing. Seiko is very proud of this fact.
Kinetic

(Product Line) A line of mid priced quartz watches produced from the mid 1990’s until the
present, that covered many different watch types and style. They were characterized by
getting power from a rotor used to generate an electric charge which is stored in a
rechargeable medium. Originally these were capacitors, but do to problems, capacitors were
later replaced by rechargeable lithium ion batteries .

King Seiko (KS)

(Sub-brand) - A high grade watch that was second to the GS as the most top of the
line Seiko during the 1960’s and 70’s. Some of the models featured an unique external
adjusting screw so that if it was fast or slow the movement could be adjusted with out
removing the movement from the case (was one piece case in the beginning). Later
versions of the KS were in the Vanes line which was a funky mode line of the 1970’s

King Quartz
Seiko Kings with the two oscillators are very interesting watches, I think only from the
Daino division, but not certain here. Very accurate as you might expect from two time
sources (crystals) and thermocompensation (symbol embossed with the twin quartz symbol
on dial and crown).
In this small and rather inexpensive group of high end quartz models the oldest (probably
before 1978) thermocompensation method is the one present in the King Quartz caliber
5856 - the method is based on having two quartz crystals both around 32 kHz and using the
difference from them as a way to indirectly measure temperature - and from that the
number of quartz ticks that need to be skipped in order to achieve a better accuracy - a
more detailed description of the method (including some screen-shots of the service
manuals) can be seen in this post from the HEQ forum at WUS.
These quartzes could sport very funky dials, including my favorite, a blue jeans from 1978.

LASSALE

(Brand) - Jean Lassale was a Swiss watchmaker who made his mark by creating a line
of ultra thin dress watches in the 1970's. Seiko bought the brand and proceeded to make
very similar ultra thin dress watches from 1981 and to the early 90's, mainly for sale in
north America. Seiko's LASSALE branded watches were quartz powered though, but they
were all relatively high end. AFAIK after Seiko folded the brand it has not reintroduced it,
but I could be wrong. As I understand it (and please correct me if I'm wrong) the brand
"Jean Lassale" (not LASSALE) has been reintroduced on ultra thin swiss made
mechanical watches and are unrelated to Seiko. According to Funding Universe's Seiko
corporate history, seiko "acquired Jean Lassale, a Swiss subsidiary, and developed a product
that combined Seiko's quartz movements with a very thin Swiss-style case. By seeking
higher profit margins from luxury products, the company expected to make up for declining
profit margins on its less expensive products. The Jean Lassale purchase was part of a
pricing strategy to offer a more expensive line to complement lower- and medium-
priced watches and appeal to a wider range of customers."

Liner

(Sub-brand) - The Liner was introduced in 1960 as thin and fairly exclusive
dress watch made by Suwa. Suwa managed to squeeze the caliber down to 3mm – as
compared to the standard 4mm of other calibers at the time. The standard Liner, with 21j
and 23j versions, remained in production until 1963. There is also the very rare 25j Liner
Chronometer which was produced in a very short series in 1963.

Lion

(Special Badge) - According to Mr. Tokunaga, the lion emblem stands for high quality
chronometer grade watches of the time (mainly the 1960’s) & some early Grand Seikos that
developed from chronometers.

LM (Lord-Matic)

(Sub-brand) - was a mid range Seiko that boasted the fact that the watch was an automatic
that was thinner then all other auto’s of the time. In the beginning the watches were one
piece design that you could only remove the movement from the front. It had the 5606
movement that was the base for the KS’s of the time. The LM was a mid range Seiko that
boasted the fact that the watch was an automatic that was thinner then all other auto’s of
the time..
There is also Lord Marvel, LordMatic Special. The LordMatic was made by Suwa, while the
LordMatic Special was made by Daini (using completely different movements with higher
quality/accuracy specs).

LM Special / Lord-Matic Special

(Sub-brand) - A subset/evolution of the LM line. They were powered either by 5206 or 5216
auto movements, in 23j or 25j variants running 28.8K bph (base LM’s were powered by
21.6K bph automatic movements in 23 or 25 jewel variants.

Lord Marvel

(Sub-brand) - A subset/evolution of the LM line. These models were hand wound with and
powered by one of the 5740 caliber variants. The 5740C is the hi-beat 36,000 BPS version
and is said to have been the "trial" effort for later hi-beat Grand Seiko calibers (such as
61xx series). Once Seiko knew the 5740C was a technical success, they were able to market
the hi-beat 36K GS line.

Lorus

(Brand) –

Lukia

(Brand) - Japan domestic market ladies' range.

Marine Master

(Sub brand) A modern resurrection of the diver, see the Diver section: Diver 3 – automatic
300m

Marvel

(Sub-brand) - The Marvel was a Suwa watch introduced on June 10, 1956, a day that
coincidentally was also "Time Memorial Day", a one day celebration of time all over Japan.
The Marvel was the first modern caliber produced by Seiko and a large leap forward both for
technical achievement and manufacturing efficiency. This sub-brand was Seiko's
top watch line of manual-wind watches during the late 1950’s. They were made in 17j, 19j
and 21j hand-wind versions and remained in production until 1959. The Marvel was priced
from ¥4,500 and upwards which made it affordable to most Japanese.

Navigator Timer

(Product Line) A Family of watches that included an additional hand that could be set
against a 24 hour GMT scale so that time could be read simultaneously in another time
zone. I'm not sure if these came only in vintage automatics or if the brand has survived into
quartz or other types of movements. Seiko has for sure continued to use the concept both
in modern quartz, automatic and spring drive powered watches.

Premier

(Sub-brand) - Seiko's mid range international line of automatic, quartz and Kinetic
dress watches. According to Seiko“The Seiko Premier collection combines classically refined
inspiration with subtly modern expression. Inspired by the eternal beauty of neo-classical
architecture, each Premier case has the solidity and grace of a Palladian villa and each dial
has a depth of sculpted detailing that draws its inspiration from the architraves of a Greek
temple. However, these classical features are also expressed with a modern flair. Premier is
classical yet modern, reverential yet bold, restrained yet eye-catching”.

Presmatic

(Sub-brand) - cal. 5106 & 5146 high quality automatics. The Date quickset is activated by
pressing a button in the center of the crown. The 5106 was also built into a model called the
"Seikomatic P".

Prospex – Sea, Sky, Land

(Sub-brand) - A formerly JDM only line of watches composed of models intended for
professional activities and sports (eg. dive watches, chronometers, running watches,
flight watches, etc.). The name is a play on the words Professional Specifications, or Pro
Specs. Several models which in the Japanese market are included in the prospex range are
not included in the range when sold in international markets (many Prospex models are JDM
models only). Prospex watches don't actually carry the prospex brand on
the watches (maybe a subtle x on the dial). Instead the brand is included in the packaging,
literature and hang tags that come with the watches.

Prospex – Landmaster Alpinist

Variations are the SBDB007 and SBDB005. The new Prospex Landmaster Alpinist is a limited
edition also (but only for the black version I believe), but much more affordable and
contains several of the design elements from the Spacewalk. The '007 (nice model
number, Seiko!) is a limited edition made for Yuichiro Miura, an 80 year old man who will
attempt to summit Mount Everest. The engineering required to make the Spacewalk work in
super-cold outer space was reused for the bitter cold on the mountain, the legibility
requirements were similar. Seiko claims that temperature changes from +50C to -40C
(122F to -40F) are no problem.
The watch titanium, as weight is a major concern for mountain climbers, with a 'hard
coated' black layer that is often IP with Seiko, but might be PVD or DLC. Sapphire crystal of
course, water resistant to 100m with a screwdown crown. Size is 46.8mm long by 45mm
wide by 14.2mm thick, and 140g. There is also a non-black version that also comes on a
nice bracelet. Judging by the same 140 gram weight it is also in titanium, but according
the Seiko website the case material is "Diamond Shield.”
Inside is a Spring Drive movement 5R66 with 72 hour power reserve, +/- 15
seconds/month accuracy, 24-hour hand and power reserve. Thirty jewels and 295 separate
parts.
List price is 399,000 JPY or about $4,800 USD for the limited edition SBDB007 and 367,500
JPY for the non-black likely unlimited version which is about $4,460 USD. Seiko is making
300 of the black models with the name engraved on the side of the case, and it's a safe bet
they'll sell fast. Oh, and don't expect to find them in US retailers as this is likely an Asia-
only model.

Prospex – Spring Drive Spacewalk Limited Edition

There are only six of these watches in the world, and Seiko made them to celebrate Richard
Garriot's 'celebutrip' to the ISS (International Space Station) with the Russians. It is
specially made to be used in free space (not just in a pressurized shuttle). The watch uses
the Spring Drive movement and is in a large 48.7 titanium case. Big and very light at 92.5
grams. The watch comes on the fabric Velcro strap and is made to be worn over a large
space suit. On Sept. 24th the Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk watch worn by Richard Garriot
was auctioned off at a price of $45,600.

Pulsar

(Brand) - Originated as a Hamilton Watch Company brand that was known for high-tech red
LED watches in the 1970's. The brand changed hands several times until 1979
when Seiko acquired the Pulsar name. Pulsar watches are priced between Seiko and Lorus
brands and are sold in many countries. Seikoappears to have used Pulsar to test market
new concepts. An example would be the short lived PSR 10 which tested the viability of a
moderately priced highly accurate timekeeper. Many Pulsar watches use Seiko quartz
movements, including the H023 as well as analog chrono movements. Pulsar has also
recently expanded to use orient automatic movements in some dress model lines and
the seiko 7s26 on their rebranded versions of Alba's automatic dive watches.

Quartz (SQ)

(Product line) A diverse line with many sub-lines. An important distinction is the early
generation Quartz watches from Seiko, before they turned to mega-mass production by
applying lots of (green) plastic. The 0903A calibre for instance from 1975 has been greatly
simplified in comparison to the earlier versions but still retained the traditional
"watchmaking" appearance. The 4004 number is clearly indicated on the dial thus making
these watches easier to source on auctions. However this is not a design code but a product
line symbol that is difficult to understand. The 4004 series was available in very different
case designs (either oval or tank shaped) so it's hard to say what the authors had in mind
as these watches have clearly nothing in common... externally at least.
The battery hatch is always a handy feature that Seiko discontinued just a few years later
when new movements no longer required a battery exchange every year.

R-SUS

(Sub-brand) - An entry level line of Japan market quartz powered analog and ana-digi
seikos, that emphasized youthful styling and larger cases. "R-SUS" is an accronym coined
by Seiko meaning "Radical - Simple + U(and) + Strong". Some extra information and
images can be found here.
Rainbow

(Brand) - (women's styles)

Rivoli

(Brand) –

Ruse

(Brand) –

Sarb

(Sub-line) – The SARB has many variations: the 017,

SARG

(Sub-line) – The SARG has many variations: the 005, 007 (no, not James Bond), 011

S-Wave

(Sub-brand) - An entry level lineup, comprising quartz and 7s26 automatics specifically for
the Hong Kong Market. Note that there is also the early/mid '60s "Silverwave" Which many
credit to be the originator of the S-Wave sub-brand. Silverwaves seem to be a
"waterproof" watch that preceded the development of Seiko's first true diver's watch.

Seahorse

(Special Badge) - According to Mr. Tokunaga, the Seahorse case-back mark is an emblem
that represents manual-winding type of water-resistant gentlemen’s watches of the time
(mainly the 1960’s). Although this information came directly from Mr. Tokunaga, some
owners have reported owning automatic powered Seahorse models. It is possible that these
might be an exception rather than the rule.

Sea lion

(Special Badge) –

Seiko

(Brand) - The oldest and Principal brand of the Seiko Holdings Corporation. Primarily used
in watch products, it is not, however, limited to such and can be found in products ranging
from clocks to pocket dictionaries. Seiko branded products are manufactured by multiple
different affiliates of the Seiko Holdings Corporation excluding Seiko Watch Co.

Seiko 5

(Sub-brand) - Seiko 5 is Seiko's introductory line of automatic watches. The "5" stands for
the watch's 5 principal attributes: 1. Diaflex (unbreakable mainspring), 2. Diashock (Seiko's
shock resistant design, equivalent to the Swiss "Incabloc"), 3. Automatic winding, 4.
day/date indication, and 5. Water Resistance. The 5 logo has been applied to a wide variety
of calibers and styles and is one of the few sub-brands still in use today.

Seiko 5 diamatic

Seiko 5 Sports

(Sub-brand) - Basically the same thing as Seiko 5, but used in watches styled to appeal to
people involved in sports, without being manufactured to handle professional use or abusive
conditions. Seiko was not necessarily strict about this and there are numerous examples of
identical watches which carried both the Seiko 5 and Seiko 5 Sports brand.

Seiko Clock Inc.

Corporate affiliate of Seiko Holdings Corporation specializing in the production of clocks,

kitchen timers branded as Seiko,
Decor Seiko, Seiko Emblem, Seiko Premium, Seiko Melodies in Motion Musical Clocks and
Pyxis.

Seiko Credor

(Sub-brand and Brand) - This brand is two things at different times. During the 1980's it
was a Sub-brand of high end analog quartz watches. The sub-brand was reinterpreted in the
late 1990's and reintroduced as a separate stand alone Brand making very high end
mechanical watches similar to Grand Seiko but with less traditional, more experimental (yet
still conservative), more youthful styling. The success of the sub-brand, coupled with the
introduction of Spring Drive movement caused Seiko to relaunch it once again in the early
2000's as a separate stand-alone brand called Credor. The new Credor brand stands
together with Grand Seiko as the top brand for the company, but focuses on much more
innovative styling, materials and the use of the Spring Drive movement (they do use
mechanical movements, but not as high end as Grand Seiko and there are unconfirmed
rumors that mechanical movements might be fazed out of Credor altogether).

Seiko Epson Corporation

One of three core companies of the Seiko Group and the current corporate name of the
former Suwa Seikosha. Founded in 1942 as a maker of watchparts for Seiko and begins
producing watches for Daini Seikosha in 1943. The company was spun off from Daini
Seikosha in 1959, renamed Suwa Seikosha, and tasked with watch and movement
production in direct competition to it's parent Daini Seikosha. Over the years the company
has produced many high end seiko calibers and watch related technology. Many of the most
sought after models by collectors are Suwa designs. Today the company still
produces watches and movements, including many of seiko's highest grade watch models.
Today the company is one of the world's largest manufacturers of inkjet, dot matrix and
laser printers, scanners, desktop computers, business, multimedia and home theatre
projectors, large home theatre televisions, robots and industrial automation equipment,
point of sale docket printers and cash registers, laptops, integrated circuits, LCD
components and other associated electronic components.

Seiko Holdings Corporation

The Japan based holding company that owns all the diverse seiko companies and their
affiliates. It was founded by Kintaro Hattori in 1881 as a jewelery shop in tokyo's ginza
district, called K. Hattori. In 1882 the company began producing clocks under the name
Seikosha, and watches under the name Seiko in 1924.Also known as the Seiko Group.

Seiko Instruments Inc.

One of three core companies of the Seiko Group, and the current corporate name of the
former Daini Seikosha. Founded in 1937 as the second workshop for
manufacturing Seiko watches. The company is renowned for developing and
commercializing semiconductor, micromechatronics, and precision timepiece technology,
and specializes in the manufacturing and sale of electronic components (semiconductors,
crystal oscillators, micromechatronics devices, thermal printer, coin battery, liquid crystal
displays), precision parts, watches, analysis and measurement instruments, machine tools,
printers, network items, information systems and services, IC dictionaries, etc. It is also
known as SII. While most of the watches produced by SII are sold through Seiko Watch Co.,
the company has begun marketing it's own brands separately. Amongst these are brands
such as Sizukuishi Watch, Appetime, J.Springs, Issey Miyake, Tsumori Chisato, Alessi,
Cacharel, and Jill Stuart.. SII has an exclusive worldwide trademark license agreement with
Nike for Nike Timing products and together with Seiko Epson is part owner of Time Module
Inc, their china-based movement manufacturing affiliate.

Seiko Time Systems Inc.

Corporate affiliate of Seiko Holdings Corporation specializing in the production of system

clocks (outside, building wall, monument, floral clocks) and sports timing equipment.

Seiko Watch Corporation

Corporate affiliate of Seiko Holdings Corporation specializing in the planning and marketing
of Seiko Holdings' watch busines. Seiko Watch Co. Does not actually make
any watches. Watches are actually made by Seiko Instruments Inc. and Seiko Epson
Corporation and their respective affiliates.

Seikomatic

(Sub-brand) - Seikos first broadly marketed automatic watch line (there had been a limited
and very expensive Seiko automatic already in the mid 50s and the Gyro Marvel in the late
50s). They were introduced by Suwa in 1960 with the 603 caliber in 17, 20 and 30j
versions. After the 603 caliber, Seikomatic then became the general brand for
most Seiko mid range automatic watches below the King Seiko and Grand Seiko and was
sold in many variants and with many different calibers until the mid/late 60s.

Selfdater
(Sub-brand) - 1960s date-only watches using a variety of movements And often used in
combination with other sub-brand names. For example, a 6206 Seikomatic Weekdater or a
couple 6218 Seikomatic Weekdaters.

SII

See Seiko Instruments Inc.

Skyliner

(Sub-brand) - A line of Manual watches made in various styles, from classic

dress watches to more edgy designs later on, offered during the 1960’s. The Skyliner sub-
brand was introduced in 1961 using the 402 caliber. This particular Skyliner is a no-
nonsense hand-windable dress watch without date. At the time, the Skyliner sub-brand was
positioned as a cheaper alternative to the Liner sub-brand, with Skyliners priced at around
¥6,000 and Liners at around ¥7,500, which was in the medium range of Seiko at the time.
The Liner sub-brand also had a broader range with both 21j and 23j calibers and 14K gold
cases. The 402 caliber is also a simplification and continuation of the Liner 3140 caliber
from 1960. The Skyliner brand was also used in the mid 60s on a few 62XX watches with a
quite modern design and in the late 60s on dress watches with the 61XX caliber.

Special

(Sub-brand) - A subset of several sub-brands, which was the pinnacle

of Seiko craftsmanship for that specific sub brand for the public during the 1960’s. There
are Grand Seiko SPECIAL, LordMatic Special, King Seiko Special, King Seiko VANAC Special,
Crown Special, & other "variants". In most cases, the movement in the "Special"
badged watch is a higher quality one than in the "regular" version of the watch. See articles
on movement. Quality levels & the caliber # code referenced in the FAQ for some info on
how this applies in the Grand Seiko & King Seiko lines.

Speedtimer 6138/6139

(Sub-brand) - Speed timer is a sub brand of Seiko’s automatic chronographs from the
1970's. Speedtimer branded watches where mechanically the same as their regular
counterparts, but had small stylistic differences that set them apart from the general
production of the same watch. They were built in far lesser numbers and offered in fewer
markets than their normally aspirated variants. As such Speedtimer are highly priced
amongst collectors. It is important to note that not all Seiko chronographs had a Speedtimer
variant. A note on Speedtimers....at one time it was determined that one of the variants. I
think it was the 6139's had the "b" movement with the extra jewels. Not true with the
6138's though. There is also the issue of whether or not Speedtimers were domestic [Japan]
only models.

Speedtimer 6139-7100 aka “White helmet”

The Seiko White Helmet 6139-7100 - part of the 6139 family, produced between 1969 and
1979 - is becoming a very collectable vintage watch. The white helmet, like its brother the
“Vader” is a special case, literally, this is what makes this watch collectable. But it is not its
shape alone, a true blue vintage white helmet (or stormtrooper) has deep radial grooves
around the case, that result in a matte finish. You can't really have it polished.. but you can
use it as a nail file. Seriously, and the grooves are just slightly less abrasive (you can do
your nails - well your girlfriend can). I know of no other watch that has this characteristic
and therefore, a good vintage stormtrooper is about the case first, before all other aspects
get adressed.
This watch uses the 6139B movement and measures 40X46 mm. It is a 17 jewels automatic
single register chronograph movement and has no seconds hand. The black chrono-seconds
hand came original, just like red and yellow. The hour/minute hands are very often redone
or replaced, because of the lumen I suspect. There is an ideal distribution of the black and
silver, which is quite intuitively discernible. They just seem wrong or right. I won't bother
here to calculate the distribution.
The seconds hands on the subdial, it is quite different than the Seiko Pogue for instance in
that the hand overlaps the markings. Also the subdial should neatly touch 7 of the minute
markings on the main dial. There are endless details to be discussed on the dial, if you are
looking to buy, so flesh out any details of the norm that you can.
Covering the dial should be mineral glass, called Hardlex, around the dial should be an inner
white chapter ring with tachymeter indices. The pushers are not adorned in any way,
straight pokers them. It's a column wheel chrono and they do tend to clunk in a little - the
spring pressure needed for operation is quite high - as with the other 6139 chronos like
the Seiko Pogue.
Now about bracelets, there seems to be one variation to the fishbone. This I also have read
as being original, it is depicted below, the large flat Stelux (Steel Lux). To me it looks better
than the fishbone style.

Speedtimer 6139-6002 aka “Pogue”

The 1960s saw many in the watch industry looking to capitalise on an increased demand for
automatic watches. In 1969, Seiko delivered by introducing what was arguably the world’s
first automatic chronograph, the Seiko 6139. This article focuses on its earliest incarnations,
the 6139-600X. A watch often called the “Speed-Timer”. Seiko printed the term “Speed-
Timer” on many of its early chronographs destined for the Japanese market, indicating the
more advanced features, such as a thirty-minute chronograph recorder, a day and date
indicator, and a tachymeter scale. Production of the 6139 line up ended sometime in 1978,
but are still readily available today. The 6139-600X series are quickly becoming very
collectable pieces thanks to a combination of great design and a storied history. The 600X
has two big claims to fame, as both a contender for the world’s first automatic chronograph
to achieve serial production and as the first chronograph worn in space.
This honor used to be bestowed upon Sinn 140 worn by a German astronaut named
Reinhard Furrer during the Spacelab D1 mission in 1985. It was only in 2007 that it was
established that Col. Pogue wore a 6139-6002 during the NASA Skylab 4 mission which took
place in 1973. The official watch to be used for the Skylab 4 Mission was the Omega
Speedmaster Professional, but it was only issued shortly before the actual launch. Needing
a watch to use during his pre-flight training, Col. Pogue bought a 6139-6002 from PX at
Ellington AFB Exchange. He utilized it to time engine burns during the course of his training,
which lasted for more than six months. Due to his familiarity with the 6002, Col. Pogue
launched into space on Nov. 16, 1973 with the piece tucked in his suit leg pocket. For the
length of the mission, he wore it on his left arm alongside the NASA certified Omega
Speedmaster on his other arm.
Since this fact was discovered, the yellow dial with the yellow indicator ring variation of the
6002 has been commonly termed as a “Pogue”.

Spirit

(Product Line) –

Spoon

(Brand) –

Sportsman

(Sub-brand) - The Sportsman, introduced in 1960, was Seiko's budget handwindable line,
with 7, 15 and 17j versions. It remained in Seikos lineup until the mid 60s with a number of
variations and with waterproof and calendar functions. It was also marketed in conjunction
with Seahorse and Dolphin branding. The Sportsman was priced at JPY 3,200 and upwards.

Sportsmatic

(Sub-brand) - The Sportsmatic auto was introduced in 1961 by Suwa as a cheaper and
more sporty alternative to the Seikomatic. As with the Seikomatic, the Sportsmatic was
produced during most of the 60s in many variants and with different calibers including diver
models, Sportsmatic 5, Sportsmatic Deluxe and Sportsmatic 820 calendar.

Sportura

(Sub-brand) - Seiko's introduction of their midrange sports quartz watches also for the
international market. Bold styling reflecting a new generation of Seiko watches for those in
their thirties was probably the design philosophy. First appeared in 2003 in a variety of
movementsH023 (analog digital world timer), 9T82 (Kinetic 1/10sec chrono), 5J32 (Kinetic
Auto Relay), 8F56 (GMT Perpetual Calendar) and 7T62 (alarm-chrono). In 2004 the 7L22
Kinetic chrono was introduced with the Tonneau cased, SNL015P. Latest additions included
the new retrograde chrono (7T82) and H024 analog digital (non-world timer). The most
expensive of the Sportura models is the SLQ-series, 9T82 which is hand assembled in
Japan. The SLQ is not a Japan domestic market model, however.

Spring Drive

(Product Line) - A unique family of hybrid mechanical watch calibers that eliminates the
traditional balance wheel/escapement regulating system in favor of a "Tri-synchro
Regulator." The power from the main-spring spring is used to drive a microgenerator which
generates electricity for powering an ultra-low consumption quartz crystal oscillator, which
in turn is used to regulate (with quartz accuracy) the speed of the glide wheels via a
magnetic break, to exactly 8 beats per second. Until recently, Spring Drive was sold
regularly in Japan within the Grand Seiko and Credor lines. In recent years, Seiko has
expanded the use of Spring drive calibers to high end Seiko branded products specifically
designed for international markets.
Super

(Sub-brand) - Seiko's top watch line of the early 1950’s. The Super sub-brand was
introduced in 1950 and was the highest selling watch in Japan until the introduction of the
Marvel sub-brand in 1956. The Super was made in 8j, 9j, 10j, 11j, 15j and 17j hand-wind
versions and also with day and date functions such as the “Auto Dater” and the “Week
Dater”. In 1954, a Super would have set you back ¥3,850.

SS

(Sub-brand) based on input from other collectors, it is believed that the sub brand is an
acronym for "Second Setting" (as in hacking or the ability to stop the second hand when
pulling the crown - something that a lot of seiko calibers did not do at the time). It appears
that the sub brand was used exclusively on watches powered by 6106 calibers, especially in
conjunction with "Actus" and "5 Actus" branded models (which exist in both SS 6106 and
non-SS 6106 versions). The Seiko Crown Caliber 560 also used the Second Setting sub
brand, though these models are rarer.

SUS

(Sub-brand) - The term SUS is an acronym coined by Seiko meaning "Simple + U(and)
+ Strong" (not to be confused with the R-SUS line metioned above). The SUS range is a
Japan Market lineup targeted at the younger buyers. The lineup is defined by relatively
simple analog dial designs, sparse lume and clean lines, and smallish dimensions - about
40mm diameter or so, at the most.

Timesonar

(Sub-brand) - badging on certain mechanical chronographs (7015 & 7018) and other
regular watches (eg. some caliber 2205 powered models) indicating a transparent crystal
caseback and in SOME cases a translucent dial.

Tsunami wave logo

(Special Badge) - Like the sealion, angel fish and others, this is not really a sub brand
name, but rather a caseback logo used to denote specific attributes. It is used to denote
a watch that is intended to get wet and has shown up on various
waterproof/diver watches from the old Silverwave (seen on a model J12082) thru the Pro &
other divers of today. The tsunami logo comes in several different forms, with small one and
two wave cartoonish looking ones to the realistically rendered full wave. A good rule of
thumb is that the bigger the type of wave rendered the greater the watches water
resistance and performance attributes (Diver’s watches all come with the full tsunami
caseback logo).

Tuna

See Diver 4 – Professional 600m

Turtle
See Diver 1 – automatic 150m
Vanac

(Sub-brand) - Funky styled KS watches of the 70s.

The Vanac is an high grade (vintage) King Seiko watch – make no mistake (made by both
the Suwa and the Daini branch of Seiko). The vanac was manufactured only between 1972
and 1974 in a number of variations, but all had colorful dials, facetted crystals and angular
cases. Both Seiko plants contributed, Suwa with the standard KS 5626 caliber and Daini
with the 5246 and 5256 calibers that exist in some normal KS but are most common as
Vanacs. A Vanac is basically/exceptionally a KS with added extras, faceted glass, gold bezel,
high quality bracelet (no folded metal links here).
King Seiko was second to the GS as the most top of the line Seiko during the 1960’s and
70’s. That, I am happy to state, is very apparent as I noticed that after 42 years of service
my Vanac just runs as new to specifications: -6 to +6 secs/day! I am very impressed by
this watch.
Some of the models (not this one) feature an unique external adjusting screw so that the
movement can be adjusted with out removing the movement from the case. Later versions
of the KS were also in the Vanac line. There is no official explanation as to why they are
called Vanac.

VFA (Very Fine Adjusted)

(Special Badge) - A subset of the Grand Seiko line just above the Special variants. For
example:
6146 - GS 36k bph w/ day&date, automatic
6156 - SPECIAL version of above (better specs than 6146)
6186 - VFA version of 6146 with better specs than 6156 and accuracy
"guarantee" [see the famous KSeiya GS History article on the web]
Also, the 6159 Pro diver (300M & 600M) fits into this family. The 6159 is
essentially a GS Special 6155 movement adapted for the diver & not given
the special "hand finishing" of the GS Special

Vivace

(Brand) - International market ladies' collection.

Weekdater

(Sub-Brand) - 1960s day/date watches using a variety of movements and often used in
combination with other sub-brand names.

Wired

(Brand) –

Wired XYZ

(Sub-brand) - Wired XYZ is a sub-brand that has been used for a number of issues
of watches in the Wired series. The first Wired XYZ watches were made in 2004. They are
usually limited edition watches produced in collaboration with Japanese designers or
designer brands such as Head Porter and BoA.

World Time or World Timer

(Special Badge) - basically the same as a Navigator Timer with the main difference being
that the hour markers on the GMT bezel where replced with the names of major cities
located in the corresponding hour markers. They tended to be (though not exclusively so) a
bit more luxury oriented than Navigator Timers. I'm not sure if these came only in vintage
automatics or if the brand has survived into quartz or other types of movements. Seiko has
for sure continued to use the concept both in modern quartz, automatic and spring drive (?)
powered watches.
Keep in mind that the list is far from complete and what is there might not be 100%
accurate. Please feel free to read through it and post any corrections, additional info,
missing descriptions, and/or add any sub-brands that might have been missed.