Results for Seiko

The New King Seiko Vanac Is Making the Grand Seiko Comparison Harder to Ignore

The new King Seiko Vanac HKF005 pairs a dark, Tokyo-inspired dial with Seiko’s Grand Seiko-derived 8L45 automatic movement.

Seiko Revisits the Affordable SNZH Again With a Much Dressier Take

Seiko expands its 5 Sports lineup with the HDB004 and HDB005, bringing fresh silver and green takes to the familiar SNZH-inspired design.

Gray Ceramic Debuts On Two New Seiko Astron GPS Solar Dual Time Chronographs

For the first time in the Astron collection, Seiko introduces gray ceramic. The shiny non-alloy appears on the bezel, crown cap, and bracelet center links of two new Seiko Astron GPS Solar Dual Time Chronograph watches. While these models share the ceramic parts, they have differently colored titanium components. The HAB007 is the full-gray version, […] Visit Gray Ceramic Debuts On Two New Seiko Astron GPS Solar Dual Time Chronographs to read the full article.

Six From Seiko: A Roundup of Amazing Chronographs From the Depths of (Relative) Obscurity

Vintage Seiko, as most collectors know, is a rich tapestry. Once you learn the story of Colonel William Pogue, or try to track down the funky bracelet that Bruce Lee paired with his own Speed-Timer, the wormholes naturally open themselves, each with their own dizzying amounts of reference numbers, specific models, and fun nicknames for the mind to notice and then squirrel away for later.  But what about the ones you might have overlooked? Midcentury Seiko chronographs are a riot of design variations, bold patterns, and contrasting color schemes—and all backed by genuine innovation in the guise of the first automatic chronograph, flyback movements with stacked register hands, collaborations with luminary designers, and freakish dabbles with postmodernism. It’s what makes them so much fun to pay attention to.  Hence, these six Seiko chronographs that play with the form, proving that even across the decades there are still surprises to rediscover. Not just familiar references, but obscure offshoots.  Seiko 6138-8000 “Baby Panda” Seiko’s dual-register chronograph debuted shortly after the 6139, which we all know as the world’s first automatic chronograph. And while both watches represent futuristic seventies design, the slimmer 6139 takes a backseat to this lineup’s exaggeratedly bulky cases and clashing, patterned color schemes that have garnered nicknames like “UFO,” “Kakume” (“square eyes”), and “John Player Special” (a nickname popularized ...

King Seiko Vanac HKF005: The Tokyo Skyline on Your Wrist

A blacked-out dial that does a lot more than look cool at first glance - the King Seiko Vanac HKF005 brings some serious nocturnal atmosphere to an already sharp 1970s-inspired case.

The King Seiko Vanac HKF005 Brings The Toyko Skyline To Your Wrist

Seiko has slowly but consistently expanded its King Seiko collection. For its newest release, the brand introduces a Vanac with a black dial. It sounds pretty simple — almost too simple. But there is a little more to the story. The black dial of the King Seiko Vanac HKF005 mimics the Tokyo skyline at night. […] Visit The King Seiko Vanac HKF005 Brings The Toyko Skyline To Your Wrist to read the full article.

First Look - The new HKF005, a King Seiko Vanac with a Dial Inspired by Tokyo by Night

Released last year, the King Seiko Vanac came as a surprise from the Japanese manufacturer. Contrary to most previous King Seiko watches, inspired by the early days of the sub-brand, the Vanac was based on an edgy King Seiko reference from the 1970s and powered by a Grand Seiko-derived, high-end automatic movement. This sharp and […]

Building a Complete Collection with Grand Seiko

Today we have Danny in store with Teddy to compete in another challenge. This time, the objective is to create a complete collection using only one brand: Grand Seiko. We have our usual panel of judges but we also want to know what you think. Watch the video and let us know in the comments who you think made the better

The People Have Spoken: Seiko’s Crowd Favourite 62MAS

Last year Seiko let fans vote on which of four vibrant dial colours would adorn an upcoming diver, and the people made the right choice, picking this vibrant Daytime Blue for the Prospex 1965 Heritage Diver Fan-Selected HBC011. While a bit late to hit the beach, the latest 62MAS homage maintains all that was already good about Seiko divers, namely looks and tenacity, with key upgrades to the bracelet, for a reasonable price. Initial Thoughts Last year marked 6o years of Seiko diver’s watches, which can be traced back to the original 62MAS (refs. 6217-8000 and -8001) launched in 1965. Seiko let the many fans of its diver’s watches decide how to celebrate, giving collectors a choice of four colourways: Sunrise Orange; Daytime Blue; Late Afternoon Green; and Sunset Red. The online poll was open for the entire month of July, which was long enough for me “to get around to later” but short enough that it had already closed by the time I remembered to vote. Unsurprisingly, the trendiest colour, and the one I would have voted for, Daytime Blue, won. From left to right: Sunrise Orange; Daytime Blue; Late Afternoon Green; and Sunset Red. Seiko has disclosed no plans to bring the other three colourways to market at this time. The vibrant blue and stamped dial make the HBC011 stand out from the pack of 62MAS-inspired models, though it changes the character of the watch so entirely that this bubbly beach watch doesn’t feel like a 62MAS at all. Which is a good thing, as the mo...

Why A Seiko 5 Is The Perfect Holiday Watch

The plan was simple: load the Subaru Forester, fold out the rooftop tent, and disappear for two nights at Frazer Beach, a small campground tucked inside Munmorah State Conservation Area on the New South Wales Central Coast, north of Sydney. The watch decision took considerably less thought than the packing list. A black-dial Seiko 5 […] Visit Why A Seiko 5 Is The Perfect Holiday Watch to read the full article.

Seiko Expands The Speedtimer Collection With Four New References

The Seiko Speedtimer has relatively quickly grown into a full collection of watches inspired by Seiko’s first automatic chronographs from the late ’60s and early ’70s. What began as a line of chronographs in 2021 has expanded into a broader collection of sports watches. Last year, Seiko introduced a series of three-handers that took the […] Visit Seiko Expands The Speedtimer Collection With Four New References to read the full article.

First Look - Seiko Adds 4 new References to its Prospex Speedtimer Mechanical Collection

A name with historical importance at Seiko, the Speedtimer refers to early wrist chronographs created by the brand back in 1969. Alongside Zenith and the Heuer/Hamilton/Breiling venture, Seiko was among the first three brands to launch an automatic chronograph movement with its calibre 6139 inside a watch named the Speedtimer. In recent years, this name […]

The Other Seiko 6105 “Willard” Story

Most people who know the Seiko 6105 know it as the “Captain Willard,” nicknamed for the character Martin Sheen played in Apocalypse Now. That well-told story is worth telling indeed. But there is a second story featuring the same watch, and it has nothing to do with Hollywood. It belongs to a Hawaiian lifeguard and […] Visit The Other Seiko 6105 “Willard” Story to read the full article.

I Had 10 Minutes to Find a Seiko in Japan - Here’s What I Bought

I had 10 minutes to buy a Seiko in Japan and walked out with a JDM Seiko 5 Sports SBSA309. Here’s why the rushed purchase worked out so well.

Power To The People: The Fan-Selected Seiko Prospex 1965 Heritage Diver

Seiko has added something unusual to its Prospex collection — a watch with a design chosen by the brand’s fan community. The new 1965 Heritage Diver’s Watch Fan-Selected Limited Edition HBC011 takes the modern interpretation of Seiko’s first diver and gives it a vibrant blue treatment, following a global fan vote held last year. Limited […] Visit Power To The People: The Fan-Selected Seiko Prospex 1965 Heritage Diver to read the full article.

eBay Finds: Great Vintage Watches from Seiko, Hamilton, Zodiac, and More!

eBay Finds is back! This bi-weekly installment will feature a selection of watches currently listed on eBay that have caught the eye of editor Christoph McNeil (@vintagediver). If you come across any hidden gems on the ‘Bay drop us a note at info@wornandwound.com for potential inclusion. Vintage CompuChron LED You gotta love a good vintage LED, especially when it comes with the box and papers! This example is a nice, chunky CompuChron in stainless steel. The space-age steel case is excellent with sharp edges and original mix of brushed and polished finishes. The LED screen looks nice and clear, and the printed CompuChron logo is crisp. The watch comes on the correct and original integrated steel bracelet with a signed buckle. Best of all it comes with the original box and instruction manual, which is always handy. The watch runs and all the LED segments light up. Really fun piece that’s in amazing condition.  View auction here Vintage Seiko Seikomatic  Here is a sweet vintage Seiko Seikomatic from 1966. Seller doesn’t state, but this should be a 38mm case size. The case looks unpolished with sharp edges on the cool, angular lugs. The classic Seiko silver dial is clean, with nice clear writing and applied steel baton markers. Steel dauphine hands and an unusual date at 3 o’clock with day at 6 o’clock complete the look. The small crown is recessed at 4 o’clock. The serial number on the caseback dates this one to January 1966. The automatic movement is clean and...

Introducing: Seiko Prospex 1965 Heritage Diver's Watch HBC011

What We Know Seiko has launched a new version of their popular vintage-inspired 1965 Heritage Diver, with a dial and color palette chosen by you. Okay, well, maybe not you directly, but through a fan-selection process that Seiko launched last year to mark the 60th anniversary of the original 62MAS diver. Seiko fans were presented with four variants of a watch that would eventually reach production, each inspired by a different tone and color the ocean can take on over the course of a day. In the end, the winner of last summer's campaign was this "Daytime Blue" color, which evokes the clear blue waters you'll find in tropical locales where the water is clear and the sun is shining. Other options included a bright yellow, deep green, and orange-y red. It's not wholly surprising that the blue dial would have won in a public ballot, but each is compelling, and I'll be curious to see whether Seiko, having developed and shown off the full range, ever chooses to release any of the other colors. The watch itself is a familiar one. The HBC011 shares a spec sheet with the enthusiast-favorite (and James') favorite SPB lineup of dive watches, specifically with the '20MAS' generation released in 2024, which brought with it a host of quality-of-life improvements, including a refined case and new movement. That case, which Seiko claims to be 40mm wide, 13mm thick, and 46.6mm lug-to-lug (and which James measured at 40.2mm wide, 13.4mm thick, and 46.6mm lug-to-lug in his Hands-On), is agai...

Shohei Ohtani and Grand Seiko: A Natural Partnership

In Partnership - Masters Of The Deep

The new Seiko Prospex Marinemaster 1968 Heritage Diver

An Evening With King Seiko And The Seiko Summer Jazz Camp All Stars

Dizzy’s Club in Columbus Circle, an extension of Jazz at Lincoln Center, is one of New York City’s premier destinations for live jazz, with world-class acts performing directly in front of a panoramic view of the city skyline. In late July, I had the opportunity to experience one of these performances in person, along

Introducing - By Popular Choice… The new Seiko Prospex 1965 Heritage Diver “Fan-Selected” HBC011

Last year marked the 60th anniversary of the first-ever dive watch created by Seiko, the now-emblematic 62MAS model. Still a great source of inspiration for the brand, its clean and purposeful design has been modernised to be the basis for the creation of the contemporary yet retro-inspired Prospex 1965 Heritage Diver 300m. Last year, the […]

Recommended Reading: 'Universal People, Universal Dreams' Is A Timely, Heartfelt Telling Of One Man's Collecting Journey Into The Rarest Of The Rare

Last week I kicked off a mini-series where I'm finally taking some great books off my shelf and sharing them with the world. We covered a brand-backed "Grand Seiko" book by ERG Media, which set a great tone. This week we're looking at another brand-focused tome, the much more recently released "Universal People, Universal Dreams," which documents the hyper-focused collection of one man. But it's more than a book about Universal Genève. I first met the author and publisher, Luca Mignini, a few years ago, though I'm not exactly sure where. Maybe at an auction in Geneva? At some point, he just turned into a fixture in my vintage watch sphere, a person who could turn up anywhere there was a vintage watch. At the famed antique fair in Parma, Italy? Sure. Luca Mignini and Max Bernardini He had a prototype Universal Genève Space Compax/Polerouter Sub dive watch made for the U.S. Navy, which I shared in my photo report from the fair. On that same trip, he just randomly showed up as I was looking at Patek 1518 dials with Max Bernardini (Uncle Max, to his close friends) at his shop right across the street from "The Last Supper" in Milan. That later encounter makes sense, as Bernardini (and his team, including Mauricio Gimenez, who is named as "The Trusted Advisor" in the book) was instrumental in curating the collection. Mignini frequently travels between his home in Rome and Milan, where he serves as a professor at Bocconi University.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mignini and B...

Man Who Called $3,500 Seiko a “Cash Grab” Pre-Orders $18,300 Blancpain, Cites “Heritage”

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Two new Seiko Presage Classic Series watches - one Goldilocks size fans love

The new Seiko Presage Classic Series HCC002 & HC008 present attractive dials and versatile aesthetics at an attractive, approachable price.

Bring a Loupe: A Seiko Sportura, A Breitling Tabarly Racing Mate, A Hublot Classic Fusion Orlinski, And More

I know we're all here for watches, but there's been so much killer music released in the last bit that it feels foolish not to at least note that, should you require some new jams, recent albums from Twisted Teens and Phoebe Bridgers are plenty deserving of attention, and if you haven't checked out the available tracks from the new Alabama Shakes, hoo boy. I hope you're all well as the days tick along. Scorekeeping last week's picks: the Lemania RAF monopusher sold for 2,000 GBP, and I can't find what the Goodwill UG Clapton ultimately went for, but I saw it cleared $24,000. From the dealers, the Alpina-Gruen sold. The Cartier Shutter and RAN monopusher both remain available. Strays You really like watches and are also a sophisticated connoisseur, and you need a new table lighter—to ignite your guests' cigars; what sort of host would you be otherwise—because someone made off with your last one? Here's a nice sterling Alfred Dunhill for you which, yes, has a watch in it as well because, again, you're sophisticated. Had there not been another watch in the same auction that seemed more interesting, this Omega 2998-4 would obviously have had a full write-up, but I'm also not sure what I would've written other than look at that thing. If you're up for a trio of watches, this lot's got a Tourneau "Top Gun," a solid gold Charles Nicolet, and a fowl-related Helbros for the hunter in your life; and while this Audemars Freres has a rough dial, Audemars Freres watches are uncommo...