Seikomatic
Seikomatic 15031D
Seiko’s first wholly in-house automatic movement was the Gyro Marvel, developed in 1959 as an evolution of the Marvel/Laurel hand-wind movement. This was the first Seiko automatic to feature Seiko’s proprietary magic lever mechanism that enables bidirectional transmission of power from the rotation of the winding weight to the mainspring. The addition of the automatic winding module to the already quite tall Marvel (4.40 mm) resulted in a movement 6.55 mm thick. Seiko aimed to address this issue by developing a self-winding series of watches whose thickness was not much different from traditional hand-wind watches.
The result was the Seikomatic line of watches, fitted with the automatic Seikomatic 603 calibre, and variants thereof. In surveying their vital statistics, it is worth noting that at 4.80 mm height, the 603 automatic movement was only 0.4 mm thicker than the hand-wind Marvel/Laurel movement on which the Gyro Marvel was based. In keeping with its low-profile dimensions, not only was the 603 not fitted with any hand-winding facility but the intention was for the crown to be tucked away at the 4 o’clock position and integrated into the lines of the case.
The 20 jewel Seikomatic 603 was released in 1960 with 17, 21 and 30 jewel versions following. The 17, 20 and 21 jewel variants were rhodium plated, the more luxurious 30 jewel version, gold-plated.
For the full account of the restoration of this early 1963 30 jewel Seikomatic 603, please click here.
Seikomatic J13085 Self Dater
The hierarchy of early 1960’s Seikomatic movements follows a path from the base calendarless 17, 20 and 30 jewel 603 (see above) via the 24 jewel 394 self-dater (later becoming the 6205), the 33 jewel 400 weekdater movements (latterly in slightly downgraded form appearing as the 6206) to, at the top of the pile, the 39 jewel 395, veritably brimming with an embarrassment of riches in the jewelling department. In totting up the jewels, it can be a bit of a challenge to figure out where all 39 of those jewels are hiding: even allowing for the gratuitous use of nine dummy jewels sitting beneath the calendar wheel, we find ourselves topping out at 33. However, close scrutiny of an original example will reveal 6 spherical rubies serving as the bearings of the autowinder mechanism. Subtracting 15 (9 + 6) from the total, yields 24 functional jewels, the same jewel count as the ordinary 6205.
This watch was also important in that it represented a considerable advance in terms of its resistance to water ingress. The Water 50 Proof on the dial indicates that it is water proof to 50m, a quality that is further celebrated in the embossed dolphin on the case back.
For the full account of the restoration of this 1963 example, please click here.
Seikomatic SilverWave J12082
The first waterproof automatic Seiko watches appeared in 1961 as part of the Seikomatic line. Those earliest Seikomatic Water Proof 30 watches bore the now iconic dolphin symbol on their press-fit case backs, there to guarantee their ability to withstand water pressure to a depth of 30 m (see below). With the introduction of screw-fit case backs in the 395 described above, and in the SilverWave, the water resistance increased to 50m, and wearers could feel relaxed about using these watches for recreational activities involving exposure to water. The Seikomatic SilverWaves were fitted with the same 20 jewel Seikomatic 603 calibre as used in the original Seikomatic described above.
The SilverWave sub-sub-brand makes a rather more obviously overt reference to its intended use as a recreational diver’s watch and indeed the presence of an internal rotatable diver’s bezel provides further testament to that.
For the full account of the restoration of this 1963 example, please click here.
Seikomatic 6206-8990
The diversification in the Seikomatic model range saw a proliferation in different levels of complication, dial layout and movement specifications. By 1964, the familiar Seikomatic calibre, based on the 603, had adopted the four-digit Seiko standard and become the 6201, with subsequent variations being distinguished by the third and fourth digits in the four-digit naming convention. Just as the original Seikomatic 603 calibre became the 6201, so the Seikomatic Selfdater of 1962 fitted with the 24 jewel 394, became the 6205. That in turn spawned the luxurious 39 jewel 395 Self Dater 50 Proof of 1963 (see above).
From 1963 through 1967, Seiko released a number of Seikomatic Self Daters and Weekdaters, the latter of which used the 400/6206 movement. The Seikomatic 6206 family, as well as higher-tier Weekdater variants, typically adopted a calendar layout in which the day window sits isolated from the date, mid-way between the centre of the dial and the six-marker. All of the Self Dater and Weekdater watches used a quickset mechanism for correcting the date and in the case of the Weekdaters, a semi-quickset mechanism for day correction.
For the full account of the restoration of this 1964 example, please click here.
Seikomatic 6218-8971
The next step up from the Seikomatic 6206 Weekdaters was occupied by the 35 jewel 6218 watches whose enhanced specification extended beyond a cynical inflation of the jewel count accomplished by the liberal addition of redundant dummy jewels in the calendar mechanism. These watches sported fine regulation control of the balance, a stop-seconds hacking facility and enhanced water resistance: where the earlier 6206 watches employed press-fit case backs, the 6218 models used screwdown backs, with rather more extravagant embossing of the back face further elevating the sense of quality.
By 1965, the branding of these watches had switched from the singular Seikomatic at the top of the dial to a dual branding with an applied Seiko logo at the top and a printed Seikomatic logo in its iconic italic script sitting below the dial centre.
For a comparison in the restorations of 1965 steel and gold-cap versions of the Seikomatic 6218-8971, please click here.
Seiko Weekdater Sea Lion M55
When is a Seikomatic not a Seikomatic? When it’s Sea Lion. Throughout the 1960’s Seiko used a number of case back designs to brand the water proof credentials of their water proof watches, including Sea Horses, SilverWaves, Dolphins and Sea Lions. The logic of these various brandings is not always entirely clear and in particular what constitutes a Sea Lion is somewhat opaque. As a breed though, the Sea Lion branding appears to have been applied exclusively to water proof dressier watches, but with no obvious consistency of design language, other perhaps than for the tendency of those models featuring both day and date complications to place the day window on the left hand side of the dial just below the horizontal connecting the 3 with the 9 hour marker.
In all other respects, the Weekdater Sea Lion presents obviously as a member of the Seikomatic family, in spite of the absence of any such branding. The case for such an assertion lies in its use of the 26 jewel Seikomatic 6206 movement.
For the full account of the restoration of this 1966 example, please click here.
Seikomatic 6216-9000
The Sea Lion Weekdater described above arguably sits at the bottom of the Seikomatic heirarchy with the classic Seikomatic 6206 Weekdater sitting a rung further up the pecking order. The power of Veblen-inspired value enhancement starts to kick in as we graduate from the Seikomatic 6206 to the 35 jewel Seikomatic 6218, a watch with a degree more star quality, deriving from its slightly greater heft, screw down case back and movement enhancements such as finer regulation control and its stop seconds function.
A hop and a skip further up the food chain lies the Seikomatic 6216-9000, a watch every bit as glamorous as the all but identical Grand Seiko 6246-9000. The principal improvements of the 6216 over the 6218 are a slightly elevated rate (19800 bph plays 18000 bph); rack and pinion fine adjustment regulation to the balance (although later versions of the 6218 used the same) and, importantly, jeweled barrel arbor holes in the main plate.
In 1966 the Seikomatic 6216-9000 cost 23,000 Yen yet the Grand Seiko 6246-9000, which in large part is the same watch, would have set you back a whopping 38,000 Yen.
For the full account of the restoration of this 1966 example, please click here.
Seikomatic-R 8305-8030
The Seikomatic Slim was released in August 1963 and marketed for its slender profile. At 28.6 mm diameter, the 830 calibre was a little wider than the 603 fitted to the first Seikomatic released a few years earlier, but at 3.8 mm thick it was a full 1 mm thinner than the 603. This allowed for a notably shallower case back and consequently for a watch that sat lower on the wrist. This lack of height was achieved by incorporating the autowinding mechanism into the main architecture of the movement, concealed beneath its own bridge at the same level as the train wheels. A date complication was introduced in June 1965 in the 840/8305B, resulting in an increase in height of 1mm but still 1 mm thinner than the equivalent dated 62 series movements. The C variant of the 8305 followed a few months later, now featuring a hand winding facility. All variations of this movement were highly jeweled, every one of which serving a purpose.
The watches fitted with the 83-series movements were for the most part branded as Seikomatic-R but some bore the Business-A branding. Case designs included both single-piece top-loaders, such as the example featured here, as well as more conventionally contructed cases employing screw-down case backs.
An account of the restoration of this 1966 example of the Seikomatic-R 8305-8030 can be found here.
Seiko Business-A 8346-9000
Early on in the life-cycle of the 83-series base movement, it was celebrated mainly for its slim profile but it didn’t really hit its stride until 1966 with the release of the 8305C variant by which point it had acquired a hand-winding facility in addition to its quickset date complication. At its zenith it would only have two more years to run before being snuffed out in favour of the 56- and 61-series movements that dominated Seiko’s automatic mechanical movement output from the late 60’s through to the mid-1970’s.
Somewhat confusingly, Seiko chose to market some of the same models as both Seikomatic-R’s and Business-A’s, the latter targeting the youth business market. The 8346A differs from the 8306C in having 3 fewer jewels, a difference that may originally have been driven by marketing logic rather than cost considerations, perhaps to more closely align the 27 jewel Business-A models with the parallel 26 jewel 6206-powered Business models.
An account of the restoration of this 1967 example of the Business-A 8346-9000 can be found here.
Seikomatic-P 5106-8010
The fierce competition that existed between the Suwa division in Nagano and the Daini division in Tokyo had already inspired the emergence of the King Seiko as the in-house response to the Suwa-produced Grand Seiko and in a parallel sense, so too the Seikomatic-P was born as a successor/competitor to the business-oriented Seikomatic-R.
The Seikomatic-P series all featured the 33 jewel day-date 5106A caliber, a relatively slim-line but also smaller diameter movement than those fitted to the earlier Seikomatic watches. Small it may be, but in terms of features and engineering smarts, it packed a very considerable punch. There is a great deal to like about this movement, not least that like the 8305 fitted to the Seikomatic-R, the considerable jewel count correctly reflects the functional jeweling of the movement: there are no empty marketing promises made in its 33 jewel headline figure. What else does it offer? Well, it has a hacking seconds feature; its automatic winding mechanism is integrated at the train wheel level rather than featuring as a separate module; it has an integrated manual wind feature; a day/date calendar complication with instant changeover mechanism of both day and date; and its party trick? A quick-set date function operated by depressing a button in the centre of the crown.
An account of the restoration of this late 1967 example of the Seikomatic-P can be found here.