And yet another 62mas is featured today, but not any old 62mas – this is a rather special one. I picked up the watch a while ago and it has been sitting in the project drawer for some time now whilst I a) decided what to do with it, and b) actually arranged my schedule so I could get on with it. As you can see the watch wasn’t in too bad a condition when it arrived, it was minus an insert but complete. A yobokies insert was purchased and that was fitted before this shot was taken.
Diver
Seiko 6217-8001
Another 6217-8001 is featured today, I can’t resist them! This example was purchased new in 1966 by the current owners father who was then a seafaring man and a bit of a character by all accounts.
Seiko 6306 Scubapro 450
The Scubapro 450 is based on Seikos 6306-7001 model, and were produced in the late 1970’s as part of a marketing contract in conjunction with the Scuba-pro dive equipment company. The model it’s based on is a Japanese domestic market watch produced alongside the very similar 6309-7040. The difference between the calibre 6306 and 6309 is the 6306 has a kanji day wheel, has four extra jewels, it has a hacking mechanism and has different machining around the crown making the opening slightly larger. The difference between the Scubapro 450 and a stock 6306 is just the printing on the dial. The most obvious difference is the “Scubapro 450” script situated above the “Water 150 Resist” on the dial, but a harder to see change is the dial code went from 700L T to 700J T. It’s generally accepted that the Scubapro versions were produced between 1978 and 1979 but to muddy the waters examples have surfaced with caseback dates of 1976, 77, and 83. Were these actually produced in those years or have the casebacks been changed? The 1983 example is doubly strange because that one post dates 6306’s end of production date of 1981! As ever with vintage Seiko nothing is clear cut – part of the appeal maybe? The example featured below is in outstanding condition and belongs to a very knowledgeable UK collector. It came in for a full movement service so I seized the chance to document it!
Seiko 6105-8110
Every now and then I get a watch in that seems to fight me at every turn, and this particular 6105 is one of those watches! It arrived looking a little worse for wear, the lume was starting to degrade on the dial and the handset was well advanced with the rot. It had an aftermarket insert fitted but didn’t actually look to bad at first sight.
Seiko 6217-8001
Regular readers will know the 62 series calibres are my favourite vintage Seiko movements, you’ll also know the 62mas is my favourite vintage Seiko divers watch. Another one has been across the bench today so here’s a peek at what I had to contend with. The watch arrived to me after having a relume so the hands are in the little container. As you can see it’s a little scruffy with its scratched crystal but it has the basis of a good honest watch.
Tag Heuer 1000
This Tag Heuer 1000 diver ref 980.013B came in for a service and a new dial foot recently. Powered by the ETA 955.114 quartz movement it’s a handsome looking watch.
Seiko 6309-7040
Not a lot more can be said about Seikos 6309-7040 to be honest! There’s a wealth of information out there but a quick history of the watch is that it was the replacement for the previous asymmetric 6105-8110 diver, and the key changes were the turtle type case design with a proper screw down crown, a fully printed dial that did away with the framed lume wells and a completely redesigned automatic, 17 jewel, 21,600bph non hacking movement. There’s a famous image of Mick Jagger wearing his in the seventies so he’s obviously a man of good taste ,not withstanding the fact he has supermodel Jerry Hall on his arm!
Seiko 7548-7000
The 7548-7000 was Seikos first attempt at a quartz powered dive watch and was adapted from the 6309 platform. As such it’s a tremendously over engineered movement and consequently one of my favourite quartz movements. The 7548-7000 was destined for the Japanese domestic market and sports an English/Kanji day wheel. Supergroup Queens lead guitarist Brian May has famously worn a similar 7548-7010 for many years, a very similar model apart from a screw down crystal retaining ring instead of a press fit one.
Seiko MM300
Seikos Marinemaster Automatic Professional 300 SBDX001 is the grandchild of the original 300m professional Seiko diver, the 6159-7001 that debuted in 1968, and it’s looks are strikingly similar to it’s historic ancestor. You can see the MM300 that’s the subject of this post next to my 6159-7001 below.
Seiko 6217-8001
I’ve previously featured a 62mas where I said it’s one of my favourite vintage Japanese dive watches, so there’s no apologies for featuring another. This example came in for a movement service and was in pretty good shape considering the age. The hands are missing because it came to me via James Hyman who’d already relumed the dial and handset, there’s no point putting the hands back on if they’re coming straight off again!
The Watch Bloke 