Fascinated by Seiko Divers watches? Here is a guide to five of the most desirable timepieces from the Japanese brand from Montres Publiques.
Top 5 Vintage Seiko Divers
Seiko ‘62MAS’ 150M Automatic Diver 6217-8001 (1965)
Back in 1965, Seiko released their first dive watch, which also was the first dive watch to come out of the country of Japan. This was the self-winding 150-meter dive watch, also known as the ‘62MAS’. This proved to be a reliable timepiece after it went on the 8th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition. It was also seen as an extremely important timepiece as it was the first professional dive watch by Seiko, it was powered by the Seiko 6217 movement.
The 300-meter Seiko diver, the Hi-Beat 6159-7001 (1968)
In 1968, Seiko released Japan’s first hi-beat diver with the Seiko Hi-Beat Professional 300M Diver 6159-7001. This watch had actually set the precedent for all the divers that would follow from Seiko. This was much different than the ‘62MAS’, which didn’t include all of the signature design features that we know and love today from Seiko. This included the updates on the design, overall water resistance, and movement. It is worth noting that this was now submersible up to 300 meters vs. 150 meters on their initial release and thus able to compete with Swiss watchmaking.
The Seiko 6159-7010 ‘Grandfather Tuna’ (1975)
In 1975, the Grandfather Tuna was released. It came equipped with a case that was shock resistant, corrosion proof, and airtight. Just on the exterior of the case, there were over 20 patents. As the story goes, a professional diver had complained that the stresses and strains on his watch when working at depths greater than 300 meters were devastating. This was Seiko’s answer, the worlds first titanium cased divers watch, and newly upgraded 600-meter water resistance.
Seiko Quartz Diver 7549-7009 ‘Golden Tuna’ (1978)
This was the first Seiko ‘Tuna’ to feature a quartz caliber, the Cal. 7549. And it came after the first Seiko Tuna, often referred to as the ‘Grandfather Tuna’, that used an automatic hi-beat Seiko Cal. 6159 – that is related to the Grand Seiko 61GS movements. The Seiko Golden Tuna 7549-7009 was first released in 1978, three years after the Seiko Grandfather Tuna, and produced until the mid-1980s. It is famous for being worn in the James Bond film, ‘for your eyes only’, released in 1981.
The Seiko Scubamaster Digital Cal. M726 (1990)
Fast forward to 1990, Seiko released the Scubamaster, the world’s first computerized diver’s watch. Seiko’s longstanding history with electronics and diving technologies allowed them to create this innovative piece. It came equipped with a water sensor and depth sensor, both extremely important pieces of information for divers, helping popularize the timepiece. One of the most recent and best examples of how Seiko stays one step ahead of its competition.
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