1966 Seiko Sportsmatic 5 418970 Gold Plated Box & Papers
Ref: 418970

Points of Mention

This watch is sold with its original Seiko box and paperwork. The watch comes paired with a very nice 18mm leather strap. The watch is from July 1966 and is sold in worn, vintage condition as you can see from the photos. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.

The Watch

Here we have a 1966 Seiko Sportsmatic 5 418970 with a 36.5mm Gold Plated case, the tapered lugs have a lug-to-lug length of 43mm and a case thickness of 12mm ensuring a comfortable fit on your wrist. At 4 o’clock is a recessed crown, and the stepped smooth bezel holds a raised bevel-edged flat crystal. The sunburst silver dial has an outer minute chapter ring, applied gold-plated baton indexes have chamfered edges that catch the light perfectly as you rotate your wrist. At 3 o’clock a framed day-date window, elegant Gold Plated Dauphine hands complemented by a tapered sweeping centre second hand creates a well-balanced dial. On the reverse, a screw-down case back, inside we have an Automatic Seikosha Seikomatic Cal. 410, 21 jewels. This movement was designed by Tsuneya Nakamura and his team of designers at Suwa Seikosha. The watch comes fitted on an 18mm leather strap and comes with its Seiko presentation box and paperwork.

Personal Note

Find me another Seiko from 1966 that has its box and paperwork like this one, truly amazing and incredible to find one complete like this. It even features the original paper explaining how to do the semi-quick date/day change, something we think collectors found out but in reality, Seiko had been explaining how to do it since the very start. This is a true collector's piece, so if this is your kind of watch, don't wait!

The Brand

Seikos history began in 1881 when Kintaro Hattori established the K. Hattori retail and repair store. In 1892 Seikosha was established to make wall clocks. 1895 saw the production of their first pocket watch. 1913 saw the launch of their first wristwatch, the Laurel. In 1924 the first Seiko was manufactured. Daini Seikosha (now Seiko Instruments Inc.) was established in 1937. Seiko was listed on the Tokyo stock exchange in 1949. The Suwa factory became independent and formed Suwa Seikosha Co. Ltd. (now Seiko Epson Corporation in 1959). Designed by Ren Tanaka, this line of watches was to appeal to young students who wanted an affordable timepiece that was built to withstand their active lives. The first Sportsmatic 5 was released in September of 1963.

Seiko 5 is the longest continuously running series in the Seiko family. The 5 stands for the watch's 5 principal attributes :

1. Diaflex (unbreakable mainspring)

1. Diashock (Seiko's shock-resistant design, equivalent to the Swiss "Incabloc"),

1. Automatic winding,

1. Day/date indication,

1. Water-resistant.