Friend of the blog; Taro Abarbanel-Uemura, shares with us the story behind his priceless vintage Seiko.

The world of vintage watches is a dark and vast place. Countless brands have back archives of models stretching as far as your computer mouse is willing to dig for it. None, arguably, more revered and obsessively inspected than Seiko. Our story today begins in 1965, when the aforementioned brand launched its first diving watch, the 62MAS, to much acclaim. Rated to 150M, and sporting a diver’s bezel, this became Japan’s answer to the Swiss Submariners of the world. Fast forward to 1969, whereby Seiko, building off of the success of the 62MAS, introduced a more accessible ‘diving inspired’ version of its more purposeful predecessor.

Seiko 7005 – 8050(2)

Nicknamed the “Poor Man’s 62MAS”, the Seiko 7005 series of watches sported a more square case design, a simplified bezel (sans the one-minute hash increments), but retained the dial design and hands of the original. A big differentiator was the water resistance, as the 7005 now came with a reduced water resistance to 70m, vs 150m. Therefore, this new iteration actually straddled the line between tool watch and dress watch.

Taro’s specific example (pictured in this post) has the reference number 7005-8052, which makes it the first iteration of this series, debuting in 1969. Subsequent versions were released all the way until the end of this line’s production in 1977. The (2) in the reference number denotes that this specific watch was created for the Australian market, but Taro confirmed that it was purchased new in Canada. What a journey this little beauty must have gone on to end up on the other side of the world!

The watch itself is oozing with vintage charm, its inky black dial, worn bezel and faded lume plots give us the notion that this watch has stood the test of time. At 38mm in diameter, it also hits that sweet spot for vintage case size that most modern brands are hurriedly trying to market.

Connections to the past.

This watch is exceptionally special to Taro and his family, as the original owner was his wife Vickie’s late Father. Likely purchased as his first watch after being born in 1964, it then passed to Taro in 2013. Pictured below we can see the watch complete with its original bracelet, box and papers.

Taro is now the custodian of this vintage treasure, which has sparked an ongoing love affair with Seiko. He has added another watch that pairs with his 7005; a modern interpretation of the 62MAS, the SPB147J1. These two watches form a dyad in Taro’s watch collecting journey; a perfect blend of vintage and modern.

-Mister Wrist(er)