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Tony C.
··Ωf Jury memberVintage dive watch collectors have had Seiko on their radar for years now, and one of their Grails is the first generation, so-called 62MAS, from the early '60s. What I am offering today is the 1st gen. Orient diver, and it is also coveted by collectors who range beyond Seiko when looking at vintage watches from Japan.
This Calendar Auto Orient model, ref. 19755, was introduced in 1964, and immediately put Orient on the "serious" dive watch map. In contrast to Seiko, Orient chose to go "big" right out of the gate, as these watches are both large, and very substantial.
This particular example is in very good to excellent condition overall. I believe it to be fully original. The unpolished case measures 39.5mm excluding the signed crown, and features strong and distinctive chamfered lugs. Please note that I have a small wrist, so the wrist shot provided may be a bit misleading if you have medium to large wrists.
I don't typically elaborate on lugs, but in this instance, I think that it is worth doing so. I've owned a fair number of dive watches over the years (probably ~45), and consider the lug design on this Orient diver to be exceptional. I say that because while it is of course practical to have strong lugs on big, substantial divers, many companies employed designs that were aesthetically not far removed from those that were used on smaller, non-sports watches. Not that there is anything wrong with that, and most blend in well enough, but Orient's creative approach on this model strikes me, at least in some respects, as being superior to the others that I have owned. They are short and thick, which is, in a sense, what would make the most sense from an engineering standpoint. I'm not suggesting that longer, tapered lugs would be likely to literally fail, but rather that the form of these lugs implies greater strength. The analogy that comes to mind would be the contrast between the body of a typical human track athlete who competes at a mile or beyond, and that of a typical sprinter. The power that underpins explosive acceleration can usually be seen clearly in the bodies of sprinters.
What the designer did with these Orient lugs was more impressive than merely implying strength and security with their chunkiness. He added narrow chamfers to the outside of them, giving them a more refined appearance, and truncated them with downward sloping ends. Among other things, this has the effect of giving the watch a remarkably "weighty" appearance when it is sitting on a flat surface, almost as if it is somehow being pulled down into it. It also makes the watch more interesting to look at while wearing, as those big facets catch the light differently than the top and sides of the lugs.
I didn't focus on these details immediately, but after owning the watch for a few years, really came to appreciate the design.
The case back design is also attractive, in my view. The skin diver icon was subsequently used on a number of Orient divers, most notably their popular dual-crown King Diver models. There are some light scratches on the back, but none of the deep, off-putting gouges that sometimes afflict vintage divers.
The dial is a deep black, and is very well preserved. The only flaws that I can find under a loupe are two small, light scratches above, and slightly to the left of the "D" in "DIVER". To the naked eye I would consider them to be trivial, but please note them in any case. The lume is original, and it was typical for the hand lume to be yellowish, while the index lume was more of a light turquoise. It's an attractive combination, and the hands stand out nicely.
As the case back is quite tight, I am going to provide an example of the 21 jewel cal. 670 automatic movement that powers the watch, but from a different watch. I will guarantee that the actual movement is minimally in very good condition. It is working properly, but I have no idea of when the last service might have taken place, and for that reason would recommend a service for regular wear.
The production of this model was much lower than the early Seiko divers, and they are not easy to find, even in Japan. When they appear, they typically sell for the equivalent of around $2,000, with some going a bit higher, and others a bit lower, depending on condition. I offer this nice example for $1,750, and will ship EMS express and insured from my home in Lisbon, Portugal. FedEx is also possible at additional cost.
Bank transfer preferred, but Paypal is possible.
Feel free to ask any questions!
This Calendar Auto Orient model, ref. 19755, was introduced in 1964, and immediately put Orient on the "serious" dive watch map. In contrast to Seiko, Orient chose to go "big" right out of the gate, as these watches are both large, and very substantial.
This particular example is in very good to excellent condition overall. I believe it to be fully original. The unpolished case measures 39.5mm excluding the signed crown, and features strong and distinctive chamfered lugs. Please note that I have a small wrist, so the wrist shot provided may be a bit misleading if you have medium to large wrists.
I don't typically elaborate on lugs, but in this instance, I think that it is worth doing so. I've owned a fair number of dive watches over the years (probably ~45), and consider the lug design on this Orient diver to be exceptional. I say that because while it is of course practical to have strong lugs on big, substantial divers, many companies employed designs that were aesthetically not far removed from those that were used on smaller, non-sports watches. Not that there is anything wrong with that, and most blend in well enough, but Orient's creative approach on this model strikes me, at least in some respects, as being superior to the others that I have owned. They are short and thick, which is, in a sense, what would make the most sense from an engineering standpoint. I'm not suggesting that longer, tapered lugs would be likely to literally fail, but rather that the form of these lugs implies greater strength. The analogy that comes to mind would be the contrast between the body of a typical human track athlete who competes at a mile or beyond, and that of a typical sprinter. The power that underpins explosive acceleration can usually be seen clearly in the bodies of sprinters.
What the designer did with these Orient lugs was more impressive than merely implying strength and security with their chunkiness. He added narrow chamfers to the outside of them, giving them a more refined appearance, and truncated them with downward sloping ends. Among other things, this has the effect of giving the watch a remarkably "weighty" appearance when it is sitting on a flat surface, almost as if it is somehow being pulled down into it. It also makes the watch more interesting to look at while wearing, as those big facets catch the light differently than the top and sides of the lugs.
I didn't focus on these details immediately, but after owning the watch for a few years, really came to appreciate the design.
The case back design is also attractive, in my view. The skin diver icon was subsequently used on a number of Orient divers, most notably their popular dual-crown King Diver models. There are some light scratches on the back, but none of the deep, off-putting gouges that sometimes afflict vintage divers.
The dial is a deep black, and is very well preserved. The only flaws that I can find under a loupe are two small, light scratches above, and slightly to the left of the "D" in "DIVER". To the naked eye I would consider them to be trivial, but please note them in any case. The lume is original, and it was typical for the hand lume to be yellowish, while the index lume was more of a light turquoise. It's an attractive combination, and the hands stand out nicely.
As the case back is quite tight, I am going to provide an example of the 21 jewel cal. 670 automatic movement that powers the watch, but from a different watch. I will guarantee that the actual movement is minimally in very good condition. It is working properly, but I have no idea of when the last service might have taken place, and for that reason would recommend a service for regular wear.
The production of this model was much lower than the early Seiko divers, and they are not easy to find, even in Japan. When they appear, they typically sell for the equivalent of around $2,000, with some going a bit higher, and others a bit lower, depending on condition. I offer this nice example for $1,750, and will ship EMS express and insured from my home in Lisbon, Portugal. FedEx is also possible at additional cost.
Bank transfer preferred, but Paypal is possible.
Feel free to ask any questions!
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