In an effort to allow healthy competition to dictate innovations in both style and engineering, Seiko’s design and production teams were divided into two factions: the Suwa Division, and the Daini Division. This led to a high stakes game of “one-upmanship” that gave us some of the most memorable styles to have come out of the era. In particular, light divers had taken the market by storm, and Seiko implored each branch to bring their very best to satiate a market in demand. While there are plenty of sport divers from the Suwa lineup that made their way to the western market, many of the Daini designs remained available to Japan’s domestic market alone. We are constantly on the lookout for these harder to find JDM sport divers, and this example from November of ‘69 is exactly why. A beefy cushion case with hard corners and a chunky beveled bezel surrounds a spotless matte black dial and rotating “count up” inner bezel. The hours are marked by large luminous plots with just a hint of patina, and well balanced printing in silver and royal blue bring striking contrast. The hour and minute hands are beveled batons that have retained their polished finish, and clean, original luminous windows. Counting the seconds, a tapered, fiery orange sweep thats free of any chipping or paint loss. It’s unpolished with crisp finishes, and completely original aside from a replacement crystal. Post service, the movement is keeping near perfect time, and we’ve paired it with an oiled sienna smooth leather for a versatile and comfortable finish. A classic vintage sport diver with JDM credentials, its sure to be a fast favorite in any rotation.

Kvarnsjo Leather Smooth Oiled Sienna with Khaki Stitch

Serviced 11/14/21

Diameter- 41mm

Lugs- 19mm