A Superb and Rare Example of the Iconic Seiko 'Grandfather' Tuna Professional 600m Diver, in Fantastic Condition, a Rare non "M" Iteration Making it One of the Earliest in Production Terms!

The story of Seiko began in 1881, when a 21-year-old entrepreneur, Kintaro Hattori, opened a shop selling and repairing watches and clocks in central Tokyo. Just eleven years later, in 1892, he established the 'Seikosha' factory. 

Seiko is known for introducing one of the world's first quartz wrist watches as well as the world's first quartz watch with a chronograph complication, it was also the first manufacturer to make a titanium divers watch.

What’s On Offer 

The Seiko 'Tuna' was created after professional divers in the late 1960s complained about watch failures at working depths. This led Seiko to undertake the task of producing a tool watch that could be relied upon to withstand all the pressures of working while submerged. Cue the now legendary 'Grandfather' Tuna with a dive depth of a whopping 600 metres - a huge feat in dive watchmaking and featuring notable industry firsts including its titanium case, ceramic-coated titanium shroud, L-shaped glass gasket seal, and vented rubber strap. All in all, over 20 patents were granted to this, at that time, revolutionary timepiece. 

The 6159-7010 was introduced in 1975 and is distinguished by its screwed-on shroud which also led to it being affectionately named the 'Tuna'. The shroud protects the case while also allowing for 2 access points to spin the bidirectional bezel - 

It also adds, substantially, to the watch's rather meaty proportions - a whopping 50.5mm in this instance, but you wouldn't think so when it's on your wrist, largely due to the lugs integrating with the case and its lightweight titanium case!

This particular example is likely to have been one of the earliest as it lacks the “m” for “meters” next to the depth rating and is much rarer than the "m" versions, produced later in the line-up. The production period was relatively short at just 4 years, from 1975 to 1979, and well-preserved examples such as this are becoming rarer every day. Seiko has produced many dive watches throughout the years but this is the original real deal Tuna, an iconic reference from Seiko and getting harder to find, especially in as nice a condition as this, as you have to remember most of these will have been used for there intended purpose by commercial divers! 

This watch is in fantastic condition with a blemish-free rich deep-set black dial boasting lumed large dot hour markers, chunky lumed hands, a lollipop sweep hand and date aperture at 3 o'clock. The dial is encapsulated under mineral glass and crowned with a rich black bidirectional bezel. It also comes on its extremely well-preserved and original Seiko 'vented' rubber strap.

Despite this watch's mass, it is actually a super comfortable wearer, of course, it will not fit under your dress suit, but for more casual wear this watch is a real delight, both on and off your wrist.