Seiko "Captain Willard", Original Owner/Military Provenance, 1975 — view 1 of 6 — View 1 of 6 · Image: Collectors Corner NY · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Seiko "Captain Willard", Original Owner/Military Provenance, 1975

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.

Maker / attribution: Seiko (maker)
Date: 1975
Historical period: Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Country of origin: Japan
Object type: Wristwatch
Dealer: Collectors Corner NY (dealer), New York
Stock no.: SQ0491262
Credit line: Dealer listing, Collectors Corner NY (SQ0491262)
Catalogue title (original): Seiko "Captain Willard" - Original Owner/Military Provenance - 1975 (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by Collectors Corner NY (dealer), New York (stock number SQ0491262), this is a wristwatch by Seiko, made in Japan, dated 1975. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Dealer description — Collectors Corner NY

Fresh to market, this Seiko 6105-8119 was purchased in March 1976 by a new Navy recruit. As he was about to enter the Navy Seals program, he decided that he would need a good watch. With the first paycheck he received after boot camp, he went to the PX in Orlando, Florida and purchased his new Seiko Diver. It stayed with him for the next 45 years... This watch has visited places that many of us only see in movies and dreams. It was used extensively in places like the islands of the Philippines, Japan, the United States, Singapore, and the middle of the Indian Ocean at the United States Naval Base at Diego Garcia. It was a faithful companion to a Navy Seal diver whose job it was to keep his friends and crew mates safe by inspecting ships and vessels for explosive ordnance on both outgoing and incoming ships and vessels. It accompanied this sailor around the world and back. This sailor was not just the normal recruit but a lifelong diver and, after his time in the United States Navy, a pilot as well. This watch was also a trusted companion in the civilian world for nearly 20 years as a tool to accurately measure elapsed time on hundreds of international flights when other aircraft components would fail. Note that this watch was produced in November of 1975 based on the date code of the caseback.

Historical context

Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)

Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.

Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.

Read the period in the timeline More wristwatches from this period Earlier: Modern Mechanical Horology

Atlas type guide

Military, pilot and travel watches

The wristwatch owes much of its adoption by men to warfare and aviation. Wristlets — small pocket watches soldered with lugs and worn on a strap — were used in colonial campaigns and became standard equipment in the First World War, with protective grilles over the crystal ('shrapnel guards'). Louis Cartier's Santos (1904), designed for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, is often cited as an early purpose-made pilot's watch.

In the Second World War governments specified watches in detail: the German B-Uhr observation watches, the American A-11, and the British 'W.W.W.' (the 'Dirty Dozen' set of 1945). After the war, jet travel brought GMT and world-time watches, which show two or more time zones at once — Louis Cottier's world-time mechanism and the Rolex GMT-Master (1955) are examples.

What to look for

Military markings on the case back: broad arrow, issue numbers, 'W.W.W.', 'A.T.P.'
High-legibility black dials with luminous Arabic numerals; oversized crowns for gloved hands.
24-hour hands and rotating 24-hour bezels or city rings on GMT/world-time watches.
Wire lugs on early wristlets converted from pocket watches.

Dating clues

Wire-lug wristlets: c. 1900–1925.
Military specifications of the Second World War: 1939–1945.
GMT and world-time wristwatches: mainly after 1950.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

Mechanisms mentioned

No escapement or complication is named in the source record. See the encyclopedia for how such pieces work.

Record completeness

Maker or attributionRecorded
DateRecorded
Place or countryRecorded
MaterialsNot in source
DimensionsNot in source
Narrative descriptionRecorded
Inscriptions / marksNot in source
ProvenanceNot in source
Several photographsRecorded

Editorial status: Documented — facts as published by the source; not independently verified by Atlas editors.

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Sources & image rights

Record source: Collectors Corner NY (dealer), New York (opens another website in a new tab).

Image rights: © Collectors Corner NY — dealer photographs; permission required (opens another website in a new tab).

Images are hosted by the Atlas for study and credited to their owner. Rights holders may request correction, credit changes or removal, or grant permission, via the editorial office.

Cite this record

"Seiko "Captain Willard", Original Owner/Military Provenance, 1975." Collectors Corner NY (dealer), New York, SQ0491262. Catalogue record in The Horology Atlas, WatchMuseum.org, https://atlas.watchmuseum.org/museum/seiko-captain-willard-original-owner-military-provenance-1975-68ce30.