A Basic Vintage Seiko That Looks A Million Dollars

 

It was a picture of the watch that Elvis Presley wore at his wedding that inspired this article and led me to a new appreciation for one of my entry level vintage watches.

My wife is an Elvis fan, and while watching a video of his life, and specifically a photo taken on his wedding day, I noticed a very distinctive dress watch on his wrist. It was the shiny bezel that stood out and I believe it belongs to his Omega Tiffany Small Seconds. Elvis’s watch had a diamond encrusted bezel and in the photo it certainly sparkled. Bizarrely, It reminded me of a watch in my collection. Now my watch collection is quite humble, and you may think me impertinent to compare a humble watch with Elvis’s Tiffany Omega, but let me explain.

My watch is a Seiko Skyliner from 1966 which has a most unusual decorative pattern on top of the case. Cases can be described as decorative due to their style, lug shape, polish or brushing, bevelling, and so on, but to create a textured case like the Seiko Skyliner 6220-7020 was unusual. 

My Seiko 6220-7020

The Skyliner brand was introduced in 1961. It shouldn’t be confused with the Liner brand of 1960 which was an up-market (just under the Grand Seiko) brand 23 jewel dress watch. The Skyliner was a more basic watch, generally 21 jewels, and hand wound. The Liner was no longer available in 1964 but the Skyliner continued on until 1971.

 

There were a confusing number of variations in the Skyliner range, with different movements, different case style, some with calendars, some without. From 1966 Seiko added some new design variations and the subject of this article is one of those watches.

 

This 6220-7020 is a hand wound, no-calendar watch with a saucer shaped case that features an unusual pattern on the top of the case. It has a fine cross-hatched engraving that glitters and gleams like a jewel. And there is another reason for the glitter because this watch is marked PDP which stands for Palladium plating. So, maybe I can be forgiven for connecting this humble Seiko with Elvis’s diamond encrusted Omega. Palladium certainly qualifies as a luxury metal, and Gold plated editions were also available.

 

6220 Movement

Like many watches of this era, the dial is minimalist and it finds favour today for an easy-read, un-cluttered look. Simple baton indices, a monotone silver dial, and minimal writing add to the charm. The 6220 movement with 21 jewels is probably the most attractive entry level movement I have seen. The 6220 followed on from the 402, the 6100 and 6102, and was accompanied by a calendar version, the 6222.

 

I don’t remember seeing a Seiko (perhaps outside the Credor range) with this level of case  decoration, and that certainly qualifies it as one of the more unusual watches in my collection. It is not a million dollar watch, but it does have the luxury look and once again I am impressed with the immense depth in Seiko’s offer over the years.