Rare Seiko Skyliner

Seiko 6220-2990:

Ok, I can see some of you saying “What’s rare about that”, but let me explain. When I received this watch from Japan, I was immediately struck by the lack of information on the dial. Seiko’s from the 60’s are known to have word cluttered dials. This one was minimalist by comparison.

Typical 60's Dial shown on left and the Seiko 6220-2990 on the right.

Strong marketing elements at that time included jewel count (the more jewels the better), shock proofing (protecting the fragile balance wheel was critical), and water proofing. These were important ingredients and they were regularly recorded on the watch dial.

But my watch only had “Seiko Skyliner” on the dial and when I did a web search for Seiko 6220’s I could not find one image (amongst 100’s) that had such limited information. Every photo of a 6220 dial included at least a jewel count, and in most cases a reference to shock protection.

In the 60’s jewel count was very important to watch buyers, and they could choose from 21, 23, 24, 25, and up to 39 jewel movements from various manufacturers and within manufacturers ranges. There was a perceived connection between value and the number of jewels a watch contained. There were even examples of manufacturers adding jewels to a movement that didn’t actually connect with the drive train, they were just there to add to the jewel count.

Shock protection was also important with “Anti-shock”, “Incabloc”, and “Diashock” regularly showing up on dials. Seiko introduced Diashock in 1958 as its version of Incabloc. In technical terms, it is a spring-loaded mounting system for the jewel bearings that support the balance wheel. Anti-shock devices help protect the balance wheel pivot from damage in the event of dropping the watch, or hitting it against something hard.

So what about this watch? When the caseback came off it was clear that this 6220 movement was entry level. It only had 17 jewels and there was no Diashock. Looking at the ruby coloured jewels in our photo you can see that they don’t have any spring mechanism. There was nothing to crow about on the dial so it was left blank, apart from the model name. Today, that sort of minimalism is considered a plus.

There was another aspect of this 57 year old watch that was rare. It looked like it was made just 12 months ago. The case and dial are in exceptional condition and the caseback looks unworn. The answer to this anomaly probably lies in a simply mechanical fault that resulted in the watch being consigned to a drawer for much of its life. The second hand was tangling with the minute hand. The minute hand was slightly bent upward, and the second hand slightly bent down (see photo). 

Removing the crystal, a slight adjustment to both hands, and the watch was running smoothly again. The watch does have service marks on the caseback, so it had received attention at some stage in its life. It is now running beautifully at around +/- 30 seconds per day.

So, there we have it. A vintage watch in excellent condition. It might have been entry level in its day, and had a slight fault which kept it off wrists, but now it sits proudly in my collection.