The Original Seiko Diver 6217-8000/1
Seiko SLA037J1, a re-issue of the original 62MAS / Credit: Seiko
Today Seiko is well known for its dive watches. The Prospex line, the SKX007 and 009; many a model that is popular among collectors. But what about their early dive watches? The Seiko Silverwave J12082 may be the brand’s first official dive watch, but what many collectors consider the first professional dive watch was the venerable 62MAS!
Seiko’s first dive watch had the ‘tsunami wave’ emblem on the caseback, Seiko’s original dive watch emblem. The ‘SilverWave’ if you will. This watch was only 50 meters water resistant and had an inner rotating bezel. It was powered by a 20-jewel Seikomatic movement (the 603). Now, diving was still a relatively new sport in the 1960s, but it was really booming as divers achieved new depths and the scientific value of diving to fields like marine biology grew. Seiko’s next dive watch traded up to having a dolphin engraved on the caseback instead of the SilverWave, but nonetheless aimed to address the professional diver’s market. The 62MAS or 6217-8000/1 was the first ‘real’ Seiko diver, a 150m water resistant, external bidirectional dive bezel, tool watch. The MAS stood for ‘Automatic Self-Dater’ for its date function and automatic caliber. The Cal. 6217 had 17 jewels and a 18,000 bph rate, and was also used on Seiko World Timers. This model was released in early 1965 and produced until 1968. It was notably part of Japan’s 8th Arctic Expedition in 1966.
The ‘SilverWave’ caseback emblem on a Seiko Sports 150 Chronograph 7T32-6C09
The 6217 was followed by the 6215 in 1967, which had 300 meter water resistance and a 43 mm diameter versus the 6217’s 37 mm. Quite the hefty piece for the late 1960s and no longer the look of its predecessor.
Today the 62MAS regularly goes for thousands of dollars, if not five figures! The rarest models are the ‘small crown’ ones, which were made during the first two months of production (the 6217-8000 only last two months in early 1965 – April and May – before the 6217-8001 was introduced). I believe that especially in terms of aesthetics, the 62MAS was iconic in terms of what future Seiko dive watches would be like, models like the 6105 and 6309…
By: Andres Ibarguen