May 26th, 1959 marks a day of great celebration across Japan. This was the day the 56th IOC Session in Munich, Germany decided for Tokyo as the next host of the Olympics in 1964, with 34 votes. Much like the now past 2020 Olympics, the 1964 Tokyo Olympics were a huge deal for Japan, Tokyo, and Seiko. The Olympics are generally very impactful for the host, the main one usually being the economic impact. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics, for example, were expected to boost the Japanese economy specifically within the tourism and construction sectors. In terms of Seiko, however, the 1964 Tokyo Olympics meant that they had to develop several new timepieces; not only for the Games themselves but also for consumers and tourists in general who would be interested. Moreover, in retrospect we can say that this one of the first times Seiko, as a brand, was on the world stage.
One of the new Seiko stopwatches made for the Olympics from the 1964 Seiko Olympics catalogue
The year before the Olympics, in 1963, Seiko was made the Official Timekeeper of the Games, notable as it was usually a Swiss brand that had the title. According to Seiko they used 1,278 different timekeeping devices across 36 different models as support for the Games. These 1,278 different devices were made by the three different factories at the time: Seikosha, Daini, and Suwa, which all focused on developing different types of watches for the games from clocks, to stopwatches, to larger display clocks.
Seiko 5718-8000 / Credit: Watchopenia
One of the mistakes in the Bonhams 5718 pointed out by collectors was the hands (notice the difference between this picture and the first) / Credit: Bonhams
A few watches stand out for their relation to 1964 and the Olympic Games in Tokyo, they are the Seiko World Timer 6217-7000 and the Seiko Monopusher Chronographs 5717 and 5719/45899. Both the 1964 6217 and the ref. 45899 had the Olympic torch on their casebacks and are known as being made to commemorate the Tokyo Games. However, there is one other that was for sale by Bonham’s for their now infamous Seiko auction back in August, 2020. This was the 5718-8000, sold during the Games and supposedly even at the Olympic Village - it also has the Olympic torch on its caseback. It is a Seiko actually deserving of the moniker ‘rare’; produced in a limited and unknown quantities. The 5718-8000 is a chronograph much like the monopushers – of the 5700 family, however it has two chronograph pushers and two additional pushers on the left that adjust the counter. In addition, it also has a ‘lap counter’ from 0 to 99 at 12 o’clock while the sub-dial at 6 o’clock has both the ‘seconds hand’ and the chronograph register. Certainly, the most unique among the three ‘Olympic’ watches in my view.
This stopwatch would've been used to basketball as you can see by the dial (also from the 1964 Seiko Olympics catalogue)
And so, while the Tokyo Olympics were the first time Seiko was called to be the Official Timer of the Olympic Games, it was not the last. Since the 1964 Olympics Seiko has been the Official Timer to two other Summer Olympic Games (Barcelona ’92 and Nagano ‘98) and three other Winter Olympic Games (Sapporo ’72, Lillehammer ’94, and Salt Lake City ’02). They have also been Official Timer to several other notable sporting events.
By: Andres Ibarguen
Read more:
“Host city selection.” Olympedia, http://www.olympedia.org/ioc/host_cities.
Osada, Mitsuhiro & Ojima, Mayumi & Kurachi, Yoshiyuki& Miura, Ko & Kawamoto, Takuji. “Economic Impact of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.” Bank of Japan Research Papers, undated.
"Our Challenge to become the Official Timer of the Olympics." The Seiko Museum Ginza, https://museum.seiko.co.jp/en/seiko_history/milestone/milestone_01/.
Hub City Vintage - https://www.hubcityvintage.com/ - has examples of both Olympic torch casebacks.
Chan, Sharon. “Lot 717 – SEIKO. AN EXTREMELY RARE STAINLESS STEEL "TOKYO SUMMER OLYMPIC 1964" CHRONOGRAPH BRACELET WATCH WITH LAP-COUNTER AND DATE DISPLAY.” Bonhams, https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/26543/lot/717/.
Stockton, Michael. “The Bonhams Seiko Auction is Back Again.” Fratello Magazine, August 15th, 2020, https://www.fratellowatches.com/the-bonhams-seiko-auction-is-back-again/.
“Official Timer Seiko.” The Seiko Museum Ginza, https://museum.seiko.co.jp/en/seiko_history/milestone/milestone_07/.
A 1960s Seiko Liner ref. J14086 available here.