THE SEIKO BELL-MATIC STORY
1966 Seiko Bell-Matic 4006-7000
Alarm wristwatches were always marketed to business people and the like, in particular as an innovative way to keep track of your appointments...or your parking meter in the case of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox Parking. The Seiko Bell-Matic is no exception, it's one of those wonderful vintage Seikos that is widely available and found for a reasonable price. And yet still contributed in a notable way to watchmaking history.
Released in late 1966 as the ref. 4006-7000, the Seiko Bell-Matic was originally available exclusively in Japan. What makes it special is that it was the first self-winding alarm wristwatches with a central rotor, something that may not seem that impressive but was nonetheless a technical first. The earliest models of the Bell-Matic (those released in November 1966) are said to be extremely rare and have a distinctive marking on the caseback, a dolphin. The earlier models (4006) used a Caliber 4006A that had 27 jewels and a day-date display at 3 o'clock. There is also a special version of the Bell-Matic, meant to be more formal, called the Seiko Business Bell. The Business Bell was only made in 1967 and is therefore a bit harder to find than the average Bell-Matic. In 1968, Seiko introduced the 4005A, which had only the date mechanism, and eventually, due to tariffs, reduced the jewel count in the watches to 21 and then 17 by 1969 (which is also the same year when the Caliber 4005A was discontinued).
1967 Seiko Bell-Matic 4006-7010 / Credit: Hub City Vintage
The Seiko Bell-Matic was discontinued in 1978, after 12 years of production. And even though it has never risen to the levels of popularity of other vintage Seikos, it remains not only a technologically significant model, but also an aesthetically beautiful example of watchmaking in the 1960s and '70s.
By: Eric Mulder