As early as the late 1960's, Heuer and Zenith had a solid stranglehold of the entire sports watch industry by racing to become the first watch makers to produce an automatic chronograph. But whilst all that battling and rivalry between Zenith and Heuer was going on between Zenith’s El Primero and Heuer’s Calibre 11, Seiko had quietly created their own chronograph at the same time, beating the Swiss watch makers at their own game with their very own Seiko ref. 6139.
During the early months of 1969, Seiko put the final touches on its revolutionary 6139 chronograph. It is perhaps noteworthy that Seiko first began putting the 6139 in automatic chronographs as early as January of 1969. To that effect, Seiko started publishing its first advertisement for their new automatic 6139 chronograph in February 1969, easily beating the Swiss at their game. Meanwhile, Seiko was also concentrating on the release of the world's first quartz watch, the Astron, which would completely disrupt the watch world as it was known at the time, much to the annoyance of the Swiss watch industry.
Seiko 6139 dials date back to November 1968, an indication that Seiko beat its Swiss rivals to produce the world's first automatic chronograph. The Seiko 6139 automatic movement is the first chronograph to have a vertical clutch, a feature considered to be one of the hallmarks of a superior automatic chronograph movement. It also features an automatic column wheel timing control and an integrated chronograph, which means the entire movement was designed and built to be a chronograph, vice being an automatic movement with a mere timing module, along with a single register chronograph allowing time to be measured in increments of 30 minutes.
DETAILS:
Dial
Black Seiko-signed dial in great condition, with original minute, hour, and chronograph hands. Day/Date – at 3 o’clock position works as intended, and the inner tachymeter ring also rotates smoothly. Lume plots shine following exposure to strong light.
Case
Stainless-steel case measures 41mm x 44mm, with no evidence of machine polish. Please note light wear that is consistent with Vintage of this age.
Crystal
Hardlex crystal, bearing no scratches.
Band
Stainless steel metal bracelet, interchangeable for other bands or straps of your choosing.
This watch is part of a selection of time pieces available for purchase in store.
