Seiko 5 Sports watch Speedtimer 7017-6050 Flyback Chronograph Vintage 1971

SPECIFICATION

A BIT OF TRIVIA

Though much of the attention of vintage fans seems to centre around the 6138/9 “Suwa” chronographs , Seiko’s Daini division was answering back with their own 701X calibers that were equally impressive, and in some instances, even ahead of the curve. What they lack in minute and hour registers, they more than make up for with features all their own, and most were never available outside of the Japanese domestic market. This 7017-6050 from 1971 is easily one of the best-looking chronographs to come out of the entire era. Two less well-known chronographs from Seikos Daini factory are the 7017 and the 7018. The calibre 7017, produced in 1970, measured a svelte 5.9mm tall (compared to 6.5mm for the 6139, and 7.9mm for the 6138). While functionally similar to the 6139, its smaller frame and reduced parts count meant that it was a significantly different beast to its forebearer. The 7018, released a year later in 1971, followed the same slender formula, but added a 30-minute counter. The last mechanical chronograph calibre Seiko produced until the rebirth of interest in mechanical movements in the 1990s was the 7016, announced in 1972. This calibre was, as we’ve come to expect from Seiko, quite advanced. In addition to being a flyback, it also featured stacked hour and minute totalisers in a single register at six o’clock — a feature that we’re used to seeing today on exponentially more expensive Swiss watches. By any measure, the 7016 is an impressive movement, and is still relatively underappreciated, perhaps because of its shorter production run and because it tended to be used in watches with very bold ’70s geometric cases, which may have limited their appeal amongst collectors.

THE WATCH

For the navigators to manage to maintain the driver’s speed and rhythm within the “regular” speeds imposed on them, they felt the need for instruments beyond what came installed from the factory. It must be remembered that the 60s’ and 70s was still an analogue world. The only extra instrumentation most rally participants had might have been a stopwatch and clock mounted on the dash.

Introducing the 7017-6050 Rally Meter, it features an unconventional design for a chronograph of its time. It possesses a single logarithmic scale/ 'rallymeter' that revolves around a fixed scale on the dial. Its only purpose is to calculate speed and distance covered during a regular rally. This distinctive characteristic earned it the nickname "The Eyeless Rally" If you Google the term “rally meter” today, you will run into a range of digital instruments from smartphone apps, all the way to computers designed to be directly hard-wired into your car’s electrical system. But the first, purpose-built rally meter that there is evidence for is the Seiko 7017-6050 “Rally Meter” watch, introduced in 1970.

All Suwa’s 6139 and 6138 chronographs sported a standard (but stationary) tachymeter ring. So, one way for Daini to distinguish itself was for their 7019s to feature moveable dial rings that could perform functions unavailable on the 6139.

These are very difficult to find, let alone in this great condition. Everything is running beautifully and sharp, all of the stop/start and flyback functions of the chronograph work perfectly, for those that are unsure of the flyback feature: The timer is started with the top pusher, then you can reset to Zero with one push of the bottom button, it will automatically carry on timing, this can be done over and over until you stop it with the top pusher again. The day/date snaps over at the correct times and quick set day and date work perfectly, Its a large modern looking watch vintage watch is great condition for 54 years old.

OUR THOUGHTS

This extremely rare 'eyeless rally' is very much a worthy collector’s piece and a certain talking point. Seiko with its amazing innovation created this one in 1971 and it a true time machine on the wrist. It has been fully serviced and is now ready for you to take it on into the future.