About This Watch:

Introduced in 1976 and released for the Japanese Domestic Market, the Seiko Turtle Diver Ref 6306-7001 features a Kanji date wheel with a hacking 21-jewel 6306A automatic movement, in comparison to its overseas counterpart, the 6309, which was not a hacking movement and featured only 17 jewels in its movement. With a production from 1976 to 1981, the 6306-7001 Turtle Diver was released for a short period of time, and was crafted to handle the extreme conditions faced by professional divers with accuracy and clear readability.

The History: Seiko began its rich history in 1881 when Kintaro Hattori opened a shop repairing and selling watches in central Tokyo. Eleven years later, he opened a factory called the Seikosha Factory and began building wall clocks and pocket watches. After an earthquake and fire destroyed the original factory, Hattori reopened with a new vision, which became the beginnings of what we know as Seiko today. A true pioneer in watchmaking, Seiko developed the first Japanese-made divers watch.

The Watch: The Seiko Turtle Diver Ref 6306-7001 features a 44mm stainless steel case, mineral crystal, and a bi-directional rotating bezel. The matte black dial features lumed hour markers, lumed hour and minute hands, and a lollipop-style seconds hand. The date wheel is in Kanji, as this piece was originally released for the Japanese Domestic Market. The 6306-7001 Turtle Diver is powered by the in-house automatic Calibre 6306A 21-jewel hacking movement, in comparison to its overseas counterpart, the 6309, which does not hack and only has a 17-jewel movement.

The Details: This Seiko Turtle Diver Ref 6306-7001 dates to a production period of April 1979 based on its serial number. The case shows wear that is consistent with a timepiece of this age. There are some markings on the bezel at the 10, 20, and 30 indicators, and the lume plot at zero is showing signs of decay, which is visible in the photographs. Included with this timepiece is an after-market black rubber strap with stainless steel buckle.