The Seiko 6139 automatic chronograph – a historical movement in its own right, like this 1970 Seiko 6139-6009 "True Cevert" automatic chronograph here, on its original stainless-steel Seiko straight H-link bracelet – was the first automatic chronograph created, beating Zenith’s El Primero and Heuer’s Calibre 11 to the title.
 
Seiko's 6139 chronograph was the choice of numerous adventurers - from racecar drivers to astronauts, fighter jet pilots to musicians.  The 6139 variant here was the personal choice of some of these, namely multiple racecar drivers and an astronaut.
 
Back in the 1970’s, Heuer and Zenith had taken hold of the entire sports watch industry by racing to become the first to produce an automatic chronograph. It has been awidely debated who won, but in the background of the skirmish Seiko quietly created their own, beating the Swiss at their own game – the Seiko Calibre 6139.
 
Within the Road Rat's Autumn/Winter 2018 debut edition, an article was included on the Seiko 6139 automatic chronograph – the first automatic chronograph in the world – and its connection to Formula One (F1) racing legend, François Cevert, marking the first widely(ish) publicized link between the dark blue-dialed 6139 and Cevert.  The "Cevert" moniker caught on in collector circles quickly.
 
And what of the "True Cevert" moniker? 
 
Following our research into the “true” variant of the Seiko 6139 Bruce Lee, we endeavored to do similar to discover the “true” variant Cevert wore – after research, we assess the “True Cevert” to be a 6139-6009, most likely dating to 1970 (or possibly 1969).  The example here - a North America-sold 6139 with a "notch" case - checks all the boxes as the one Cevert most likely possessed; see our research, here.
 
During the early months of 1969, Seiko put the final touches on its revolutionary 6139 chronograph - in fact, the Japanese company first began putting the 6139 in automatic chronographs as early as January of the same year.
 
Seiko published its first advertisement for their new automatic 6139 chronograph in February 1969, easily beating the Swiss - however, the company was 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 (again, much to the chagrin of the Swiss watch industry, we're certain). 
 
We possess 6139 dials dating back to at least November 1968, indicating Seiko beat all other rivals to produce the world's first automatic chronograph.  Period.
 
Further adding to the Seiko "Cevert" legend, pilot and NASA astronaut Colonel Richard Covey wore his throughout a lengthy career as a fighter pilot supporting MACV-SOG close air support (CAS) missions and the Cambodian Government during the Viet Nam conflict and during multiple subsequent space flight missions, as we wrote about in Watches in Espionage.
 
This True Cevert 6139 comes on its original stainless-steel Seiko straight H-link bracelet, and with nylon strap, rugged travel case, and springbar tool. 
 
Find an original vintage 1970s Seiko advert featuring this watch, here.