Seiko’s 5 series – like this 1974 Seiko 6106-5530 automatic here – were popular and quite reminiscent of the late 1960’s and 1970’s chic.
 
Seiko did their homework when they designed these deep blue dials, and pictures do not do these justice - these dials are amazing to behold in person, and this dial here is no different.
 
Seiko debuted its 6106 dive watches in 1968 as its first “Sport Diver”...a light dive watch, that is.  The Seiko 6106 series - just like its subsequent 6119 little brother - was a line of 70-meter diver watches; the line was aimed at “light” water sports that gained in widespread popularity during the late 1960’s and 1970’s (hence the 70-meter dive rating); however, these dive watches did not feature diving bezels.  Throughout 1968, the 6106 - in particular the 6106 here - was the face of Seiko's new sport diver line (see the vintage June 1968 Seiko catolog here for more). 
 
As noted by Worn&Wound, Seiko’s marketing ads boasted about the 6106’s diving capability, that was “Proof," all the way down to a whopping 229 feet (!); other ads made the line seem like the choice for surfers.  Granted this makes for some shallow diving, but not in the era these debuted. Regardless, it was a popular offering and affordable.
 
Although the Seiko 6106 here is part of a line separate from the Sport Diver - the Actus line - it shares the same bulletproof "guts" as its light diver brethren.  The Seiko 5 Actus line was first introduced in the 1970s and was known for its distinctive and stylish designs, as well as its innovative technology.
 
The Seiko 5 collection was introduced in 1963, with the beefier Seiko 5 Sports line following subsequent in 1968 – every watch in the Seiko 5 range is designated to have a mechanical movement, a day-date display in a single window, water resistance, a recessed crown and a robust bracelet or strap.  Up to the present, Seiko’s 5 elements still hold up and cement the 5 as one of the most significant lines in Seiko history.
 
On to one of the best features of the 6106 – the dial.  These dials, regardless of color, sparkle in the light and were finished better than many of the Swiss watches from the same period.  Couple this with very little writing on the dial and raised applied hour indices, and you have a dial that’s purposeful and sparse.
 
Even today, Seiko's 5 lines continue to win plaudits - as noted recently in GQ Magazine, "Regardless of where a budding collector might be headed, the first question they all have is the same: Where do I start?"
 
"My answer is the Seiko 5 line.  These watches check all the boxes: They’re affordable, distinctive, and, despite costing a fraction of what most mechanical sports watches do, are built to last.  The famed Japanese watchmaker launched the 5 line in 1968, and revamped it in 2019 when it released watches...at prices that seem to be missing a zero."
 
"For the aspiring collector who has never owned a watch, the attractive price point of a Seiko 5 may be all the convincing one needs.  And for the burgeoning horologist who already owns a timepiece or two, these watches come with the history, the quality, the sophisticated design, and the functionality that make them every bit as essential as any Swiss brand to a well-rounded collection."
 
Another indicator of the love remaining for the Seiko 6106, aside from GQ's imprimatur?  Seiko made literally hundreds of Sports diver variations during this time period, with the Japanese manufactures’ Suwa and Dani factory seemingly in competition with one another to see which could devise the most compelling models.  Which meant the staggering diversity resulted in some remarkably unique watches, like the example here.
 
This atypically square Seiko 6106 comes on its original Seiko stainless-steel bracelet, and with rugged travel case and spring bar tool.