Many Seiko watches from the 1960’s through the mid-1980’s have rightly gone down as design classics, building a considerable following amongst watch collectors.
Conversely, some truly gorgeous watches from the same era produced by the same company have quietly slipped under the radar for the simple reason they were designed for the typically slighter wrist, ie: women - like this two-tone petite early 1980s Seiko SilverWave "Royal Oak" 3423-0190 women’s watch, on its original two-tone bracelet.
And it’s a shame, because many of these smaller watches feature exquisite details – Seiko found an original, great looking formula for its divers, and stuck with it. The quartz movements Seiko designed for watches like these are tough and reliable – during its heyday, the movements were popular with armed forces for this same reason.
The Seiko introduction of their SilverWave line in 1961 marked a number of firsts for Seiko: it represented their first diver’s watch, their first watch with an inner rotating bezel, their first use of the tsunami wave symbol on the caseback, and their first automatic watch with a screw-down case back.
There are many vintage Seiko watches popular with Seiko enthusiasts - the long-running SilverWave line is evidence of this - and for good reason; Seiko discovered the secret to manufacturing mass-produced stylish and affordable watches. And it made a lot of them...
This two-tone Seiko Royal Oak comes on its original two-tone stainless-steel bracelet, and with springbar tool and rugged travel case.
Two-Tone 1981 Seiko SIlverWave "Royal Oak" 3423-0190 Women's Dress Watch
DIAL: Crisp two-tone Seiko-signed dial , no imperfections; date function at the 3 o'clock position work correctly as designed.
CASE: Stainless-steel case measures 27mm (28mm including crown) x 31.5mm, with matching caseback; 14mm lug width.
CRYSTAL: Hardlex crystal, no deep scratches or cracks.
BAND: This Seiko "SilverWave "Royal Oak" comes on its original two-tone stainless-steel Seiko-signed bracelet, which will fit up to an approx. 7.25 inch wrist.
MOVEMENT: Seiko 3423 quartz movement, manufactured in October 1981.
CROWN: Unsigned stainless-steel crown.