# New Arrival - Seiko Chrono



## makky (Jul 14, 2004)

Many years ago I saw a picture of a Seiko chronograph in a magazine. It had a plain round case, a wide bezel and a simple uncluttered dial. Something about it just seemed to tick all the right boxes. Dressy yet sporty, and a no-nonsense military / pilot look to it.

I've been after that watch ever since. Without knowing the model number I never thought I'd find it. The nearest thing I've seen style wise is a combination of features from some of the Porsche designed watches produced by Orfina, IWC and Eterna.

Then last week...

Prowling around the 'Bay I spotted something. Arrived in the post today










The reveal...

:wub: :wub: :wub:










This is not a big watch, case is 38mm across - 41mm including crown. Suits my 6.5" wrist perfectly.










Bracelet is 18.5mm wide. It looks integrated with the case but there are conventional down-turned lugs, and a slender 16mm springbar width.










It's a V657-8140. On the interweb, I can't find anything about this model. I did find a few pics of a white dialled version - V657-8160.

The date on the manual is 1997, if it's original then the watch may be around the same age. Using the Seiko Production Date Calculator, this model isn't listed.

The watch has a little wabi. A couple of small scratches on the crystal and some case scuffing. The dial may have been touched up - the 8, 9 and 10 hour markers look slightly uneven under a loupe. You can see it in this shot but it isn't noticeable in real life.










I'm not generally a fan of chrono's, but this is so elegant. Simple, unfussy hands and dial. The V657 movement with a proper second hand (stopwatch seconds are on a subdial).

It's a definite keeper :cheers:


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

What a nice simple watch, and to have found one after all these years must have been satisfying indeed.... :yes:


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## Bootsy (Jun 2, 2009)

Cool watch, very Porsch Design esque. Never seen one before, good find.


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## andyft21 (Feb 12, 2009)

Thats a very nice watch, I have not seen one like this before, well done


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## AbingtonLad (Sep 8, 2008)

Yup. that's a cracker - and very Porsche-esque indeed.

Quite unlike any other Seiko I can think of - must have been a real 'Eureka' moment when you spied that one on the bay. Congratulations and enjoy. :clap:


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## minkle (Mar 17, 2008)

Awesome, love it. This is what happens when i dont search ebay every night


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## mattbeef (Jul 17, 2008)

Very nice, its good to see that they choose a black date wheel to keep the date blended into the design


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## makky (Jul 14, 2004)

minkle said:


> Awesome, love it. This is what happens when i dont search ebay every night


It was one of those nights, a chance find...

I did a worldwide search for "seiko" and trawled through more than 10,000 results. :blink: :fear:


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## minkle (Mar 17, 2008)

makky said:


> minkle said:
> 
> 
> > Awesome, love it. This is what happens when i dont search ebay every night
> ...


I do 'vintage seiko' most nights


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## thunderbolt (May 19, 2007)

Now that I do like. Very simple yet elegant. :yes: Congrats on a great find.


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## makky (Jul 14, 2004)

mattbeef said:


> Very nice, its good to see that they choose a black date wheel to keep the date blended into the design


Indeed - unusual as Seiko often use contrasting date wheels. The style and colour of the date matches the numbers on the subdials, and the background is exactly the same texture as the dial. It's as good as any Damasko or Sinn I've seen.


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## DMP (Jun 6, 2008)

I can relate to your search for a Seiko without knowing the model number - took me near on 20 years to find mine!

Congratulations of finding your special watch, and health to wear.

:cheers:

Dave


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## gregory (Feb 13, 2009)

Lovely mate.. wear it in good health!!!


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## MarkDavey (Jan 9, 2009)

DMP said:


> I can relate to your search for a Seiko without knowing the model number - took me near on 20 years to find mine!
> 
> Congratulations of finding your special watch, and health to wear.
> 
> ...


+1 - Imagine trying to source this sort of thing in the 'old days' without the good old WWW :wallbash:

It's a very elegant and understated watch - enjoy :cheers:


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## AbingtonLad (Sep 8, 2008)

Slightly off topic I know, but I swear your profile said 'female' earlier on today. I didn't want to be the first to mention your relatively hairy arms - and I'm sure I wasn't alone.

Relieved to see that this watch is now confirmed as residing on a male arm


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## makky (Jul 14, 2004)

AbingtonLad said:


> Slightly off topic I know, but I swear your profile said 'female' earlier on today. I didn't want to be the first to mention your relatively hairy arms - and I'm sure I wasn't alone.
> 
> Relieved to see that this watch is now confirmed as residing on a male arm


 

Hoped nobody would notice my unexpected gender change...


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## Giggs11 (Sep 17, 2009)

So cool watches


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## MarkDavey (Jan 9, 2009)

Thought I'd add my latest incoming to this thread due to the fact that these watches must be closely related 

Makky, I really liked the simplicity of watch you originally revealed very much and as luck would have it found a similar example, for very little money, whilst trawling eBay one evening. Granted mine is not the chrono version, but I still like the elegant and simple design. Being titanium it is very light and very comfortable to wear. Anyway here's some pics...


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## squareleg (Mar 6, 2008)

That's a beauty. :wub: Good old Seiko - never afraid, always innovative, usually affordable.


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## Parabola (Aug 1, 2007)

There's some sweeties


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## gregory (Feb 13, 2009)

Again... droolworthy!!!


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## makky (Jul 14, 2004)

MarkDavey said:


> Thought I'd add my latest incoming to this thread due to the fact that these watches must be closely related
> 
> Makky, I really liked the simplicity of watch you originally revealed very much and as luck would have it found a similar example, for very little money, whilst trawling eBay one evening. Granted mine is not the chrono version, but I still like the elegant and simple design. Being titanium it is very light and very comfortable to wear. Anyway here's some pics...


Mark I love that :clap:

Classy applied hour markers and titanium finish suits it well.

These must have been part of the same range. There are little touches of genius in this design - from the front the case looks like one lump of metal, and from the side that bezel makes it seem like two halves screwed together. Seiko could have chosen a smaller, plain crown for these - however the big industrial knurled crown works perfectly, because it adds contrast.

Well done and enjoy ! unk:


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