Seiko built its early watches – like this 1950s Seiko Champion 860 Calendar Ref. J15017 here, on a gold Seiko bracelet – with the intention of improving accuracy, productivity, and ease of maintenance in its watches. We've left the original crystal - with its unique "crazing" - intact, but can replace it if requested.
These mechanical watches, like the Champion here, featured movements designed “fully in-house from scratch” by Seiko – ie: not influenced by other watch movements made in Switzerland or elsewhere.
The technology cultivated during the development of the Seiko Marvel – one of the predecessors of the Champion – became the base for the introduction of later mechanical watches, to also include the Seiko Crown and Seiko Gyro Marvel, which were to overwhelm the market with their further improved accuracy and advanced features.
Although the trend in watch design at the time was to increase the outside diameter of movements to make time easy to read, the Cronos followed in the footsteps of the Seiko Marvel in a move toward larger watch cases.
Seiko's early watches lived up to its name and helped earn Japanese timepieces a reputation for excellence that resounded all over the world, including as far as Switzerland, and were far superior to that of its predecessors and other Japanese watches of that era.
This Seiko Cronos mechanical watch comes on a gold Seiko bracelet, with nylon strap, springbar tool, and rugged travel case.
1950's Seiko Champion 860 Calendar Ref. J15017 Mechanical Watch
DIAL: Brilliant Seiko-signed silver starburst dial with gold dauphin hands, and ever so slight patina evident. Dial is signed in detailed cursive and non-cursive scripts, with gold hour markers.
CASE: Gold case measures 36.5mm (38mm w/crown) x 42mm, with matching caseback - caseback is signed, but faint. Similar to other Seiko dress watches of the era, the case is a rather slim, at a mere 10mm including the domed crystal.
CRYSTAL: Original domed acrylic crystal, with crazing - not readily apparent when the watch is on the wrist.
BAND: This Champion comes on an 8.25 inch gold Seiko-signed bracelet; it also comes with a black nylon strap.
MOVEMENT: 1950s Seiko 860 manual-winding mechanical movement.
CROWN: Seiko-signed gold crown.