It can be rather difficult to find a 1970s chronograph larger than 35mm – small by today’s standards – yet this serviced ghosted Tissot Seastar Navigator regatta chronograph is precisely this.
With 1970’s era fun, bold design elements, and 40mm case size, this Tissot tool watch is perfectly suited for daily use, and easily attracts attention with its colorful hands and registers - not to mention a fantastic ghosted bezel.
Dating from the early 1970s, this colorful chrono was part of the Tissot Seastar line, and features the famously robust, manually wound Valjoux 7734 movement. The silver tone dial features twin subsidiary registers – with a perpetual sweep seconds at the 9 o’clock position, a 30 minute subdial at the 3, and a date function at the 6. The 30 minute subdial features a blue five-minute regatta timer (more on that below).
This Seastar Navigator houses the famous Valjoux 7734 manual movement, which was first produced to acclaim in 1969 and used until 1978; the 7734 was used by Breitling, Tudor, and Heuer during the 1960s and 70s.
Yacht racing requires a countdown period before the start of a race to help keep the boats as fairly placed as possible. Before the start of a sailboat race, there are two guns, the first gun signals that the race will start in either five or 10 minutes (depending on the type of race sailed).
At the five-minute mark, a gun is sounded, and the sailors start their countdown functions and maneuver their sailboats as close to the start line as possible. Once the end of the five-minute blue period is reached, the race has begun.
Of note, this Tissot shares some similar design elements with the good-looking Heuer Viceroy, but at a fraction of the cost. And – it has that regatta timer!
This Tissot comes with a leather rally strap, nylon strap, hard plastic travel case, and springbar tool.
Ghosted 1970s Tissot Seastar Navigator Valjoux Chronograph
DIAL: Tissot-signed colorful silver dial, with light patina, matching beautifully aged baton hands; date complication at 6 o’clock works as designed. Light blue paint marks the first five minutes of the 30 minute regatta chronograph counter, further enhancing this cool and colorful dial.
CASE: Stainless-steel case measures 40mm x 43mm stainless, matching hexagon caseback. Bezel evinces wear around the outer edges, common for these Navigator’s.
CRYSTAL: Intact crystal, deep scratch and crack-free.
BAND: Dark brown leather rally strap, with cream colored accent stitching as a nice compliment to the inherent vintage nature of this Tissot. This chronograph also comes with a nylon strap.
MOVEMENT: Valjoux Calibre 7734 17-jewel manual-winding mechanical movement, determined by the 7734’s date complication, which the Cal. 7733 lacked. We have performed a full service on this Tissot.
CROWN: Tissot-signed stainless-steel crown.