The Seiko 6139 automatic chronograph – a historical movement in its own right, like the full-serviced 1971 Seiko 6139-6002 "Colonel Pogue" automatic chronograph here, on its original stainless-steel H-link Seiko bracelet – was one of the first automatic chronographs created and ranks with Zenith’s El Primero and Heuer’s Calibre 11. 
 
Of note, this is an early Seiko Colonel Pogue dial variant, which is  much less seen than the more common dial variants that came after it - the giveaway (aside from the serial number on the back dating the watch to 1971) is the presence of the "Water 70 Resist" wording at the nine o'clock and extra wording at the 12 o'clock (Chronograph Automatic) - these early dial variants are much sought after now.  This early Pogue dial variant was made for all of 1.5 years, from late 1970 to early 1972.
 
Back in the 1970’s, Heuer and Zenith had taken hold of the entire sports watch industry by racing to become the first to produce an automatic chronograph.  It has been a feat debated who won, but in the background of this skirmish, Seiko quietly created one theirs at the same time, beating out all its competitors – the Seiko Calibre 6139.
 
Changing gears a bit, all of us know Omega was the first watch on the moon, mostly because Omega won’t let us forget (ever).  However, the first automatic chronograph in space was the more humble and less publicized Seiko 6139-6005, named after U.S. astronaut Colonel William Pogue, who wore his USMIL PX-purchased Seiko 6139 on the 1973 Skylab 4 mission - despite not obtaining NASA authorization – to time Apollo spacecraft engine burns as the mission's pilot due to his familiarity with the watch (which he had worn during his training) and trust in its capabilities…entrusting the lives of himself and fellow astronauts to the reliability of his Seiko. 
 
When asked about his 6139, Pogue confirmed the story per GQ Magazine, "I had been using the Seiko for well over six months (perhaps over a year) and had found it very handy for timing engine burns...the self-winding mechanism worked fine in zero-G.”  Pogue would later sell his Seiko 6139 in a 2008 charity auction for a mere $6k.
 
Back to the Seiko calibre 6139 - during the early months of 1969, Seiko put the final touches on its revolutionary 6139 chronograph - in fact, the Japanese company first began putting the 6139 in automatic chronographs as early as January of the same year.
 
Seiko published its first advertisement for their new automatic 6139 chronograph in February 1969, easily beating the Swiss - however, the company was concentrating on the release of the world's first quartz watch, the Astron, which would completely disrupt the watch world as it was known at the time (again, much to the chagrin of the Swiss watch industry, we're certain).  We possess 6139 dials dating back to November 1968, indicating Seiko beat all other rivals to produce the world's first automatic chronograph.  Period.
 
This Seiko Colonel Pogue comes on its original Seiko stainless-steel H-link bracelet, and with nylon strap, rugged travel case, and springbar tool.