Original vintage 1982 Seiko SilverWave DXY028 runners watch advertisement.
Dimensions: This advert measures 7.75 inches wide by 10.75 inches high.
1969 was one of the most spectacular in Seiko’s storied history.
That year, it released the world’s first automatic chronograph, the Calibre 6139 and the V.F.A. (Very Fine Adjusted) movement – which delivered Seiko’s highest yet level of precision for a mechanical movement.
Seiko would release another first upon the world, the first quartz wristwatch - the Seiko Quartz Astron, which went on to change the way the world told time, and severely tested the dominance of the Swiss, bringing high technology within the reach of all.
As the world got accustomed to the novel new Astron technology dominating the market in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Seiko was hard at work on its next innovation to challenge Swiss watch industry dominance, developing the Superior, Grand Quartz, King Quartz...
All of which would eventually result in the impressive 1980's Seiko SilverWave DXY028 runners watch, as showcased in this vintage advert here.
As for the Seiko SilverWave line? Per Fratello’s resident Seiko guru Michael Stockton, “...the mid 1960’s [the era of Seiko's original SilverWave watch, the J12082] were a time of tremendous transition. It seemed to be a period of transition away from the feel good, somewhat old-fashioned 1950’s into a more modern, but realistic period."
"Literature, music, art, and technology were all undergoing these same patterns of metamorphoses…California and its surfing culture went mainstream and people became highly interested in all things water or ocean related.”
Seiko’s “sport divers” would become a long-running theme in their watch design that continues to this day. Clearly its SilverWave line were not designed for deep sea / Jacque Cousteau-like dives. At the time, the only really hardcore dive watches were Rolex, Omega, Blancpain, and some limited others. But as noted, water sports during this era became mainstream, and the SilverWave line was designed for snorkeling, swimming, surfing, and other light water sports.