There are many vintage Seiko divers popular with Seiko enthusiasts, and for good reason - Seiko found an original, great looking formula for its divers, and stuck with it.
And this orange 1984 Seiko 2A22-0170 womens diver, on its original rubber Seiko-signed dive strap and with original Seiko 2A22 instructions manual, is a great example of this successful formula.
The dial design is superb, with embossed hour markers and beautiful hands, reminiscent of the Seiko's legendary 6159 divers of the 1960’s and to a lesser extent of the dials on its 6105 dive watches.
The Seiko quartz diver, like the automatic designs that preceded it, is classic and simple, borrowing heavily from the instantly recognizable earlier Seiko 7002 automatic diver before it and the SKX after.
Women's divers produced by Seiko in the 1970’s and 80’s are beautiful watches with some exquisite details - and less expensive than their larger counterparts for men - but new crystals and bezel inserts can be difficult to find (thankfully not a problem here!)
The quartz movements Seiko designed are tough and reliable – during its heyday, these were popular with armed forces for this same reason. It is a widely held assumption that military personnel wear only military watches.
However, many - including U.S. General Norman Schwarzkopf - certainly didn't. While the Commander of the Operation Desert Storm, the general was wearing a Seiko 7548 when he led at that time the strongest combined military force the world had ever witnessed to evict Iraqi forces from Kuwait in 1991.
This vintage Seiko diver comes on it's original Seiko rubber dive strap, and with nylon strap, rugged travel case, springbar tool, and Seiko instructions manual.
1984 Seiko 2A22-0170 Orange Womens Dive Watch, w/Original Dive Strap
DIAL: Crisp vibrant orange Seiko-signed dial, no imperfections; date function at the 3 o'clock position work correctly as designed. Lume shines brightly.
BEZEL: Bi-directional and firmly ratchets with a satisfying click; black bezel insert has slight wear, a relative rarity. Seiko font is crisp and lume pip at 12 o’clock position glows.
CASE: Stainless-steel case measures 33mm (37mm including crown) x 38mm, with matching caseback; 17mm lug width.
CRYSTAL: Hardlex crystal, no cracks or deep scratches.
BAND: This orange dial Seiko 2A22 comes on its original rubber Seiko dive strap - complete with a white elephant charm installed on it at some point in its 40-year life - as well as a dark blue and orange nylon strap.
MOVEMENT: Seiko 2A22 calibre hacking quartz movement, manufactured in December 1984.
CROWN: Screw-down unsigned stainless-steel crown.
Of note, this Seiko diver comes with an original Seiko 2A22 instruction manual, which is in both English and Kanji Japanese languages.
