Seiko has a rather long and storied history designing and manufacturing dive watches, used by individuals from across the spectrum of jobs – from many of us desk divers all the way to Navy SEALs.
And there exist numerous vintage Seiko divers popular with collectors, and one of these is the sturdy diver here, a 1992 Seiko 7C46-7011 Marinemaster Professional (Ref. SBBN007) dive watch, affectionately referred to as the "tuna" by both Seiko and its collector aficionados due to its semblance to a circular tuna can. Did we mention its fantastic matte-grey bead-blasted case?
Seiko first introduced their so-called 6159 “Grandfather Tuna” (you guessed it, the first Tuna – nicknamed after their distinctive shape) in 1975, and quickly followed with a number of similarly-designed divers through the 7549, and then introduced the 7C46 in 1986. Within the 7C46 line, Seiko was intent on implementing more advanced materials on their top-grade watches – like the one here.
Per Fratello, "Seiko divers rank among my favorite watches of all time. I tend to believe that Seiko has carved out a relatively unique design language for a genre that spawns multitudes of copycats. Four-o’clock crowns, signature hands, and a penchant for simplicity are some of the traits that come to mind. The Seiko [7C46] series that debuted in the mid-’80s is unmistakably a Seiko. However, it’s different than anything else in the collection, and frankly, I love it!" For an in-depth look at Seiko's Tuna divers, Fratello again has the answer, here.
An exceedingly rare variant of this watch here, Seiko produced a limited edition diver for ScubaPro, but this wasn't the first time the two teamed up to make a rare iconic dive watch. In 1977, the Japanese watch manufacturer took its 6306-7001 diver and made the 6306 Scubapro 450, produced in batches until at least till 1979. And then did the same with the 7C46 in 1999, producing the Seiko 7C46 ScubaPro - both are true grail watches.
This 1992 Seiko 7C46 diver comes on a new generic stainless-steel jubilee diver bracelet, and with nylon strap, rugged travel case, and springbar tool.
1992 Seiko 7C46-7011 "Tuna" Marinemaster (SBBN007) Professional Dive Watch
DIAL: Unmarred black Seiko Professional-signed dial, with crisp lettering. Kanji Japanese/English day variants and date functions at the 3 o'clock position work as designed. Correct Mercedes-style handset looks great, and lume on dial and hands shines brightly throughout.
BEZEL: Unidirectional bezel is in solid condition, and ratchets with a click - bezel insert in in likewise excellent condition - inserts are normally the first part on Seiko divers to be damaged when these divers are used as designed, ie: hard.
CASE: Hefty 47.5mm x 44mm matte-grey bead-blasted stainless-steel case, with sharp case lines. Matching caseback - Seiko wave emblem and caseback inscriptions are crisp and defined. Likewise bead-blasted bezel shroud is intact, and looks great.
CRYSTAL: Domed Hardlex crystal, no deep scratches or cracks.
BAND: This Seiko 7C46 comes on a generic stainless-steel jubilee bracelet, which will fit up to an approx. nine inch wrist; it also comes with a premium black, beige, and grey nylon strap.
MOVEMENT: Seiko 7C46 quartz movement, manufactured in September 1992. The 7C46 movement is a legendary 7-jewel quartz movement, around since the 1970’s and still used today. It sits inside the more expensive 1000m diver versions and is known to be amazingly robust and accurate (and incredibly efficient with batteries often lasting more than five years). The signed screw-down crown hacks the movement, sets the time and allows the user to change the day (between English or Japanese kanji) and date.
CROWN: Unsigned screw-down stainless-steel crown, which operates as designed.
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