Many Seiko watches from the 1960’s through the mid-1980’s have rightly gone down as design classics, building a considerable following amongst watch collectors.
 
Conversely, some truly gorgeous watches from the same era produced by the same company have quietly slipped under the radar for the simple reason they were designed for the typically slighter wrist, ie: women - like this rather dainty and very atypical gold 1986 Seiko 1E20-0A20 "Nefertiti" women’s watch, on its original gold bracelet.
 
And it’s a shame, because many of these smaller watches feature exquisite details – Seiko found an original, great looking formula for its watches, and stuck with it. The quartz movements Seiko designed for watches like these are tough and reliable – during its heyday, the movements were popular with armed forces for this same reason.
 
And this watch immediately stands out from the rest, featuring a bust of the iconic Egyptian icon, Nefertiti (c. 1370 - c. 1330 BC).
 
Nefertiti (c. 1370 – c. 1330 BC) was a queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten.  Nefertiti and her husband were known for their radical overhaul of state religious policy, in which they promoted an exclusivist and possibly even monotheistic religion, Atenism, centered on the sun disc and its direct connection to the royal household.  With her husband, she reigned at what was arguably the wealthiest period of ancient Egyptian history.
 
After her husband's death, some scholars believe that Nefertiti ruled briefly as the female pharaoh known by the throne name Neferneferuaten just before the ascension of Tutankhamun – this identification is a matter of ongoing debate. If Nefertiti did rule as pharaoh, her reign was marked by the fall of Amarna and the relocation of the capital back to the traditional city of Memphis after her death.
 
In the 20th century, Nefertiti was made famous by the discovery and display of her ancient bust, now in Berlin's Neues Museum.  The bust is one of the most copied works of the art of ancient Egypt, and is attributed to the Egyptian sculptor Thutmose, and was excavated from his buried studio complex in the early 20th century.
 
Nefertiti first appears in scenes in Thebes – in the damaged tomb (TT188) of the royal butler Parennefer, the new king Amenhotep IV is accompanied by a royal woman, and this lady is thought to be an early depiction of Nefertiti.  The king and queen are shown worshiping the Aten.  In the tomb of the vizier Ramose, Nefertiti is shown standing behind Amenhotep IV in the Window of Appearance during the reward ceremony for the vizier.
 
During the early years in Thebes, Akhenaten (still known as Amenhotep IV) had several temples erected at Karnak.  One of the structures, the Mansion of the Benben (hwt-ben-ben), was dedicated to Nefertiti; she is depicted with her daughter Meritaten and in some scenes the princess Meketaten participates as well.  From all the scenes preserved on talatat that can be dated to the first five years of Akhenaten’s reign, Nefertiti is depicted almost twice as frequently as her husband, indicating her exceptionally high visibility during this period and demonstrating her political importance.
 
She is shown appearing behind her husband the pharaoh in offering scenes in the role of the queen supporting her husband, but she is also depicted in scenes that would have normally been the prerogative of the king.  She is shown smiting the enemy, and captive enemies decorate her throne.
 
Many scholars believe Nefertiti had a role elevated from that of great royal wife, and was promoted to co-regent by her husband Pharaoh Akhenaten before his death.  She is depicted in many archaeological sites as equal in stature to a King, smiting Egypt's enemies, riding a chariot, and worshipping the Aten in the manner of a pharaoh.
 
When Nefertiti's name disappears from historical records, it is replaced by that of a co-regent named Neferneferuaten, who became a female Pharaoh.  It seems likely that Nefertiti, in a similar fashion to the previous female Pharaoh Hatshepsut, assumed the kingship under the name Pharaoh Neferneferuaten after her husband's death.  She was then succeeded by Tutankhamun.
 
It seems less possible that Nefertiti disguised herself as a male and assumed the male alter ego of Smenkhkare.  According to Van Der Perre, Smenkhkare is thought to be a co-regent of Akhenaten who died before Neferneferuaten assumed the kingship.
 
If Nefertiti did rule Egypt as a Pharaoh, it has been theorized that she would have attempted damage control and may have re-instated the ancient Egyptian religion and the Amun priests.  She would have raised Tutankhamun in the worship of the traditional gods.
 
If, as seems likely that Nefertiti was the female pharaoh ruler named Neferneferuaten, she outlived her husband Akhenaten and held great influence over the royal family.  If this is the case, that influence and presumably Nefertiti's own life would have ended by Year 3 of Tutankhaten's reign when she died and the Boy King succeeded her (1331 BC).  
 
In that year, Tutankhaten changed his name to Tutankhamun which is interpreted as evidence of his return to the official worship of Amun, and abandoned Amarna to return the capital to Memphis and Thebes according to Aidan Dodson.
 
Seiko introduced the 1E20 line in 1983, and made them for at least a decade, and it's one of its many vintage women's watches lost to the ages.  Seiko discovered the secret to manufacturing mass-produced stylish and affordable watches.  And it never failed to make them stylish! 
 
This quite petite Seiko 1E20 comes on its original stainless-steel bracelet, with springbar tool and rugged travel case.