A very slim, waterproof watch from the 1950’s, this Sea King has it all.
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
From the serial number on the case back we can accurately date this watch to being made in 1959. We have also found an advert for the Sea King from the same year, which is a nice extra piece of supporting evidence.
CONDITION
This watch was designed to be waterproof. While no vintage watch should be considered waterproof any more (unless they are tested, most new watches are designated water resistant not waterproof!). But the advantage of buying an older watch that was waterproof is that their dials are usually in better condition, as those water seals also stop the common dial damager of the time – cigarette smoke.
The dial on this watch is no exception. It is clean, and the lume plots are all in place too. The end of the hands are also lumed. Radium lume was no longer used after 1955, so this is likely to be Tritium. Tritium has a half life of 25 years (Radium is 1,600 years!) so it is no longer radioactive, but likewise it no longer glows. The expanding bracelet is a nice quality item, and isn’t stretched. We have cleaned this in our ultrasonic bath, but you could choose to have a leather strap fitted instead – the advert shows that both choices were available back in 1959. The slim case has a stainless steel back and a 10k rolled white gold bezel, and is unpolished. The lug at 7 us slightly distorted but the crown is the original one and a few turns kicks the in house, 17 jewel movement straight into life.
This watch will be supplied with our Certificate of Authenticity.
Please see the HD video for more detail. All photos and videos are part of the description and are of the actual watch unless mentioned. We do not photoshop any images, and the images are copyright of birthyearwatches.com and should not be used without permission.
SIZE
Width with crown 35.7 mm
Width without crown 34.8 mm
Between lugs 18 mm
Lug to lug length 40.3 mm
Case Thickness 8.2 mm
Bracelet maximum length 180 mm approximately
All sizes are approximate.
Included with this watch is a 1 month guarantee and free delivery to UK addresses. If you live outside the UK we can still deliver to most countries. Please see our Worldwide Shipping information, or Contact Us.
