For sale - Seiko 3820-6000
Hand textured 18K white gold case, and a dial to die for
The Seiko 3820-6000
If there were ever a series of watches that would once and for all put to bed the idea that there was ever a “Quartz Crisis” it is surely the astonishingly diverse range of precious metal cased - and often stone dialed - references based on the 38 and 39 VFA series quartz calibers from Seiko.
Seiko’s 1971 Special Luxury Catalogue provided just a hint of what was to come, featuring three such pieces. They were clearly a hit. Just one year later, and the 1972 “SLC” expanded the range to 11 references (that would have cost you an eye-watering 8.4 million Yen had you wanted to collect them all), and by the time 1975’s catalogue came out, a total of 25 different precious metal cased quartz VFA’s had been released.
All this from a company whose most expensive wristwatch prior to the release of the Quartz Aston on Christmas Day 1969 had been the 250,000 Yen palladium alloyed Grand Seiko 6185-8000 VFA.
The watch offered for sale was first presented in the 1973 edition of the Seiko Luxury Catalogue, alongside three other variants featuring the same case design (two in white gold, and two in yellow god), and all with stone dials.
The yellow gold references could be had with either Tiger Eye or Red Takochi dials, and the white gold ones with either Blue Sodalite or - as seen on the present watch - Black Hematite dials.
Having dials made from a slice of natural stone meant of course that every watch was unique, and whilst I have seen fewer than half a dozen surviving examples of the specific variant offered here, there is no doubt in my mind that it is the best of the lot.
There can surely be no doubt that the shape of the thick lighter grey stripe as it sweeps down from just to the left of the 12 index to wrap around and under the printed “Quartz, V.F.A.” text and Suwa logo is no accident. This slice of the stone was very clearly deliberately chosen and positioned for this precise aesthetic quality.
Consummate with the attention shown with regards the dial is of course the wonderfully textured solid 18K white gold case, and the video showing the case details really does deserve repeated viewings to examine the watch in all its glory.
The case does have a few minor dings and scratches indicating that this watch has been worn and enjoyed over the years, but they truly are minor, and it is extremely impressive just how well preserved the case is, given the watch is now over half a century old.
I have included the above screengrab from the video not just to highlight the wonderful texture on the case and bezel, but also to draw your attention to some chips in the edge of the original crystal. Obviously in this much magnified image, they are far more visible than they would be to the naked eye!
Such was the designer’s attention to detail that even the surfaces of the caseback and the battery cover itself received their own finishing.
This listing presents a very rare opportunity to acquire one of the absolute stand out watches from the early years of the quartz revolution. In the last decade, just three examples of this reference have sold on Yahoo Japan, alongside four examples of the yellow gold Tiger Eye dialed variant shown next to it in the catalogue scan above, and just a single example of the white gold cased Blue Sodalite dial.
Importantly, this watch is offered with its original 18K white gold buckle.
Price and delivery
The watch is priced at US $8,000, including worldwide fully insured courier delivery. It will be supplied with its original buckle, but without a strap.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to simply reply to this newsletter if you are reading it in your inbox, or reach out to me by email at watchdxb@substack.com
Absolute beauty !
If you don’t mind me asking here two basic questions:
- is the venerable 38 caliber kind of “serviceable” in case of future issues happening?
- am I right to assume that the diameter is around 36mm?