Today, I am offering for sale two of my Seiko 7016s (to be sold either separately or as a bundle). These models are becoming increasingly hard to find in original condition without wrong or aftermarket parts. What makes them somehow special and historically important (from a horological point of view) is the great Seiko 7016A movement,

• an automatic pillar wheel chronograph calibre
• with flyback function
• that was introduced just two years after the launch of the first ever automatic chronograph and remained
• world’s thinnest (6,4mm) automatic chrono movement with minute and hour counter until 1987/1988.
• Moreover, it offers a rare monocounter complication (i.e. minute and hour counter on one common subdial) that was made really popular by no less than Patek Philippe no earlier than in the mid-2000s.

1) Seiko ref. 7016-5011 (black/grey/blue), dated from January 1973

Case: The case (37mm wide without pushers, 40mm lug to lug) could have been polished in the past but I’m not sure about it. Anyway, all edges and bevels are fully intact and there is no relevant dents even though it bears some signs of regular wear. (Please have a look at the corners of the caseback to see how sharp they are – that’s a good indicator of those rectangular cases’ condition.) The brushing on both sides (left and right flank) is a little shinier than with a NOS example but, actually, that can be seen only when comparing it directly with an unworn piece. The brushed finishing on top and caseback is clearly present and all imprints are perfectly legible. Crown and pushers are all original. To sum it up, the case is in honest good condition and definitely not polished down such as other examples that were previously labelled and sold “in great shape” via this platform.

Dial and hands: The dial is in very good condition, all lume dots are intact. There is some patina on the frame of the date window as well as on the hour and minute hand. The orange tip of the central chrono second hand has faded a little bit and is slightly bent (which can easily be fixed by a watchmaker; there’s also NOS replacements second hands available on eBay for a small amount). The entire handset is original to this model – which quite often is not the case with these watches.

Crystal: The mineral crystal (and the thin bezel as that's one entity) was just replaced by an original NOS piece so it’s in 100% perfect condition without any scratches whatsoever.

Movement: I don’t know the service history of the movement. When I put the wound watch down lately in its dial up position it lost 1 minute per day (with the chronograph running) and ran for way over 40h. However, when the chrono was kept activated at previous measuring attempts the movement occasionally (not always!) stopped after a shorter period. Moreover, as the pushers react a little stickily, I do believe that the chronograph mechanism’s flawless function would benefit from a cleaning in the near future. Nevertheless, start, stop, reset, flyback as well as date and day quickset and automatic winding work as they should, the weekday is indicated in English and Italian.

Strap: The watch comes on a new black leather racing strap (exactly fitting the 19mm lug width and tapering to 18mm at the buckle) that actually makes it appear quite dressy with a sporty touch.

The price for this watch is EUR 430,- + shipping.

Pics (all unedited except for the last one which has been brightened up):

2) Seiko ref. 7016-5001 (silver dial), dated from July 1974

Case: The unmolested case (37mm wide without pushers, 40mm lug to lug) shows some normal signs of wear but there is no dents or deeper scratches. The brushed surface finishing is still present (but could also be easily refinished with that case shape). All imprints on the unpolished caseback are perfectly legible. Crown and pushers are all original.
Dial and hands: Dial and hands are in top condition and absolutely original for that reference (again, that’s not a matter of course with theses Seikos). All lume dots are in place and show very little signs of patina, all colour accents are strong.

Crystal: The original crystal is flawless. As it is made of acrylic material (plexi) future scratches can be easily buffed out.

Movement: According to the previous owner the watch is said to have been serviced in 2015, however, there’s no written proof of it. Anyway, with the chronograph function activated the accuracy is approx. -10s/d and both pushers react very crispy. Cautiously, I’d prefer sticking to the fact that the service history is not (verifiably) known to me. Start, stop, reset, flyback as well as date and day quickset and automatic winding work flawlessly, the weekday is indicated in English and Italian.

Strap: The watch comes on an unworn grey Rios vintage style leather strap with orange stitches tapering from 20 to 16mm (the lug width of the case is 19mm). The strap perfectly matches the dial’s colour accents and gives the watch a cool and sporty look. Due to the narrow space between the spring bars and the case edge (and my somehow clumsy installation) the strap has a visible scratch on the lug’s end on each side.

The price for this watch is EUR 450,- + shipping.

Unedited pics:

If someone considers buying both watches the combined reduced price for the entire lot is EUR 830,- + shipping.

Both watches are located in Austria (EU) and so am I. I do have plenty of international references from various watch enthusiasts (also known here), so please feel free to ask for them.

Just for the records: I am a private collector and, therefore, these watches come without any personal guarantee given by me. However, I am offering to give a full refund less fully insured shipping expenses in case the pieces sold would not be as described by me (within an inspection period of three days and to buyers from within the EU only due to the complex customs procedure in case of an overseas deal).

If you are seeking more information on the Seiko 7016A movement you can have a closer look at a review I wrote down recently here: https://uhrforum.de/seiko-7016-50xx-paar-richtig-coole-oftmals-unterschaetzte-vintage-chronographen-t277983 (in German language) or follow the English language links mentioned there at the end. (The watches offered for sale here are not shown in that review.)

Thanks for reading and thanks to the Chronotrader platform and its host!

Kind regards,
F.Antl