During the Vietnam conflict a couple of Seiko variants found their way onto the wrists of many enlisted men and special forces operatives alike. Whether purchased at exchanges or issued by CISO to MAC-V SOG operatives, two in particular have been documented and verified by first hand accounts, and through photographic evidence provided by Frank Greco in his book Running Recon: A Photo Journey with SOG Special Ops Along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. The first iteration of of these fabled watches was the 6619-8060, followed a couple of years later by the 6119-8100 that would take their place.

This example from October of 1966 is the earlier 6619. Featuring a dark, charcoal gray sunburst dial with a lacquered finish, it is marked in crisply painted Arabic numerals in a jungle green luminous material. At it’s edge is a matching, steeply angled chapter on which the silver minute track is printed. Large baton hands with matching luminous plots make for superior legibility along with a long and lean polished sweep, and a day date aperture in opposing black and white. The case is in stainless steel with a slim profile, and tapered lugs with a beveled edge. The case back is also worth mentioning as it bears the dolphin branding given to many of Seiko’s “water proof” variants during the era. It only appeared on this model in its first year of production, as subsequent models featured the standard “horseshoe” case back more commonly seen. In keeping with its military heritage, we’ve paired it with an ODB RAF NATO to appear as it may have on the wrist of the enlisted. If a vintage military watch steeped in clandestine history is on your list, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better looking, or storied one than this.

Clockwork Synergy Olive Drab Double Layer Two-Piece RAF NATO (clockworksynergy.com)

Serviced 9/2/18

Diameter- 36.5mm

Lugs- 19mm