Seiko’s World Time references have been an hcv staple since our start, and have marked some important milestones in Seiko’s history. While we don’t often offer digital references, there have been a select few over the years to grab my interest, and that is often followed by a need to share them here. Seiko’s first digital world time, the M158, was a revolution. Its “lemon” lcd screen and association to PAN AM pilots earned it an unshakeable nickname, and a permanent spot on the lists of enthusiasts everywhere. While relatively unimpressive by today’s technological standards, a watch that allowed a pilot to easily cycle through international time zones at the touch of a button was a game changer. The PAN AM was followed up by the A358 which added an alarm feature (two in fact), as well as an hourly chime. While certainly an improvement, Seiko wasn’t finished yet, and right on the heels of the A358, the A239 arrived as a fork in the evolutionary road with no real predecessors or following successors. Known as “The Atlas” to many enthusiasts, the A239 was a unique marvel. It was a world time, and an alarm, and a time/day/date. One watch to do the work of two, and that’s exactly what it was; two watches in one case. The achievement here was that seiko managed two stack two separate LCD screens, one on top of the other, and use shared circuitry for both. The lower screen was was an LCD map of the world that allowed the user to toggle through world time zones via pushers on the side of the case. Above the map or “Atlas,” the local time for that zone was displayed. The upper screen displayed the time for your home time zone, the day of the week, and allowed for toggling between a seconds counter, or the month and date. Whenever one screen was in use, the other was blank, and the effect was seamless. It must have seemed like magic in 1979. It’s still magical enough today to capture my attention, and I was able to acquire a very nice cosmetic example several months ago that was partially working. After working on it on and off for quite some time, it has finally been fully revived, and ready to be offered here. It’s unpolished and completely original aside from the LCD reflective mirror that was damaged due to a battery leak. I hand cut and shaped a replacement from a larger donor mirror from another seiko model in order to keep the appearance and color true to the original. The crystal is also original, and I was able to remove most of the scratches with careful polishing using cerium oxide. All functions are working as they should including the displays of both screens, the alarm, chime, and even the incandescent back light. If you’re a Seiko World Time enthusiast, or a pilot, or both, this is a required addition, and sure to be a conversation starter anywhere in the world.

Original Seiko Tapered Seven Link Bracelet

Serviced- 12/24

Diameter- 34mm

Lugs- 20mm