Seiko – Grand Prix Watches

Seiko was founded in 1881 by Kintaro Hattori as a watch and jewelry shop called K. Hattori in Tokyo. Hattori started producing clocks under the company name Seikosha in 1892, and officially changed its trade mark to Seiko in 1924. In addition to being a household name today even amongst non-watch enthusiasts, Seiko has the distinction of releasing the world’s first commercial quartz watch in 1969.

Seiko has previously owned French brand Yema from 1986 until 2004.

Association with François Cevert

French Formula 1 driver François Cevert is widely associated with the Seiko Speedtimer (ref. 6139-6000 and 6139-6009), nicknamed the “Cevert”. According to a detailed article on DC Vintage Watches, many notable photographs of Cevert wearing a Seiko Speedtimer can be dated to 1971.

“John Player Special”

While there is no official connection with Lotus or John Player Tobacco, reference 6138-8039 became known as the “John Player Special”. Released around 1976 or later, the chronograph sports a distinctive black and gold dial with unmistakable echos of the Lotus Formula 1 cars of the era.

Honda Formula 1 Editions

Seiko has Formula 1 edition models in its historical catalog thanks to a long-standing association with Honda. Early examples include Seiko Honda F1 Grand Prix Racing Team models (refs. A781-4010 and A781-405A), which shared the same module with the Racing Master digital chronograph line which were released in the late 1980s. Analog quartz chronographs (refs. 7A28-7160 and 7A28-7170) were also produced. The latter reference notably includes the year 1992 on the dial.

Pulsar Techgear F1 Chrono

Seiko-owned Pulsar released the Techgear F1 Chrono in the early 1990s. Despite the name and marketed as a “racing chronograph”, there appears to be no publicly known documentation of any official connection with the racing series. Similar to the TAG Heuer Formula 1 line, the model name could be a product of what was possible prior to the series name becoming a global trademark.

Bridgestone Motorsport

At some point, a Seiko Bridgestone Motorsport chronograph (ref. 7A28-7140) was also produced. This model is not well documented, and isn’t immediately known whether it had any connection to F1.

Sponsorship of Lucky Strike BAR Honda

Seiko began sponsoring the Lucky Strike BAR Honda F1 team in 2005, which included the release of multiple BAR Honda edition models across their Sportura and Ignition lines. They included several versions of a Honda F1 BAR Honda (ref. 7T92-0GE0) chronograph.

Takuma Sato

Also announced in 2005 was the Seiko Ignition Takuma Sato (ref. SBHS013), named after the Japanese driver who was racing for the team. The atomic solar model featured Sato’s name and signature on the case back, and was limited to 3,000 pieces.

Team Watch Partner of Honda Racing F1

Honda bought the remaining shares of BAR after the 2005 season, and announced a new agreement with Seiko for 2006 and 2007. Multiple Honda Racing F1 editions were released around this time, such as the Seiko Ignition Honda Racing Team F1 Edition (ref. 7T92-0GJ0). At least two models such as the Seiko Sportura Honda Racing F1 Ultimate Kinetic Chronograph (ref. SLQ021) had limited runs and shipped with an authentic Honda F1 gear ratio wheel, complete with a certificate of authenticity signed by both Seiko CEO Shinji Hattori and Honda GP Ltd. CEO Nicky Fry.

Another known release was the Seiko F1 Honda Racing Team Chronograph Limited Edition (ref. 7T82-0AD0). The words “F1 Honda Racing Team” features on both the dial and case back, and had a limited run of 2,007 pieces.

The Seiko Brightz Honda Racing F1 Team Limited Edition (ref. SAGA019) was announced in 2008, suggesting that the partnership had been extended for another year. The solar-powered radio-controlled watch had a limited run of 500 pieces.

Collaboration with Super Aguri F1

In 2007, Seiko also released the Ignition Super Aguri F1 Team (ref. SBHP023) exclusively in Japan, and limited to 200 pieces. There is no well-documented evidence of a sponsorship deal with Super Aguri F1, which suggests the collaboration was likely an extension of Seiko’s partnership with Honda.

Takuma Sato drives the Super Aguri SA07. (Photo: by MATSUOKA Kohei, licensed under CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)

Jenson Button

Seiko’s partnership with Honda would continue until the end of 2007, during which time F1 driver and then-future world champion Jenson Button also served as a Seiko ambassador for the Sportura line.