At the end of 1969 SEIKO started production of this 4th series mechanical World Time. It was a complete redesign of the previous watch, including a new case and crown, new bracelet, new dial finishes, new hands and an updated bezel. It also introduced an updated movement, the 6117B, now with hacking seconds.

As with the 3rd series, there are two reference numbers for the same watch, 6117-6400 for the JDM and International Markets, 6117-6409 for the North American Market.

Table of Contents

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• Key Statistics
• Top-Line Sales Info
• Case Specs
• New Dial and Hands
• Original Bracelets
• Estimated Total Production
• Resale Value
• Small Revisions Over the Years
• The Gold Watch
• Tips on Confirming Originality
• Related Articles

Key Statistics

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Top-line Sales Info

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• MSRP: ¥13,500, $69.50 USD
• Movement: 6117B, hacking, automatic, 3Hz / 21,600 bph
• Production: November 1969 – December 1976

Case Specs

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• 41mm
• 20mm lugs
• 44mm lug to lug
• Stainless Steel or Gold/Gilt
• Screwdown case back
• Polished Finish

New Dial and Hands

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The silver linen dial of old was replaced with a new off-white linen dial. The black sunburst dial was replaced with a black linen dial. The linen pattern is subtle on the white dial, and more pronounced on the black dial. The black dial gets a red-ish orange 24-hour ring, which is also used as the highlight color on the black bezel.

The hour and minute hands on the white (and golden hue) dials have a black stripe down the middle, whereas the the same hands on the black dial are solid metalic with a ridge down the center.

Black dials are the most common in this series, accounting for about 57% of all watches cataloged. Around 38% were white dials, with the remainder 5% being the golden hue dial.

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Original Bracelets

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The "Railroad" Bracelet

The most common OEM bracelet for this watch is referred to as the "Railroad" bracelet. Here are some detail photos of the bracelet, clasp and end links.

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The Stelux H-Link Bracelet

Some 6117-6400's sold in the Asian Pacific were sold on a Stelux H-Link bracelet. There are many SEIKO bracelets that look similar to this one and work in ongoing identifying the correct version.

Estimated Total Production

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These models had a 6-digit serial number scheme, allowing for up to 9,999 watches to be produced each month. They were likely produced from November 1969 through December 1976, a total of 86 months. While it is unlikely that SEIKO produced 9,999 of these every month for this entire period - we can use this as a ceiling, or max total production of 859,914.

It is unknown if any breaks were taken in production, but seems likely. There are currently 19 months with no production examples cataloged.

Further, we can determine a minimum total total production by adding up the largest serial number from each year/month in the current cataloged data. This suggests a minimum production of 236,389. Note: this assuming SEIKO started each month at 0001 and continued numbering with no gaps through the largest recorded number each month and year.

Resale Value

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Please note:

• This scale is a derivative of the Hagerty Classic Car Condition Rankings, adapted for watches. It is an attempt to keep it simple. They explain it really clearly here (albeit in car terms): Car Conditions: What The Numbers Mean.
• Almost no one owns or has even seen a condition 1 example of this watch in at least a few decades. Most of what is sold online today are condition 4 and 5 watches - if you think you have a gem, it is most likely a 3.
• While many enthusiasts spend inordinate amounts of time chasing down the best deal, digging through the dark corners of the internet, local antique shops and estate sales, and are ok fixing things up themselves... a lot of others would like to just know what a clean example is worth from a reputable source - that's what these are. Think of them as the price you would expect to pay if you saw one of these under the glass at your favorite local watch shop.
• All values assume OEM parts or all original examples. After market dials, mismatched bracelets etc will reduce the value, in some cases substantially. For example a non-original bracelet can reduce the overall value by 10-20%, a non-original dial may reduce resale value by 80% or more.
• Finally, gold-tone variations (these are not gold plated, but rather gold colored base metal) command a much lower resale value, from 50% to 80% less than equivalent examples in stainless steel.

Small Revisions Over the Years

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This watch was produced for 7 years, more than 3x longer than any other series. While it remained largely unchanged during this entire period, the following variations have been noted.

WORLD TIME Position on the Dial

Early watches had WORLD TIME marked at 6-o'clock like the previous series 6117-601X – likely through Dec 1970. It was later moved to the 12-o'clock.

There are catalog scans showing WORLD TIME noted at 6-o'clock in later years. As of this writing it is unclear if these were old photos reused in the catalogs, or if production was mixed for a longer period. Based on the Image Study data, it seems that the 6-o'clock position much more common through 1970, and thereafter 12-o'clock seems to be the majority.

London, GMT and the "Error Bezel"

Early watches through the end of 1971 have London and GMT listed at different positions on the time zone dial. This is commonly referred to as the Error-Bezel, but it was not in-fact an error, read more here. When London returned to GMT time in 1972, the bezel was updated again to correctly reflect this change.

Follow the link below for a more detailed look at the evolution of the cities bezel:

Article: Changes to the Reference Cities over the Years

Case back changes

Two variations are found on the case back. The first is the water resistance notation, which appears in 3 versions:

• WATERPROOF, through Sept 1970, on 6117-6400's only
• WATER RESIST, through Sept 1970, on 6117-6409's only
• WATER RESISTANT, from Oct 1970, on both models

Additionally, some cases are marked JAPAN F while others are marked JAPAN J. Unlike the water resistance notation, these manufacturing codes are found through the entire production run. JAPAN J makes up about 36% of current cataloged data, with the remaining 64% marked as JAPAN F.

The Gold Watch

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In 1972 a gold version was produced.

Click the following link to read more:

Article: The Gold World Time from 1972

Tips on Confirming Originality

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This 4th series is the most common of the generation, with production at least 2x greater than any previous series. When confirming originality, one must consider both original vs after-market parts and the case manufacture date vs the parts used. For instance, a bezel showing GMT and London at the same position should not appear on a watch with a date prior to 1972. Likewise, a dial with WORLD TIME noted at 6-o-clock should not be found on later production years.

There are also world time parts that have been re-housed, into an incorrect watch cases. In other cases the screw-down case back is taken from another model. Most common are the 6117-6410 Navigator and the 6119-6400.

Additionally, silver and black sunburst dials and their handsets can be found incorrectly transplanted onto this series.

Click the following link to read more:

Article: Confirming Originality of a 6117-640X

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