Seiko F221-5000

Very small, very thin and very rare!

Description:

In 1979, thin was in. At 5mm thick, Seiko's F221 was tied with the Seiko F231 as the second thinnest watch of its time and was Seiko's way of demonstrating its mastery of quartz technology.

The 1970s were very hard on traditional watchmakers and that period became known as the "Watch Wars" as new quartz watch technology pitted low cost semiconductor technology against the traditional high quality mechical movements. Many estabilished Swiss companies that were initially relucant to embrace quartz were soon scrambling just to survive. At the end of the 1970s, the Swiss were bent on showing that they not only could compete in the new digital era, but that they had the upper hand in technology. At the end of the 1970s, a war was on to produce the thinnest watch as a means to demonstrate technical dominance.

The Seiko F221 is a very refined watch. It features a 6 digit display, shows the day of the week using alphanumeric characters, and has a fine matching bracelet. The F221 is so comfortable to wear that you hardly even know that it's on. Because of its thinness, neither the F221 or any of the other ultra thin watches featured a backlight. One of the most unique features of the F221 is the technology used in the reflector behind the LCD display. The F221 features an LCD reflector made up of a square array of tiny pyramidal micro reflectors which makes the display easier to see from the side.

Condition:

Case: Excellent.
Almost mint. No visible scratches on the case or the case back.

Face / Hands: Excellent.
The patterned gold face is time capsule pristine.

Crystal: Excellent.
Perfect. No scratches or scuffs.

Band / Bracelet: Very good.
The band is in excellent condition but is not original to the watch.

Function / Accuracy: Excellent.
All functions work perfectly. Digital quartz accuracy.