What makes a Sportsmatic a Sportsmatic ? (Bit of a quiz)

[Mr Levity]

My obsession search for WISdom continues.

I have some Sportsmatics, three of which say they are Sportsmatics and one that doesn't but is. Er..........

Here are the offenders:


[color=black]In date order from left to right:

June 1964 Seiko Sportsmatic Calendar 820 7625 17J

June 1965 Mercury 7625 17J (Says Sportsmatic 820 on rotor and Seiko on case back)

November 1965 Seiko 5 Sportsmatic Deluxe 7619 25J

May 1967 Seiko 5 Sportsmatic Super Weekdater 6619 21J



[color=black]So, my questions are:

1) What makes a Sportsmatic a Sportsmatic ?

2) What does the 820 mean if the calibre is 7625 ?

3) Can anyone explain the Mercury dial ? Is it a special edition like the Sony ?

4) What is the difference between Diashock and Shock Protected (Mercury)?

5) What is the answer to the great question of Life, the Universe and Everything ? (Oh sorry, wrong forum ;D )



And then of course there's my birthday watch. Feb 1965 Seikomatic.



But we won't go in to that :

[seakofreako]

So many questions, so little time . . . be interested to see the results . . . regarding question #5, "Hitchhiker's Guide" was ultimately proven incorrect, the answer was actually 'advertising' and not '42'.

[pollyc]

As you say, having Sportsmatic on the watch somewhere?


Mike

[Mr Levity]

And there was me thinking it was only certain movements, different components or something less obvious.

[TheWatchBloke]

I always thought sportsmatic was just the model branding successor to the gyromarvel which was the name Seiko gave their first auto wristwatch.

The is no difference between diashock and shock protected, it's just Seiko's proprietary name they gave their version of the incablock shock protection system. I did a post about Seiko's shock protection here

https://www.thewatchsite.com/index.ph...html#msg242695

The gist of the post was

"Diafix and diashock jewels are the type of shock protection employed by Seiko in the sixties. Before watches had shock protection a common failure was a broken balance staff (the staff is the very fine axle that supports the balance wheel) caused by a jolt to the watch. As the polished bearing ends of balance staffs were so fragile in relation to the mass of the balance wheel it didn't take much of a shock to snap the end clean off.

This problem was addressed in 1934 by Swiss engineers Georges Braunschweig and Fritz Marti who invented the Incablock shock protection system. The balance staff end jewel is mounted in a housing called a chaton. To provide shock protection there is a separate jewel cap that fits on top of the end jewel, and this cap is held in place by a spring clip. This spring absorbs any jolts or shocks the balance staff may encounter. Some chatons are capable of absorbing sideways as well as vertical shocks due to their construction. So successful was this system that it was mimicked by all watch manufacturers who called their systems various proprietary names. Seiko used the name diashock for their balance staff protection and diafix for shock protection of lighter components, notably the third wheel and escape wheel staffs. The diafix system doesn't have separate chatons, it just utilises a jewel end cap and spring covering a fixed jewel in the plate."

The mercury is an odd one. It's not a 7625 with an replacement 820 rotor is it? If not I don't know!

[Harry, Denmark]

These two links should sort you out:

http://www.network54.com/Forum/78440...55356747/%3C/a
http://seikoandcitizen.blogspot.dk/2...rtsmatics.html

[Mr Levity]

Thank you Duncan and Harry. +1 to you both.

The more I learn about this great hobby, the more I want to learn. I don't have any plans to start taking watches apart as my eysight and manual dexterity are not what they used to be, ( I wonder if there's a spri....... oh, there it goes ;D ) but it's fascinating to see how it all works.

[pollyc]

, that's brilliant. I am going to read through all the stuff tonight for bedtime reading ;D . it's a good time of the day for absorbing information.


Mike

[KevG]

Guys,


Can I add to the quiz with my contribution? I've got 4 Sportsmatics, all different (one of them is in pieces at the moment while I sort out a crustal/bezel problem0


The three complete ones...



Left to right:


January 1964 15035D with 2451 movement. No day/date


April 1967 Proof 7625-8060 with 7625D movement. Date only


August 1967 Proof 6619-9990. Day/date


Caseback shots in same order as above...





This is the dismantled one...




April 1966 Proof 7625-8200 with 7625D movement. Date only.


There seems to be quite a variety of watches bearing the "Sportsmatic" nomenclature. Makes you keen to find more variants, damn it!!


Kevin.

[Mr Levity]

Originally Posted by KevG

There seems to be quite a variety of watches bearing the "Sportsmatic" nomenclature. Makes you keen to find more variants, damn it!!

Kevin.

Yes, this is a [color=red]BIG problem. )