Let's talk about the history of Silver 6139-600x
Whether you call the model a "Silver Pogue" or if you insist on only referring to yellow 6139-6005s as "Pogues", the silver-dial 6139-600x variant is both rare and increasingly popular.
I'd like to try and gather what we collectively know, in one place if possible - so please let us know about Silver Pogues you have ...
What I know about Silver Pogues
There's nothing worse than an armchair expert who bases their opinion on a hunch with nothing to back it up.
That said, I have some theories about Silver 6139s that I'd like to test - if you think this (or any of the above assertions) is wrong, and can point to evidence to that effect, please speak up. Maybe we'll all learn something.
I'd like to try and gather what we collectively know, in one place if possible - so please let us know about Silver Pogues you have ...
What I know about Silver Pogues
- They were available from 1969 - I have had 3 PROOFs in my hand, 2 from July and 1 from October. All were 6139-6000, with WATER 70M PROOF on the dial and WATERPROOF casebacks. The PROOF dial is always a 6030T dial code; 6030R PROOFs are ebay fakes.
- There are 6139-6001 watches with Silver 6030T dials.
- Q: has anyone ever seen a 6139-6001 with 6030R dial and confirmed the dial is real? In any colour?
- There are 6139-6002 models with WATER 70m RESIST dials in both 6030T and 6030R variants. There are no -6005 or -6009 watches with a silver dial.
- There are 1972 onward 6030T and 6030R dial variants with no text at 9 o'clock
- All Silver dial 6139-600x have a black/gray chapter ring
- No Seiko catalog has ever been proven to show a silver dial watch
- Q: The monochrome Universal Suppliers catalog (here) that's used as proof of the "Aussie Pogue" existing, has one image which most people assume is a yellow dial watch...
... but the key at the start of the catalog does say ...
... so it is always possible that the above image is not yellow, but "grey".
- Q: The monochrome Universal Suppliers catalog (here) that's used as proof of the "Aussie Pogue" existing, has one image which most people assume is a yellow dial watch...
There's nothing worse than an armchair expert who bases their opinion on a hunch with nothing to back it up.
That said, I have some theories about Silver 6139s that I'd like to test - if you think this (or any of the above assertions) is wrong, and can point to evidence to that effect, please speak up. Maybe we'll all learn something.
- There were no JDM silver dial 6139-600x - ie no 5 Sports Speedtimers.
- Q: did they even sell the silver 6139-600x in Japan? I somehow doubt it as there were so many other JDM only variants, why would they need to?
- The Silver 6139-600x were only sold in what we could say is Asia-Pacific - perhaps centering around Australia and Hong Kong - not Europe or North America
- Most will have been shipped with Stelux President bracelet
- Perhaps the chiclet bracelet was an option; there are certainly some which purport to be one-owner watches with chiclet bracelet
- Is there any evidence that a silver-dial watch came on an H-link bracelet?
- I have had 2x 70M PROOF watches which came to me in barn-find condition on straight-end diamondback bracelets (like this)... not a great fit but it seems like a coincidence...
- The Day wheel on Silver watches is always either Chinese or Roman (I. II, III etc)
- All silver 6139-6000 PROOFs I've seen are Chinese... I'd be inclined to think that it was only sold in Hong Kong, and all of them have Chinese wheels, then they added Roman as an alternative when the 6001/2 came out and was more widely distributed
- As a reminder - the Chinese day wheel has
- 日 - Sunday
- 一 - Monday
- 二 - Tuesday
- 三 - Wednesday
- 四 - Thursday
- 五 - Friday
- 六 - Saturday
- Some owners of Silver dial watches report Kanji day wheels - is it possible they're getting Kanji and Chinese mixed up?
- I know of one Silver with an Italian day wheel (which I think is pretty unusual in itself), but wonder if it and any other languages are outliers (maybe a previous owner got the day wheel swapped during a service)
41 - 60 of 167 Posts
All, apologies for checking this thread a few days late, but I can add my data point that pretty strongly supports the theories expressed so far here. I got my near-NOS proof silver 6139-6000 from the original owner along with two other watches - a 6119-6020 sports diver and a 6139-6000 proof gold dial - who reported buying all three in Hong Kong in January of 1970. The silver's dial is 6030T, the day wheel is English/Chinese, and the bracelet is a Stelux chiclet. Even more on point, the silver came with the Thong Sia sales paperwork, filled out to list the serial number that matches the watch. So I have no doubt it was sold there. Pics:
![]()
![]()
Also, I agree there was definitely no JDM silver dial version - I say this having devoted an unhealthy amount of time to tracking down every possible dial color, dial type (resist/proof/blank), and target market (speedtimer or not) example of 6139-600X and 6139-603X. I'm still missing an export silver resist and an export silver blank, but having tracked down the rarest of the rare (the Sunrise, the Forward, the 603X resist Italian export, and the 603X blank French export), I'm sure at this point I would've seen at least one silver JDM if it existed. All that said, if anyone's ever interested in selling/trading for a silver resist or blank, please reach out!
Cheers,
Amazing ...How many 6139-6000's still have the original papers, bracelet, and blue sticker on the case back...
Since the Speedtimer book does not address the silver dials (that I remember), do you have pictures of the Forward, Resist Italian Export, and French export?All, apologies for checking this thread a few days late, but I can add my data point that pretty strongly supports the theories expressed so far here. I got my near-NOS proof silver 6139-6000 from the original owner along with two other watches - a 6119-6020 sports diver and a 6139-6000 proof gold dial - who reported buying all three in Hong Kong in January of 1970. The silver's dial is 6030T, the day wheel is English/Chinese, and the bracelet is a Stelux chiclet. Even more on point, the silver came with the Thong Sia sales paperwork, filled out to list the serial number that matches the watch. So I have no doubt it was sold there. Pics:
![]()
![]()
Also, I agree there was definitely no JDM silver dial version - I say this having devoted an unhealthy amount of time to tracking down every possible dial color, dial type (resist/proof/blank), and target market (speedtimer or not) example of 6139-600X and 6139-603X. I'm still missing an export silver resist and an export silver blank, but having tracked down the rarest of the rare (the Sunrise, the Forward, the 603X resist Italian export, and the 603X blank French export), I'm sure at this point I would've seen at least one silver JDM if it existed. All that said, if anyone's ever interested in selling/trading for a silver resist or blank, please reach out!
Cheers,
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
3
Thanks all.
April 1972 French Coke -6032:
![]()
April '71 Italian Coke -6032 (thanks again, Alex):
![]()
October '72 -6032 Forward:
![]()
Sure thing, but just to confirm, those aren't silver... they're all Coke -6032s.
April 1972 French Coke -6032:
April '71 Italian Coke -6032 (thanks again, Alex):
October '72 -6032 Forward:
This is outstandingThanks all.
Sure thing, but just to confirm, those aren't silver... they're all Coke -6032s.
April 1972 French Coke -6032:
![]()
April '71 Italian Coke -6032 (thanks again, Alex):
![]()
October '72 -6032 Forward:
![]()
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My eyesight is not so good and the photo is blurry and focus is on the watch and not the background. Can anyone read what is under THONG (2 smaller print words vertically to the left of THONG) in the paperwork seen in the background. Thanks in Advance!
![]()
love that first one....Thanks all.
Sure thing, but just to confirm, those aren't silver... they're all Coke -6032s.
April 1972 French Coke -6032:
![]()
April '71 Italian Coke -6032 (thanks again, Alex):
![]()
October '72 -6032 Forward:
![]()
<* shark >>><
41 - 60 of 167 Posts
