[Jason042779]

New member here. I inherited this Bellmatic from my grandfather and I was hoping the experts here could shed a little light on what exactly I have. The pics are terrible, but it's a 4006-7000 27J "Water Proof" with serial number 793104. That would mean it's from 1967, is that correct? Was this a JDM, or was this ever sold in the US? Is this version considered at all rare or desirable?

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

[Jason042779]

Thanks for the feedback. The history thread is a little unclear on if the 27Js were exported to US, but due to the tariff, didn't sell well, causing Seiko to switch to the 21J. Or if 27J was never sold in the US at all due to the tariff. I suppose these things are hard to know that far back in the past. Anyway, after I received this watch I sent it to Tourneau in NYC for a tune-up, which I now regret, realizing that there are vintage Seiko specialists out there who would have far more expertise. But they only charged me $70 which sort of leads me to believe they didn't do much of anything other than a cursory cleaning. So I think this watch is in pretty close to original condition, and I will continue to treasure it!

 

[Jason042779]

Dan, thanks for the advice (which now seems so obvious). The day wheel is English-only, so it would appear this was intended for the North American market. Based on the Bellmatic history detailed elsewhere on the site, it would seem that a US-market 27J from '67 would occupy an interesting part of the Bell history. Cool.