[dasher]

You are correct about the date - September of '67. Regarding rare and valuable, I would say yes to both. Searching the Bell-Matic forum will give you lots of info. Here is a good thread about the history of the Bell-Matic:

http://www.thewatchsite.com/44-bellmatics-forum/42477-bell-matic-history.html

Enjoy it and take care of it!

Dan

 

[dasher]

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!

Well, regarding the export question, one way to know if your watch was destined for export or Japan Domestic is to look at the names of the days on the day wheel. I think if a watch were indeed meant to be shipped to the US/North America, it would have English and Spanish as the names of the day. If it were meant to be JDM, Kanji and English.

I doubt the guys at Tourneau gave you short shrift on the service - keep a good eye on the time keeping of it - wear it every day for a week and see how it keeps time overnight and then, over the weekend (if you're like me and leave the watch on your dresser all weekend).

Again, enjoy that beauty. My guess as to it's value, or what I'd be willing to sell it for: $275, bottom dollar. With some other bidders that amount can certainly go up.

Dan