After researching this for some time – to include reaching out to Sharon Lee, Bruce Lee’s daughter (as noted above) - I have taken all the amazingly well-researched information posted previously in this thread, added some of my own assessment and interweb findings, and I assess there is strong evidence to name the Seiko 6139-6010 “True Bruce Lee” variant as a 1969 Seiko 6139-6010 Proof/Proof variant, and I assess with slightly less confidence it had a Hong Kong day wheel. Why? Read below 😊
First observation: Based on photographs in this thread, it is evident Bruce’s 6139 was not the commonly assumed SpeedTimer dial variant (see side by side comparison between this one and the Proof Hong Kong dial variant below). Despite the lack of clarity in photographs of the era, when compared to modern-day photography, it’s a safe call there is no “5 SpeedTimer” lettering on the dial at the nine o’clock position (ruling out the Japanese Domestic Market SpeedTimer dial variant), nor is there a lume plot (ruling out the later, post-1972 dial variants, and the 6139 appeared on multiple occasions on Bruce’s wrists before 1972 anyway). This said, a photo from February 1972 on this thread (attached below for ease of reference) stands out for its quality and allows us to see – albeit not well enough to differentiate between proof and resist nomenclature – there is white font here and nothing else, ie: no “5” or blue SPORTS branding we would see were this a JDM SpeedTimer dial variant.
Second Observation: Bruce’s mother (who I believe was based in Hong Kong, but I could be mistaken), per the excellent
https://bruceleewashere.com/timeline (cited in this thread), visited him in Los Angeles circa June 1969. Subsequently, and nearly a year later - as recounted in the excellent 2016 book, “
Bruce Lee Letters of the Dragon: The Original 1958-1973 Correspondence” - in a letter to his wife in April 1970, Bruce notes his presence with his son in Hong Kong, while his wife and daughter remain in Los Angeles. In the letter he offhandedly notes his mother had purchased for him numerous items from Hong Kong, so much he is uncertain he can transport everything back to the United States. That said, there was no mention of a watch among the gifts from his mother – and pictures exist, preceding this letter, of Bruce wearing the watch before his 1970 trip to Hong Kong. This leads to the logical assessment Bruce already possessed the 6139 before this 1970 trip, allowing the assessment his mother had possibly gifted the 6139 to him upon her previous mid-1969 visit to Los Angeles (from Hong Kong), additional evidence in favor of 1969 date and the Chinese day wheel variant. Per “
Manufacturing Time: Global Competition in the Watch Industry, 1795-2000, “Hong Kong was an important market during this time period, and already a major player in terms of watch assembly [in particular, eventually, for Seiko]," making it logical to assess it as a prime destination for the earliest non-JDM 6139s. That Bruce's 6139 had a Hong Kong day wheel is more of an assessment made from logical conclusions, vice solid proof in the example of the dial variant above/below.
Third Observation: Through a combination of internet research and aforementioned Bruce Lee timeline, the earliest dated picture of Bruce wearing his 6139 I could find was 10 May 1969, attending the National Karate Championships (NKC) in Washington DC (oh the irony there that it was a picture taken in DC), providing evidence for a stronger assessment the 6139 Bruce wore was from 1969. The earliest known date for the 6139 non-JDM variant is at least March 1969 (which, per
@HVL, had a Chinese day wheel - suggesting this variant was available quite early on in the 6139's life;
@HVL, many thanks for reaching out via DM on this!). This early date rules out the “Water 70 Resist” dial variant, which did not appear until after Bruce was seen wearing his 6139. Finally, of important note, per excellent research done by a few others, advertisements for the Hong Kong version of the Seiko 6139-6010 appeared around the time Lee was first photographed wearing the watch, namely mid-1969.
A Closing Note: The Bruce Lee is like the Pogue, in that there were multiple variations of the dial, but with one "true" variant. While some insist there to be only one "Pogue" - namely the "True Pogue" – it’s not misleading to call all gold 6139-600x's "Pogue." Same for the black dial 6139 Bruce Lee in discussion here. Some may disagree, but this is the approach I am taking, at least.
