1964 Olympic Seiko One-button Chronograph

Been looking for years for a very specific version of the 5719 one button handwind chronograph: the 1964, metal/black bezel, no lume version. Sorta like this one:

Actually, EXACTLY like this one! I'd actually seen this one on the bay and tried a few tentative offers to no avail. Did the same again with a higher offer and - suddenly it was mine!

The price I offered just made my own hair stand up!! But, thinking about it, this is exactly the one I have been looking for, for the last few years - and now I have it! Have seen them go for less, but I have never been around to pull the trigger! So, is it worth what I paid? Actually, yes - as an integral part of a 1964 Seiko collection, I would say its value is greater than as an individual piece. I know I am going to get a lot of bang for the buck doing the researching ;-) I think the caseback may be slightly above average too, and the October 1964 serial number coincides nicely with the October 1964 Tokyo Olympics:

I always factor into the price of my obsession that I - by researching and documenting significant (aren't they all!) vintage Seiko watches  - are paying back some of the knowledge, education and sheer entertainment provided on Seiko and watch forums by members who have paid their "dues" by investing their cash or time. I personally would have a hard time justifying costs if I couldn't share - or receive - the fruits of this obsession!

Here's an interesting piece of information from the Official Report of the Organizing Committee for the Games of the XVIII Olympiad 1964 - 50 Crown Chronographs were presented as Torch Relay gifts. One wonders if they were specially inscribed, or with a special bezel/dial combination - or... perhaps... 5718s?

To those not familiar with the 5717 Crown chronographs, they came in a bewildering variety: black dials / white dials; with/without lume; steel, plastic and steel/insert bezels; date/no-date. I tried once to summarize the different permutations below (please note the 4598 is probably an erroneously typed 45899):

(Figure reference: Vintage Seiko GS Chronometer Crown Liner 5722 5719 book /eBay)

Runners high - on the road with a 1964 Seiko cal. 5717 Olympic Chronograph

Runners high - on the road with a 1964 Seiko cal. 5717 Olympic Chronograph 

The men's marathon was part of the Athletics at the 1964 Summer Olympics program in Tokyo (Wikipedia). It was held on 21 October 1964. 79 athletes from 41 nations entered, with 68 starting and 58 finishing. Abebe Bikila from Ethiopia won the race in a world-record time of 2h12m and became the first athlete in history to win the Olympic marathon twice. Third place went to Kokichi Tsuburaya of Japan (possibly the runner in the Seiko brochure above) in a time of 2h16min. For the occasion of the Tokyo Olympics, Seiko introduced the caliber 5717 One-button chronograph, and almost certainly this chronograph would have been used by spectators to time this race.

On December 3, 2011 Harry, Denmark decided to run 5km against time on a particularly stormy afternoon wearing an almost perfect 1964 caliber 5717 One-button chronograph, although this race would be different: this time, the Seiko was on a non-original bracelet:

Essential to any good run are the right shoes. Not your daughters shoes, or the brown leather shoes you got last Christmas and never wore, but your own favorite running shoes you eventually find under your son's bed:

Properly kitted, the next stage of a successful run usually takes place outside, where you wonder whether it would not in fact be better to get out of the rain and watch some sport on TV instead:

At this stage its worth looking at your watch to see if there is any daylight left, which there unfortunately was. Thus starts the Loneliness of the Overweight Runner. Turn the bezel (the same as on the 62MAS diver) to the minute hand, fire up the iPod and you're off! Exactly 5km later you stop the chrono in a blaze of pain and read off your time - 33m19s:

A new personal record (by 7s) which brings you one step closer to being in reasonable physical form (for a 47-year old). I felt a small tinge of pride as I remembered starting to run regularly a few months ago, and not being able to complete more than a single km without stopping to walk!

Its a great feeling to have a dedicated vintage running watch from your birth year, a Seiko and from the year of the Tokyo Olympics at that! As a collector, I really enjoy using this 47-year old watch for its intended purpose, and having it work as precisely and elegantly as the day it was sold. There is some wear on the caseback, revealing that this watch has been worn and used, while at the same time it has been cared for and appreciated by its original owner. Case lines, dial and brushed finished are pristine, and only the caseback and a few scratches on the bezel indicate that this watch has ever been used:

Finally a shot of two Olympian timekeepers, the 1964 caliber 5717 One-button chronograph and its bigger counterpart, the 1964 caliber 9011 (90ST) 1/10s Olympic stopwatch: