Vintage Seiko 5 DX (Deluxe) – Silver Sunburst Day-Date from November 1967

SEIKO vintage mechanical watch MADE IN JAPAN

“Seiko” (精工) is a Japanese word meaning “precision,” “exquisite workmanship,” or “refined craftsmanship.”
It comes from the characters:

• 精 (sei) – fine, precise, refined

• 工 (ko) – craft, workmanship

Originally, Seiko’s watchmaking division was called Seikosha (精工舎), meaning “House of Precision.”
In 1924 the company shortened the name to Seiko, keeping the core meaning.

So the brand name literally ties directly to the idea of precision engineering—which is exactly what the company wanted to be known for in its watches.

About the Seiko 5 DX Line

The Seiko 5 arrived in 1963 with a simple mission: put a genuine automatic watch on the wrist of an ordinary working person, built to shrug off daily life and priced within easy reach. Its name stood for five guarantees every model had to keep — automatic winding, a day-date display, water resistance, a recessed crown at the four o’clock position, and a durable case and bracelet. It became one of the most successful watch families ever made and the bedrock of Seiko’s reputation for honest, reliable mechanical watches. The “DX,” short for Deluxe, sat at the very top of that everyday hierarchy. It kept the Seiko 5 promise but dressed it up — higher jewel counts, more careful finishing, and the styling of a watch meant to be worn with a jacket rather than a work shirt. Where a base Seiko 5 carried 17 or 21 jewels, the DX models carried 23 or 27, and wore fluted “coin-edge” bezels, sunburst dials and crisply applied faceted markers borrowed from the language of a proper dress watch. The Deluxe models ran on Seiko’s 5100 “51-stream” calibers, introduced in 1967 from the Suwa factory. The flagship for the Seiko 5 DX was the 27-jewel caliber 5139 — a self-winding day-date movement beating at 19,800 vibrations per hour, with hacking seconds (the second hand stops when the crown is pulled, for precise setting) and a push-crown quickset date. It was built only from 1967 to 1969, when the higher-frequency 28,800 bph “Presmatic” caliber 5146 replaced it, making the 5139-powered DX a narrow and increasingly collectible window of Seiko’s production. The Seiko 5 DX occupies the sweet spot of vintage Seiko — the everyday-automatic durability and value the Seiko 5 was famous for, lifted with the jewel count, finishing and dress styling of something a clear step above. It was affordable luxury in the most literal sense, positioned just beneath King Seiko and Grand Seiko, and clean surviving examples on their period bracelets are exactly the kind of watch the collector market is still catching up on.

About This Watch

This is a Japanese-domestic-market Seiko 5 DX, reference 5139-7010, powered by the 27-jewel automatic caliber 5139A. Its case-back serial (7N01939) dates it to November 1967 — the very first year the 5139 caliber was produced, making this an early example of the line. The silver sunburst dial is the classic dress-DX configuration: applied faceted baton markers, the “SEIKO 5” shield with “DX” and “27 JEWELS” beneath the crosshair, and a framed day-date window at three o’clock (the day wheel here displays in English). It sits behind a fluted “coin-edge” bezel that frames the dial with a quiet, formal presence rather than the space-age flourishes of the later 1970s DX pieces. Under the hood, the 5139A is a genuinely full-featured movement for its era: automatic winding, day and date with push-crown quickset, and hacking seconds for precise time-setting, all running at 19,800 vibrations per hour. It comes on its steel bracelet with a signed Seiko folding clasp. The steel case-back also carries a period hand-engraving in Japanese — 十年表彰記念, meaning “in commemoration of a 10-year service award.” This example began life as a long-service gift, presented by a Japanese company to an employee marking a decade of service — a common and quietly charming provenance for domestic-market Seikos of this era.

Technical Specifications

• Brand: Seiko
• Line: Seiko 5 DX (Deluxe)
• Reference Number: 5139-7010
• Movement: Caliber 5139A automatic, 27 jewels, 19,800 bph; day-date with push-crown quickset and hacking seconds
• Serial Number: 7N01939
• Production Date: November 1967
• Case Material: Stainless steel
• Case Diameter: ~36.5 mm (excluding crown)
• Dial: Silver sunburst with applied faceted baton markers
• Crystal: Acrylic
• Case-back: Stainless steel, stamped 5139-7010 with Japanese kanji
• Country of Manufacture: Japan

Condition Report

The silver sunburst dial is clean and bright, with the applied markers and printing sharp and intact. The stainless steel case is in good vintage condition and its fluted bezel remains crisp; light surface marks consistent with age and careful wear are visible on close inspection. The acrylic crystal is clear. The steel bracelet with its signed Seiko clasp shows honest wear but is sound and wears comfortably. The day-date changes cleanly, and the quickset and hacking functions both work as intended.

Watch went through a recent service by a professional watch technician and keeps good time.

Comes complete with original steel bracelet*.

(*)Note: Stock bracelets are often shortened by previous owners and may not fit you(see bracelet size in the product images). We recommend adding a new Seiko lug width matched leather strap with your order.

Why Collectors Want This Watch Today

A true first-year example. The caliber 5139 was only made from 1967 to 1969, and this one left the Suwa factory in November 1967 — the opening year of the run. Early-production examples of a short-lived caliber are exactly what vintage-Seiko collectors look for. A lot of watch for the money. Day-date with push-crown quickset and hacking seconds was premium specification in the late 1960s, and the 27-jewel DX sat a clear step above the standard Seiko 5. Finding that feature set in an honest, serviced vintage piece — still on its original signed bracelet — is increasingly hard as these get separated from their bracelets or swapped to straps. Understated by design. This is the conservative, dress side of the DX line: a clean silver sunburst dial and fluted bezel that reads as formal rather than flashy. It wears as a genuine 1960s Japanese dress automatic, with the kind of quiet presence that suits a cuff.

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We guarantee the item you receive looks and works exactly as advertised — or your money back.

Seiko Group Corporation (セイコーグループ株式会社, Seikō Gurūpu kabushiki gaisha), commonly known as Seiko, is a Japanese maker of watches, clocks, electronic devices, and semiconductors. Founded in 1881 by Kintarō Hattori in Tokyo, Seiko introduced the world’s first commercial quartz wristwatch in 1969. Seiko is widely known for its wristwatches. Seiko and Rolex are the only two watch companies considered to be vertically integrated. Seiko is able to design and develop all the components of a watch, as well as assemble, adjust, inspect and ship them in-house. Seiko’s mechanical watches consist of approximately 200 parts, and the company has the technology and production facilities to design and manufacture all of these parts internally.

Seiko offers one of the widest ranges of watch technologies in the world—quartz, kinetic, solar, mechanical, and Spring Drive—spanning everything from affordable everyday pieces to six-figure haute horlogerie. Over the decades it has launched multiple global brands, including Lorus, Pulsar, and Alba, while elevating its prestige through innovations like Spring Drive, which helped push Seiko into higher-end territory. In the 2010s, Grand Seiko and Credor were separated into fully independent luxury brands, while Seiko’s own global lineup now includes Grand Seiko, King Seiko, Prospex, Astron, Presage, and Seiko 5 Sports, with Credor remaining primarily Japan-focused.

Among Seiko’s key lines, Seiko 5 (born in 1963) is the gateway mechanical series known for durability and value; Lord Matic defined 1970s style with faceted crystals and colorful dials; Astron remains Seiko’s flagship GPS-solar tech line; Presage focuses on traditional mechanical craftsmanship with enamel and urushi dials; and Prospex delivers professional-grade dive, field, and pilot watches often embraced by enthusiasts. At the top end, Grand Seiko emphasizes precision, Zaratsu polished design, and movements like Spring Drive, while King Seiko—revived in the 2020s—brings back sharp, elegant 1960s styling with modern calibres.

Finally, Credor represents Seiko’s pinnacle of artisanal watchmaking, producing low-volume pieces in precious metals and showcasing Japanese decorative arts and haute complications from the Micro Artist Studio. Beyond watches, Seiko has also produced various electronic devices and, historically, jewelry and eyewear—though those divisions have since shifted to other companies.