Seiko Watch Model By Serial Number

Please note that additional Seiko resources can be found on the wonderful site www.plus9time.com, which is run by the dedicated Seiko expert, Anthony Kabel. He has many great articles and reference materials about Seiko watches on that site. Many, if not all of the vintage catalogs that I collected likely came from Anthony’s collection. SEIKO quartz analog watch model serial number: 5P32-6B30 SEIKO quartz analogue. The first number represents the year and the second number (or letter) represents the month (1-9 for Jan.-Sept. All modern Seiko watches have the date of manufacture contained in the 6 digit Serial number. Exceptions are pre-1970 models when the numbers were 7 digits long, and limited edition models may have a number reflecting it's piece number e.g. 90/200 meaning its the 90th of only 200 pieces.

Seiko Watch Case Number
Seiko Quartz Watch Serial Numbers
Seiko Watch Serial Number History

'When was my Seiko made?' We hear that a lot here at WatchSleuth so we built this page to help you figure it out.The page includes a calculator along with instructions and example images to help you find the movement caliber, case code and serial number on the back of your watch.The calculator uses these codes to do its magic.

Your results will be shown here.If you don't know how to find these numbers on your watch please read our instructions below.

You can also view the entire datefinder database. We encourage people to send us additions and corrections.

Seiko Watch Case Number


Example #1
6119-8083 | 061187
Mvmt-Case | Serial

Finding the Model and Serial Number

Most Seikos have a 'retail' model number that is displayed in the store but not written anywhere on the watch.They also have a 'reference' model number that is written on the case back.This reference model number is a combination of two numbers:

movement caliber
case code

Each of these two numbers are four digits long and they are separated by a hyphen.In the example images the reference model number is highlighted in red.

The other number you will need is the serial number.This is also on the case back and is six digits long.In the example images the serial number is highlighted in blue.Every watch has a unique combination of reference model number plus serial number.


Example #2
6309-576A | 2D5822
Mvmt-Case | Serial

How is the Date Calculated

The first digit of the serial number tells you the last digit of the year the watch was made.Looking at the example images:

for example #1 the year ends in 0
for example #2 the year ends in 2
for example #3 the year ends in 4

You may notice this does not tell us which decade.That is why we also ask for the model number.For many of Seiko's movements we know the first year they were producedand for most movements they were produced for less than 10 years.This helps us narrow down the decade.

Using this additional information we can update our three examples:

the 6119 was first made in 1970 so #1 is from 1970 or 1980
the 6309 was made from 1976 to 1987 so #2 is from 1982
the 7S36 was first made in 1996 so #3 is from 2004 or 2014

The second digit of the serial number is also useful. It tells you the month the watch was manufactured.Here are the possible values:

The remaining four digits of the serial number indicate the production number for the watch.If your last for digits are 0000 then you have the first watch made for that model reference number.Returning to our examples and using the second digit from the serial number we get the following production dates:

The 6119-8083 061187 was made in June of 1970/1980
The 6309-576A 2D5822 was made in December of 1982
The 7S36-03J0 411082 was made in January of 2014

I know example #3 was not made in 2004 since I bought it new in 2014.


Example #3
7S36-03J0 | 411082
Mvmt-Case | Serial

Why Do We Ask for the Case Code

If you were paying close attention you may have noticed we asked for the case code in the form above but we did not mention using it when calculating the date. You can leave that field blank and still findthe date for your watch however if you complete the field we will provide a listing of watches from our Seiko catalogsthat match the movement and case code.

Special Thanks

What you see here is in large part thanks to this excellent Quartzimodo article How to tell when you Seiko watch was made.Unfortunately the Jayhawk Production Date Calculator (by John Gauch) which is linked to in the Quartzimodo article no longer seems to be available, so we built our own.Another useful resource we found during our research was The Seiko Manufacture Date Decoder on the Retro Seiko website.It does not seem to be as well known and we hope that our movement database is more completeand that our instructions are more helpful.As with any part of WatchSleuth we encourage people to contact us with suggestions, corrections or any other information that would make our site more useful.

Seiko Watches - How to date your watch by the serial number

Buy Watches

Seikos have the date of manufacture written into the serial number which is engraved on the back of the watch also the movement-model numbers are also engraved onto the case back. The first number represents the year and the second number (or letter) represents the month (1-9 for Jan.-Sept. and O,N and D for October, November and December).For example if the serial number was 864825 and you knew the watch was made sometime in the 1970's it would indicate it to be made in June 1978. You have to know the age of the watch to the nearest decade so sometimes it can be a little bit difficult. Usually the case style or the introduction dates of the movement can help to narrow this down though.

General rule for manufacture month/year is to look at 1st digit of serial # to say what year within decade. Then look at 2nd digit/letter to tell month. For month, 1-9 are Jan thru Sep, with 'O' for Oct, 'N' for Nov, and 'D' for Dec.

Seiko Quartz Watch Serial Numbers

For decade itself, you have to know the actual production dates of the movement itself. If you don't you could e mail Seiko customer service in (Japan) ,quoting model and serial numbers and they should be able to help,here is their e mail address below

This is also worth a tryTHE SEIKO WATCH PRODUCTION DATE CALCULATORif you are not sure what decade your Seiko was made in , it works for some but not others but a nifty little application

Seiko Watch Serial Number History

Please remember that this is just an approximate guide and can not be used as a 100% accurate outlook as per how old your watch might be.
Should you require a more conclusive valuation of your time piece then please do not hesitate to email us.
To determine the approximate age of your watch, open the case and find the serial number, usually found engraved on the movement or the case back itself, then match it up with the list on this page.
Cross reference the Movement number with the case number to find the time scale of when your watch was produced.