We all know the Rolex GMT-Master…but what about its more affordable Japanese cousins, the Seiko World Time.
While world time/GMT watches are most commonly associated with pilots, they were also sold to executives, lawyers, finance professionals, and other individuals who could benefit from the various time zones. Which was the case for the Seiko World Time. Although the idea of tracking multiple time zones was not new, it really took off in terms of wristwatches in the second half of the 20th century, primarily in Europe. Seiko had already invested in businesses such as Glycine and Rolex when they first learned about it in the 1960s. The Seiko World Time, was introduced in 1964 in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics.
The Cal. 6217 was hosted by the first Seiko World Time. With a bi-directional rotating inner bezel to show the time in the wearer's selected time zones, the bezel featured the names of 24 cities, symbolizing different time zones. The Cal. 6217A was a 18,000 bph automatic with 17 jewels.
With a silver dial and the "normal case," this is the most beautiful version (in my entirely subjective opinion); a later version had a C-case. August 1968 saw the production of the watch.