Vintage Seiko women's watches

Family	From	Example movements	Case and metal	Sold range
Queen Seiko	1962	Hand-wound mechanical, such as the 1020C	Crown motif on the case back; a platinum example is documented	Sampling
Credor	1974	Mechanical 6810 and quartz in early Credor catalogs	Started as Seiko’s precious-metal line	Sampling
Lassale	1980	Quartz, such as the 2F50A	Slim dress cases	Sampling
Exceline	by 1980	Quartz 1400 and 2320	Oval and rounded-square cases; some 14K gold	Sampling
Rivoli (Half Moon)	1986	Quartz, such as the 1N00	Asymmetrical	Sampling
Everyday automatics	2205 by 1970	2205 and 4206	Round steel and gold-tone cases	Sampling

Seiko created the Queen Seiko in 1962 as the women’s counterpart to the King Seiko, according to Seiko Design. The first models were hand-wound, with a box-shaped acrylic crystal, long trapezoid markers and a large crown; later ones moved to a cut-glass style. The case back carries a crown motif. The Watch Bloke’s repair of one, with a hand-wound 23-jewel 1020C, was platinum, so don’t assume every Queen Seiko is steel or plated.

Credor began in 1974 as Seiko’s high-end line in precious metals and took its crest logo in 1980, according to Credor. Plus9Time notes that early Credor dials can still read Seiko, with Credor appearing only in the catalog, so a dial without the Credor name isn’t necessarily wrong. Early Credor catalogs show both mechanical models on the 6810 and quartz models, though we haven’t confirmed which of them were women’s watches.

Seiko’s own timeline puts the Lassale in 1980, popular abroad first and then sold in Japan. Seiko’s parts catalogue for the 2F50A quartz movement carries the Lassale name, though other Lassale movements exist. The Exceline appears in Seiko’s 1980 Japanese catalog with 1400 and 2320 quartz movements in oval and rounded-square cases, some marked 14KYS.

The watches people now call the Half Moon trace back to the Rivoli, which Seiko dates to 1986: an asymmetrical design that was especially popular in Europe. GQ notes the nickname came later and isn’t Seiko’s. One dealer’s example uses the 1N00 quartz movement in a base-metal case, so treat gold claims with care.

Many vintage women’s Seikos are plain automatics, and they’re mechanical, not quartz.

• 2205: automatic with hand-winding, a date with quickset, 28,800 vibrations per hour, 17 jewels in Seiko’s guide. The 2205-0240 is one example; one watchmaker dated his to December 1970.
• 4206: automatic with hand-winding, a day and date with quickset, 21,600 vibrations per hour, 17 jewels in Seiko’s guide for the 4206B. The 4206-0510 is a women’s Seiko 5.

The 1104 is mechanical too, but hand-wound rather than automatic. A seller who calls any of these a quartz watch that needs a battery has the movement wrong.

The case back often says what the case is made of, though not always. Plus9Time lists Seiko’s material codes next to what’s usually stamped on the back:

• SGP (Seiko Gold Colour Plate) is gold-colored plating; the back usually reads BASE METAL ST.STEEL BACK. SGP30 is 30-micron plating, stamped SGP30 ST.STEEL BACK.
• GF and AGF mean gold filled, stamped GOLD FILLED ST.STEEL BACK or AGF. Not solid gold.
• 18K or K18 is an 18-karat yellow gold case. K18 is the older marking and usually sits inside a square box.
• 14KYS is a 14-karat gold case with a steel back, stamped 14K ST.STEEL BACK.
• SS18K combines steel and 18-karat gold, stamped ST.STEEL + 18KT ST.STEEL BACK. A back that reads ST.STEEL 18KT BEZEL means only the bezel is gold.

A missing stamp doesn’t settle it either way. Go by what’s stamped on the case and the back, not by the color or the family name.

The serial decoder reads the month and the year’s last digit from the case back. It narrows the decade only for calibers whose production years we’ve verified, and that doesn’t yet include the women’s calibers on this page, so check the dial style and case too. Our price guide will show sampled ranges for the women’s references after our first sampling.