Power Wheels Magazine A Notch Above
Timepieces is investigating a 49-year-old anomaly.
While doing an online search for information regarding our featured Seiko wristwatch for today, Thursday, September 17, 2026, we were confused and surprised to find that most horology websites list the 1977 Seiko 5 6319-7000 as having a “Peacock Blue” textured sunburst dial and a stainless steel case.
As you can see, our Seiko 5 6319-7000 from September 1977 is far from it. Our timepiece has a root beer dial and gold-plated steel case instead of the so-called “peacock” dial that most websites gush about. So, we dug further, and found that the nearest Seiko model from that era that resembles ours is a Seiko (not Seiko 5) Reference No. 6309-7009, which is powered by a 17-jewel 6309 movement, compared to our wristwatch with its 21-jewel 6319.
As any Seiko enthusiast worth his salt, err… wristwatch, the 6319 caliber with its upgraded quickset day/date mechanism, evolved from the 6309, Seiko’s reliable movement. Thus, our Seiko 5 6319-7000 should be a level higher than the Seiko 6309-7009, even though they may share the same gold-plated 38 mm case, root beer dial, lume-tipped baton-style hands and lume-tipped stick indices.
The hidden-lug pillow-style case is around 41 mm long and around 12 mm thick, which makes it ideal for a dress watch. With its two-tone gold-plated steel bracelet with stainless steel links, our Seiko 5 weighs in at a manageable 95 grams – still comfortable, light and easy for everyday wear. Its faceted glass crystal has a 9-facet prism structure on its surface that accentuates the golden color of the root beer dial.
While online reviews state that the Seiko 5 6319-7000 is known among collectors for its “peacock dial that catches the light dynamically”, we are certain that our gold Seiko 5 6319-7000 does not only “catch the light dynamically” with its faceted crystal, it is also something of an anomaly and a rarity.
There’s one more thing that makes our gold Seiko 5 with its root beer dial reassuringly better than the stainless-steel Seiko 5 with the peacock blue dial that has become common on the internet: An anomaly or not, this 1977 Seiko 5 6319-7000 is rare and it’s ours.
(Note: Although their reference numbers are almost identical, our 1977 Seiko 5 6319-7000 is vastly different from the 1977 Seiko Helmet “Darth Vader” 6139-7100 that we featured yesterday.)
Model: Seiko 5
Reference No.: 6319-7000
Month/Year of Manufacture: September 1977
Type: Dress Watch
Movement: Self-Winding/Automatic
Caliber: Seiko 6319
No. of Jewels: 21
Diameter: 38 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Lug-to-lug Length: 41 mm
Lug Width: 18 mm
Weight: 95 grams
