Vintage Watch | Seiko 6139-6010 (Blue Bruce Lee)

Seiko 6139-6010 Blue Bruce Lee: Electric Blue Proof Dial, Original Bracelet, Fully Serviced

Fully serviced by our watchmaker in Japan, this Seiko 6139-6010 is the early blue-dial automatic chronograph collectors call the Blue Bruce Lee. Electric-blue sunburst dial, WATER 70m PROOF at 9, tachymeter, day and date at 3, and the original stainless bracelet. After service, the chronograph and the day-date are working perfectly.

Why collectors call the Seiko 6139-6010 the Blue Bruce Lee

Bruce Lee made this reference famous. From about 1969 to 1973 he is photographed wearing a Seiko 6139-6010 — not in his films, but as his own everyday watch. The best-supported identification is a Hong Kong-market 6010 with this same WATER 70m PROOF layout at 9 and a Chinese day wheel, usually described as a dark dial. Collectors still call that watch the Bruce Lee Seiko. This example is the blue-dial sibling of the same reference, which is why it is known as the Blue Bruce Lee. It is not a claim that he wore this exact blue face. The famous yellow 6139 is a different watch in the same family: the 6139-6005 that Colonel William Pogue flew on Skylab 4 in November 1973.

Why the Seiko 6139 movement still matters

In 1969 three automatic chronographs arrived within months of each other. Zenith announced the El Primero in January. The Swiss Chronomatic group (Heuer, Breitling, Hamilton-Buren) put the Caliber 11 on the market around August. Seiko’s 6139 reached Japanese shops on 21 May 1969, from a Suwa internal report. It was the first chronograph with a vertical clutch, paired with a column wheel. It beats at 21,600. Power reserve is about 45 hours. There is no running seconds: the central hand is the chronograph seconds. The subdial at 6 counts 30 minutes. Day and date quick-set by pushing the crown — light for date, deeper for day.

This Seiko 6139-6010 Blue Bruce Lee and its condition

The caseback is stamped 6139-6010. The serial is 0112653, dating this watch to January 1970, with JAPAN A. The dial code near 5 reads 6040T — the early export / Hong Kong code — and the day window is the Chinese/English wheel. It is not the later Japan-market 5 Sports Speedtimer layout. The blue is even, the print is sharp, and the early two-piece red chronograph seconds is still in place. The original lume has aged to a creamy tone and is a little uneven on a few plots. The cushion case has some usage marks, while the brushed bezel and the case shape are still clearly readable. The original three-loop railroad bracelet shows honest age and is the correct bracelet for this reference. The movement has been fully serviced by our watchmaker in Japan; all functions, including the chronograph and day-date, are working perfectly.

Seiko 6139-6010 specification

Maker: Seiko

Model: Seiko 6139-6010 (Blue Bruce Lee)

Era: January 1970

Case: Stainless cushion, 39.5 mm, 43.5 mm lug-to-lug, 19 mm lugs, some usage marks with the original finishing still readable

Crystal: Hardlex mineral

Dial: Electric blue sunburst, WATER 70m PROOF, tachymeter, 30-minute counter at 6, Chinese/English day-date at 3, dial code 6040T with Chinese Word and English word day wheel

Movement: Automatic chronograph Caliber 6139, 21,600 bph, column wheel, vertical clutch, fully serviced by our watchmaker in Japan

Strap: Original stainless three-loop railroad bracelet

A January 1970 Seiko 6139-6010 with the early blue Proof dial and its original bracelet — fully serviced in Japan and ready to wear.