Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Seiko · 5 Sports
Seiko 5 Sports 44 mm Meteorite 18k
Reference 17811OR.48
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Seiko
- Collection
- 5 Sports
- Model
- Seiko 5 Sports 44 mm Meteorite 18k
- Reference number
- 17811OR.48
- Year / era
- 1957 · 1950s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Time and date
- Movement
- Spring Drive
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Dial type
- Meteorite
- Strap / bracelet
- NATO textile strap
- Water resistance
- 30 m
- Limited-edition status
- Limited edition of 50 pieces
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 44 mm
- Case thickness
- 8.1 mm
- Case material
- 18k white gold
- Bezel
- Unidirectional ceramic 60-minute
- Crystal
- Anti-reflective sapphire, double-domed
- Dial
- Meteorite
- Hands
- Mercedes hour hand with Chromalight display
- Indexes
- Applied Arabic numerals with luminous coating
- Bracelet / strap
- NATO textile strap
- Clasp / buckle
- Folding clasp in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 30 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 74A — Spring Drive
- Movement type
- Automatic, self-winding
- Frequency
- 21,600 vph (3 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 38 hours
- Number of jewels
- 40 jewels
- Complications
- Time and date
- Functions
- Dive time, running seconds
- Watchmaker
- Assembled and regulated by a single watchmaker, who signs off the piece before casing.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1957 – 1960
- Limited-edition quantity
- 50 pieces
- Current market information
- Thin secondary-market supply — pricing is set piece by piece at auction.
Designer
Gérald Genta
Gérald Genta (1931–2011) trained as a goldsmith in Geneva and became the most influential watch designer of the 20th century. Working freelance, he sketched the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak overnight in 1970, followed by the Patek Philippe Nautilus, the IWC Ingenieur SL and the Bulgari Bulgari — defining the integrated-bracelet luxury sports watch as a category.
Historical significance
Seiko 5 Sports 44 mm Meteorite 18k sits within Seiko's 5 Sports line, introduced in 1957. It carries the house codes established since 1881 — 18k white gold case, meteorite dial and spring drive — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
The House
Seiko
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1881
- Founder
- Kintaro Hattori
- Headquarters
- Japan
- Tier
- Japanese
- Major collections
- Prospex, Presage, King Seiko, Astron, 5 Sports
- Signature technologies
- In-house hairspring production · Proprietary case-hardening and polishing · Hand-applied guilloché dials
- Famous movements
- Eco-Drive solar quartz · High-accuracy quartz · Spring Drive · Automatic, 24 jewels
- Notable watches
- Seiko Prospex 36 mm Green Stainless (1952) · Seiko Prospex 38 mm Black 18k (1977) · Seiko Prospex 38 mm Meteorite Platinum (1972) · Seiko Prospex 42 mm Green Sapphire (1997)
Brand history
Seiko has spent more than 145 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's Prospex, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Kintaro Hattori established Seiko in 1881, working from Japan at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Seiko calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1881
Kintaro Hattori founds Seiko in Japan.
1899
Seiko earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Seiko to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Seiko enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Seiko continues to produce Prospex, Presage, King Seiko and other icons in limited numbers.