Rare San-ai Ricoh Automatic 21 Jewels – Ricoh Cal. 6158

An appealing San-ai Ricoh Automatic with a distinctive sporty design, rounded case shapes and a silver sunburst dial. Applied indices and the day-date window at 3 o’clock complete the dial, while the steel bracelet underscores its typically vintage aesthetic. A historically fascinating piece, as the San-ai brand was a satellite brand closely linked to Ricoh Watch Co., one of the historic Japanese “Big Four” watch manufacturers alongside Seiko, Citizen and Orient

• Brand: San-ai / Ricoh
• Period: Late 1960s, early 1970s
• Reference: 6168
• Condition: Used 
• Movement: Self-winding mechanical
• Calibre: Ricoh 6158 with 21 jewels
• Case: Stainless steel
• Case diameter: 37 x 41 mm
• Dial: Silver sunburst with applied indices
• Bracelet: Steel bracelet
• Buckle: Deployant
• Crown: At 3 o’clock
• Case back: Stainless steel, marked San-ai – Japan 6168
• NoteThe cushion (tonneau) case and the silver sunburst dial finish (which reflects light in a radiating pattern) epitomize Space Age style at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s. At the time, space exploration strongly influenced design: angular shapes were abandoned in favor of futuristic, fluid lines reminiscent of cathode-ray television sets or spacecraft portholes.