In-Depth Exploring The Full Spectrum Of Shaped Watches With The Seiko "Helmet"

As watch collecting has evolved, and the number and diversity of collectors have grown, collectors are looking for watches that feel ‘new’ - watches that don’t belong to the well-trodden schools of ‘round’ or ‘square’, because those shapes are familiar. Our brain's survival mechanism is hard-wired to fear new things, and it doesn’t differentiate between a red berry growing on the plains of the savannah four million years ago or a Hublot x Daniel Arsham.

The more we see these new shapes, our brains begin to realise they’re not threats, and our opinions transition from “I don’t like it” (that’s the monkey-brain going “threat!”), and we can start to appreciate these shapes for what they are.

In ever-increasing numbers, we’re turning over stones and finding whole new worlds beneath them, driving watch collecting down exciting new rabbit holes. These expanding tastes are colliding with a shift towards wider acceptance of sub-36mm case sizes (driven by a few factors, more women starting to collect being one), and we are arriving at a market that's craving smaller shaped watches.

We’re seeing this in the feverish popularity of newcomers like Berneron, Dennison or Anoma, and in the vintage market with the monumental rise of the Cartier Crash, 1970s precious metal Piagets and Rolex Cellinis (especially the King Midas), which only a few years ago were regularly being melted down for gold scrap; unthinkable today.

We’re seeing a growing appreciation for small shaped watches, but what about shaped watches on the other end of the spectrum? That brings me to the big, bold Seiko Chronograph reference 6139-7101, known colloquially as the "Helmet" or the "Darth Vader".

Half a decade ago, I owned a white dial Helmet Chronograph. I found it a really arresting design, so when I recently found this black dial example in Tokyo, I knew it was time to give the Helmet another shot. I was interested to see if it feels different in this new light of broader appreciation for shaped watches.

First, some background on how this oddly shaped Seiko came to be. Helmet is a nickname, and looking at the case shape, you can guess why. It’s a term used to describe all watches that feature a tall, conical, domed case with hooded lugs, and whilst Seiko explored the style extensively, you’ll also find helmet-cased watches from other brands such as Omega, who used helmet cases on the Speedmaster MK3, the Flightmasters and some of their more technical Seamaster chronographs.

When Seiko launched the Helmet Chronograph in the early 1970s, we were at the peak of the Apollo program. NASA missions were still regularly going to the Moon, and designers were looking at spaceships, moonsuits and science fiction for inspiration. Those shapes brushed off on a lot of industrial design. It reached far beyond watches, too - just look at the Eero Aarnio Ball Chair, the Futuro House or the entire design philosophy of "wedge" cars, epitomised by the Lamborghini Countach.

Beyond the case design, it is a classic Seiko 6139 automatic chronograph: day, date, hours and minutes, plus a single register chronograph timing up to 30 minutes, just in a unique case. With no outer bezel, Seiko utilised the thick, sharply raked rehaut to fit a tachymetre bezel, which is a hint to its intended target market: racing drivers. Seiko 6139s proved a popular choice for real racing drivers and those on the silver screen, the white dial Helmet getting a cameo in the 1977 film Bobby Deerfield strapped to Al Pacino’s wrist. The watch gets some good screen time as Formula 1 driver Pacino reads some cheesy ad copy down the lens in an in-film Seiko commercial.

The Helmet manages to pull off a trick where it looks big on the wrist, but doesn’t feel it. On paper, it's 40mm wide, 14mm thick and about 48mm lug to lug, and I bet you’re surprised to learn that makes it nearly identical in measurements to a standard Omega Speedmaster Professional.

It achieves this magic trick by taking the inner case, which holds the dial and movement, then blankets it with the external case so the shrouded lugs drape low and articulate aggressively around the wrist. Take it off the bracelet and place it on a table, and you’ll see that the lugs act like the legs on the lunar landing module, lifting the caseback off the table by a few millimetres.

That means it sinks onto the wrist, sitting much lower and, in effect, wrapping the case around the wrist for a bit before the bracelet takes over. It's also not a trick any of the Omega helmet-cased watches pull off. All have much flatter casebacks and wear a lot taller on the wrist, and you really can feel the difference.

Despite wearing surprisingly well, the Helmet creates an optical illusion where your eyes can’t see anything past those dramatic, shrouded lugs that drape down from the polished bezel. It manages to retain its dramatic look, yet in reality, it's much smaller and wearable than at first glance.

Seiko offered the Helmet with either a white dial or this black dial with its high-contrast yellow and green accents. I love the colours on this dial - I love how the yellow chrono hands clash deliciously with the light green on the chronograph subdial. Every time I glance down, it reminds me of those neon green LED dashboards from the 80s. It would be right at home in the gauge cluster of a Lancia Delta Integrale.

In its design, it feels so space-aged, with a brushed case topped with a polished convex bezel shaped like a rocket’s nose cone that's been chopped off. The crown is completely shrouded within the case lines, with only the chronograph pushers disrupting the case's form, sprouting from it like the ears from a little green alien's head.

The Seiko Helmet feels like a product of its time, fifty years ago smack bang in the middle of the golden age of space exploration. Simultaneously, it feels very contemporary because it isn’t a shape we’re very familiar with on the wrist. It’s a design that simply wouldn’t work with smaller proportions. Part of its charm is its scale, oversized and just a little ungainly, because a vital part of 70s design is that larger, confident flair.

What I’ve learnt from reexamining the Seiko Helmet Chronograph is that you can scratch the shaped watch itch regardless of a watch's size, and it's a reminder that there are many different ways a watch design can push convention. If you’re going to experience the full spectrum of shaped watches, sometimes you’ve gotta go big.