Seiko loved their digital-analog watches. They must have, they made a ton of them.
They had models like the H249, H357, H461, H557, H601, H801 and more — and within those they had an enormous range of styles available. If there were at least 50 variations I wouldn’t be at all surprised.
Of all of them though, this rare gem is a definite favourite of mine. You’d be hard-pressed to find many photos of it on the internet (or in any old catalogues for that matter) — it may have been a limited edition — but it’s a great example of 80s styling, maybe even inspired by the Transformers series, or possibly just an extension of Seiko’s other big bezel watches like the G757 or D138.
While there were plenty of digital-analog models produced by Seiko, they weren’t all the same — the H557 had three different time zones able to be displayed (one analog, two digital) in 12/24 hour modes, a chronograph, alarm and hourly chime. There was also a backlight which lit the display from below the LCD (rather than from the side, which was the common method of illumination at the time).
This particular watch I was lucky to get. It appeared on a local auction site in a small lot of dead watches and attracted some (but not a significant amount of) interest. Then, less than an hour before the auction was to finish, it was pulled by the auction administrators. Annoyingly, when this happens, you can’t find out why the auction was pulled and, if the seller doesn’t have any other listings, you can’t get in touch with them either.
Concerned that the seller would possibly just bin the watches instead of relisting them, I found someone who had dealt with the seller in the past, sent them a message, which they generously passed on to the seller who got in touch and we came to an agreement over price.
Whew! It was damaged by battery corrosion, but wasn’t irreparable. I fixed the circuitboard and got the digital section working but nothing from the analog. Closer inspection revealed the coil was damaged and with replacements costing more than I paid for the watch, figured I was better off getting a donor coil from another watch which is what I did.
A final service of the analog section and it’s up and running – and looking awesome!
The addition of an Uncle Seiko GL831 strap and it’s good for another 10-20 years at least. The lume has faded on one of the indicies but that’s the only thing that detracts from it (and it’s a small thing, anyway) — one of these days I’ll relume that and it will all be done. That’s if I can get it off my wrist long enough to do so!
I’ve got one what do you think it’s worth.
Depends on condition, but somewhere between NZD80 and NZD250 I’d imagine.
If you ever want to part with this please let me know. I was given one for my 21st in 1984 and loved it. Mislaid it at some stage when i began travelling and have been searching for a replacement for some time.
I am a Kiwi based in Romania for the past 24 years and have an wee collection now (IWC, Hublot, Ulysses Nardin, Rolex’s, Omega etc) and still love the style of the 557 …and of course its meaning to me.
Please do drop me a line if you wish to part with it or come across another.
Many thx. BR / Duane Runciman
Hey ive just restored one of these that belonged to my grandfather. Pretty awesome how the crown modifies the digital readout – bet that was super hightech at the time !
DO you know how to edit the alarm to OFF ? i cant figure it out and havent been able to find a manual.
Cheers
In alarm set mode pull out the crown one click and press back in (alarm symbol will be flashing = hourly chime). Repeat this and the alarm symbol will disappear (alarm/chime both off).
I have one of these watch i gave to my dad in the 80’s when it first came out i still have it i must go and get a battery fitted to see if it still works.