Time Spec: Seiko 7A28 RAF Gen 1 Chronograph

A few months ago, we showed you the manually-wound mechanical chronographs issued by the British military pilots in the 1970s.  Today, we’ll take a look at what came next.

In the early 1980s, the military forces of the UK went looking for a new pilot chronograph to replace the Valjoux 7733-powered chronographs they had been issuing for the previous decade.  By this time, quartz technology had advanced to a level of quality and affordability that made it the obvious choice for the new watch.  The company selected to manufacture the new watch was the Japanese company Seiko, marking a departure from the Swiss, American, and English brands the Ministry of Defence had previously used.