One of the most famous Seiko watches of all time was up for grabs at an online auction on Saturday. This Seiko watch was worn by Jobs during a 1984 Macintosh photo shoot for the Macintosh 512K. This photo became incredibly famous after appearing on the cover of a Time magazine issue commemorating the life of Steve Jobs. How much did the watch from the iconic photo make when it was released for auction on Saturday?
Steve Jobs’ Seiko Watch
The Seiko watch which was worn by Steve Jobs was a very basic Seiko quartz reference 6431-6030 which was released in the 1980’s. It was (if the condition of the watch is anything to go by) a watch he wore on a daily basis, but it was most famously worn when the most iconic photos of the Apple co-founder were taken.
The photos were taken in 1984 by world-famous photographer Norman Seeff at Jobs’ home in Woodside, California. Norman Seeff is known for his photographs of celebrities and also for the many record covers he designed.
The watch is almost certainly one of the most basic you could buy – it has a black strap, white face and a quartz movement. You can probably buy hundreds of similar watches completely new for less than £50. But this watch, which appeared in “heavily worn condition”, managed to sell for $42,500 (approximately £29,800) at an online auction on Saturday 20th February. Even more expensive than the most expensive Apple Watch.
More Jobs’ Memorabilia
Alongside the famous Seiko watch, the auction featured a lot of extra – equally obscure – Jobs memorabilia. A pair of Birkenstock sandals (also in “heavily worn condition”) sold for $2,750 and a signature Steve Jobs black turtleneck featuring the NexT logo went for $7,500. Finally, a lot of two NExT business cards, an Apple pen and a postal service return receipt signed by Steve Jobs went for $16,250.
While these figures sound unreasonably high, they are actually down from the height of Jobs-a-mania. In 2013 an Apple 1 computer went for $641,400 and a legal document signed by Jobs went for $40,045.
While the price tag of these items also seem unusually high, they probably represent better value than a pair of Jobs sandals!
The Apple 1 computer was one of of only six working Apple 1 computers thought to exist today. Another Apple 1 computer sold for $387.750 only a couple of months later. The legal document was a business agreement between Jobs and Robert Friedland which was signed in 1978. It is not known what happened to the venture they were working on, but shortly after it was signed Jobs went on to found Apple Computers and Friedland went on to become a business tycoon in the mining industry.
Even so, one can only imagine how much his Seiko watch would have gone for back in 2013… or how little Jobs paid for it back in the 80’s. Either way, it is a one-of-a-kind item which pays homage to a big moments of the technological revolution in the 1980’s – a movement which led to technological advances we could only have dreamed of at the time.
Images: Time.com, Ben Stanfield
