Hands on with the Seiko Captain Willard 6105-8110

By Josh Kranz

Before I even put this watch on my wrist, I felt I needed to do it justice by watching the film where it gets its nickname, Apocalypse Now.

The film is set during the Vietnam War, and this reference gets its name from US Army Captain Benjamin Willard played by Martin Sheen.

The basic plot of the film centers around Willard being given orders to pursue and kill Colonel Walter Kurtz played by the legendary Marlon Brando, as he has gone AWOL and crazy amassing a cult following in Cambodia. When I put reference 6105-8110 on my wrist I could not help but picture myself in the jungle trekking to a rendezvous. The watch industry has a history of issuing them to servicemen and Seiko issued this exact reference to GIs in Vietnam.

“When I put reference 6105-8110 on my wrist I could not help but picture myself in the jungle trekking to a rendezvous”

The watch is much larger than I'm used to sitting at 44mm excluding the crown. It didn't feel heavy and had a rubber tropic-style strap perfect for the jungle humidity. The watch ran perfectly considering its age, a perfect nod to Seiko's reputation of durability. The only thing that threw me off was the absence of a winding feature, although the watch is an automatic you can't wind it at all, only to set the date function. If the watch stops, you put it back on and let the rotor start the mechanism again. This is my only real con of this piece.

If you are looking for a piece that's as tough nails and got the seal of approval to be worn by members of the armed forces, look no further than Seiko 6105-8110. There are some more modern interpretations you can get but why would you want to when you can have one so jam-packed with history.