[Closed] Seiko Divers Watch - Make it keep decent time.

If I were you I'd get the Fitbit for the reasons you point out. And it'll cost less than the repair cost of the watch.

I'd prob send it for a service.  If not ebay it they get good money.

Seiko divers are simple movements, the only mildly tricky bit is the sealing of the case afterwards. Just send it to Seiko, they do servicing. I had one serviced, cost about £100 I think.

And if you are going to get rid, photos and dibs 😉

http://www.seiko.co.uk/customer-support/seiko-servicing/service-and-repairs

This guy does some great things with Seiko’s

https://thewatchbloke.co.uk

Seiko themselves are also good.

Sounds like it just needs regulating and possibly a service if it's not had one for a while, a good jeweler should be able to sort it, a high street one likely will not. In truth, it's not too difficult to do yourself, particularly if it's a cheaper watch, they're very basic movement and very difficult to mess up.

Assuming this is an automatic.

Probably just needs a service and regulating.
15 years if not been serviced the lubrication will have dried up.

Duncan (thewatchbloke) above is good, but I know he's been super busy recently and has a waiting list.

Get yourself over to one of the watch forums - [url= https://forum.tz-uk.com/forum.php ]TZ-UK Forum[/url] is good, and plenty of guys on there who offer servicing.

Automatics need a service. Depending on the movement will dictate how often. If you take the back off, the screw in the middle sometimes gets a bit loose and the winding weight hits the case back. You'll see markings on the case back if this is happening. Tighten the centre screw a little and see if that helps before you send it for a service. I've got a 6309 which loses a few sends each day perhaps a minute a week at most. Mechanical watches need a bit of TLC

Unless you really love the watch, you can get a new auto for 100 quid upwards. Phoibos are making some really nice kit at the moment.

Thanks all, I do love the watch but this thread has made me come to the realization that mechanical watches are not for me. I'll keep it in a drawer but it's going to be redundant from my wrist. See new thread. 🙂

If it's any help, I have a Seiko Monster that I've had for about 10 years. They're not the most accurate automatic movement and not intended to be at this pricepoint - they are however regarded as a Klashnikov of movements and highly durable. The dilemma is that if it's loosing or gaining, then the cost of servicing can be too high relating to the value of the watch - you can even buy a brand new drop-in movement unit for about the same cost of servicing. I found that the best solution is to learn how to regulate it yourself, it's really easy if you've got good eyes and a steady hand - I learnt how to do mine after a bit of google searching, bought all the tools needed for about £10 on eBay, and it's simply a case of popping the caseback and carefully moving the timing adjuster...repeating after analysing the effects of adjustment after it's settled for a while against a clock app (or just your computer time!) and can easily regulate mine to within 5secs a day. It's normal to find that you have to do this every now and again, but certainly not worth paying for unless it's a high end Seiko Marinemaster or sim. You can easily buy silicone grease for the caseback seals, or indeed new seals, gaskets etc online - there's a whole following for Seiko Divers online as they seem to be regarded as a bit supercool, it's easy to find part numbers and advice.

If it’s any help, I have a Seiko Monster that I’ve had for about 10 years. They’re not the most accurate automatic movement and not intended to be at this pricepoint – they are however regarded as a Klashnikov of movements and highly durable. The dilemma is that if it’s loosing or gaining, then the cost of servicing can be too high relating to the value of the watch – you can even buy a brand new drop-in movement unit for about the same cost of servicing. I found that the best solution is to learn how to regulate it yourself, it’s really easy if you’ve got good eyes and a steady hand – I learnt how to do mine after a bit of google searching, bought all the tools needed for about £10 on eBay, and it’s simply a case of popping the caseback and carefully moving the timing adjuster…repeating after analysing the effects of adjustment after it’s settled for a while against a clock app (or just your computer time!) and can easily regulate mine to within 5secs a day. It’s normal to find that you have to do this every now and again, but certainly not worth paying for unless it’s a high end Seiko Marinemaster or sim. You can easily buy silicone grease for the caseback seals, or indeed new seals, gaskets etc online – there’s a whole following for Seiko Divers online as they seem to be regarded as a bit supercool, it’s easy to find part numbers and advice.

Very useful post, and if the watch was my hobby I would be doing all that, thanks. It will certainly be of use to a future googler! As it is, it looks like I just bought the wrong watch all those years ago and have tolerated it long enough, time to go for something soul-less that works.

1 service in 1 years? Doesn't sound too bad to me.

But in terms of VFM it's a joke in comparison to anything quartz, no matter how many watch snobs tell you the mechanism is superior.

TBF still going after no servicing for 15 years is pretty good.

A mechanical watch is like anything else mechanical - car, bike etc. so  will need servicing.

If you paid £100 for a service that works out at £6.66/year running costs - not bad. Slightly more than a new battery every 3 or 4 years for a quartz, but still not bad in the grand scheme.

What Seiko is it?

If you don't want it PM me as I'll happily take it off your hands.

I've just had my 1984 6309-7040 returned from service and re-lume, cost me £200 but it looks as good as new.

Mechanical watches have more soul than a quartz though 😀

Is "soul" code for reliability issues?

1 service in 15 years? Doesn’t sound too bad to me.

When you put it like that I doubt whatever I replace it with will survive 15 years full stop, so in that sense it's terrific value. If you factor in my time setting it to the correct time every other week it's the most expensive watch in the world! (Plus adjusting to put clocks forward and back, plus winding the date on in months with less than 31 days.)

But in terms of VFM it’s a joke in comparison to anything quartz, no matter how many watch snobs tell you the mechanism is superior.

I didn't understand what I was buying at the time. I wanted a quality self winding divers watch, I assumed self winding meant 'charges it's own battery up' and it would be a "normal" quartz movement. A month or two after I bought it it was 5 minutes slow so I took it back assuming it was faulty. The bloke in the shop *explained* to me that it was a mechanical watch and far from being a flaw, the lack of good time keeping was actually mark of quality. I think he said something like "It's far better than a cheap £1 quartz movement.". Since the sole purpose of a watch is keeping time I wasn't convinced by that but I sucked it up and learned to live with it.

I do love it and I'll keep it because it and I have been together a lot of years, but it's never met the only criteria I have for a watch which is to tell me the time. I'm not paying the price of a working watch to make a watch that can never really work a bit less bad so decision time is now. One day when I have more time maybe I'll learn to regulate/oil it and bring it back into the daylight.

What Seiko is it?

It has "7s26-0350" on the back, if that helps.

I don't suppose anyone makes a quartz movement that fits in. Seriously, that would be perfect.

car, bike etc. so  will need servicing

My car and bike need servicing!!!???

Replace with Omega Marine Chronometer, job done 🙂

It has “7s26-0350” on the back, if that helps.

I don’t suppose anyone makes a quartz movement that fits in. Seriously, that would be perfect.

Seiko 'Monster' then - lovely watches.
The 7s26 movement is the Seiko 'work horse' - really reliable, can be easily regulated.

Not aware of anyone who's done a quartz transplant on the Monster. Has been done on others though, would depend on getting right orientation of day/date and stem.

I don’t suppose anyone makes a quartz movement that fits in. Seriously, that would be perfect.

Which you’ll then have to have opened up and a new battery fitted, possibly every five years or so, and which will likely cost almost as much as having your automatic serviced, a movement that has never needed, and never will need a battery!

It’s really not difficult to regulate a mechanical watch, you just need basic tools and careful hands. I’ve done my Seiko SPORK, I got it to roughly a minute a month, far better than a Casio quartz analogue watch I’ve got, which is pita to adjust because the hands can only be wound forward, not backwards, and the damn thing gains as much as your Seiko. I’ve got a number of watches, three I wear most often are a TAG Heuer Series 1000 ‘Night Diver’ quartz analogue, a Yema Rallygraf mechanical, which needs winding every day, a Seiko Series 5 Yokobies mod, and the SPORK. The TAG is well worn, and is my daily wear, the SPORK is a lovely watch, and it cost more than any of my other watches, and I’d hate to damage it, and the Yema is now the single most valuable item I own, cost me £50, one sold at auction in March for £3800, so that’s now special occasions wear.

The point is, while a cheap digital may be more accurate, it’s still just a cheap digital, there’s more ‘character’ to a mechanical, and, lets be perfectly honest, who needs a watch to be that bloody accurate anyway? A chronometer had to be to a guaranteed level of accuracy to be used for navigating at sea, but few, if any, really need that, it’s nice to have, but if you find adjusting a watch once every couple of monthsa chore, then I think you need to have a quiet word with yourself and re-evaluate your priorities in life.

In my humble opinion, of course... 😉

It's an original monster.

Buy a new 7s26 for 50 USD and pay a jeweller £30 to fit it.

Watch is worth about £200ish.

Watch is worth about £200ish.

That's made my ears prick up. Seriously?

Sounds like the OP would be better off with a Citizen Ecodrive. I bought my wife one about 15 years ago, she doesn't wear it often but that thing just keeps on going.

I had an original Seiko kinetic, the capacitor went on it and it didn't keep charge. Apparently the new ones come with a rechargeable battery instead. Rather than faff with converting it, I sold it on eBay to a guy from France. IMO the kinetic felt really heavy.

I have a couple of Seiko automatics now, a 5 and a Prospex, both gain time. Think I'll look at trying to regulate myself after reading this thread. I know mechanical watches are inferior to quartz for timekeeping, but there's something I really like about having a tiny intricate machine on my wrist that is powered by nothing but springs and cogs.

Here's mine 

That’s made my ears prick up. Seriously?

Yeah good money for decent early ones.

A lot of interest in older/vintage Seiko's, trying to find an original unmolested one is tricky on some older models.

Just get it serviced and regulated - all of my automatics (from Seiko to Rolex) run somewhere between +/-5 seconds/day.

When you think there are 86,400 seconds in a day that's pretty accurate.

If you think about it being 5 seconds fast that's 86,405 seconds per day - that's 99.99% accurate per day.

Not bad for springs and cogs....

which will likely cost almost as much as having your automatic serviced

£5 round here!

I have a couple of Seiko automatics now, a 5 and a Prospex, both gain time. Think I’ll look at trying to regulate myself after reading this thread.

A Seiko 5 is an absolute piece of pi$$ to regulate; I did mine over the course of  a few days with nothing more than the time on my PC and a paper clip....

A Seiko 5 is an absolute piece of pi$$ to regulate; I did mine over the course of  a few days with nothing more than the time on my PC and a paper clip….

Tbf I'll probably experiment on the 5 first before tackling the Prospex. The adjustment looks identical on both of them

Diving with a fitbit? Shirley not.

A Seiko 5 is an absolute piece of pi$$ to regulate; I did mine over the course of  a few days with nothing more than the time on my PC and a paper clip….

Didn't know you could do that.  My Seiko 5 gains about 15 mins a day, more if I'm not wearing it.  Service would cost double what I paid for the thing in the first place, so I'll be digging out a paperclip this afternoon.

"Diving with a fitbit? Shirley not."

Which raises an interesting question. One reason I wanted a divers watch back in 2002 was that I didn't trust a 50m watch to be seriously waterproof. (ie plunging off a Kayak/Boat/Windsurfer into cold water in the UK winter or swimming down to 10m on foreign holidays). I sense the world may have moved on and today's 50m watch is reliably waterproof enough to cope with all of that? Was I underestimating the waterproof-ness of 50m waterproof watches 15/20 years ago?

IIRC there's some recent standard in waterproofing which allows you to call stuff "waterproof to 1m" when in fact it's only tested to "having some splashes nearby".

I paraphrase, of course, but it amounted to a what would be a misdescription in any other sphere.

 I’ll be digging out a paperclip this afternoon.

I was lucky, in that i could get the back off the watch without using a tool. If the back on yours is tight, you might need a watch back tool, but they're only about £3-4 on ebay

IIRC there’s some recent standard in waterproofing which allows you to call stuff “waterproof to 1m” when in fact it’s only tested to “having some splashes nearby”.

I think you're right. In terms of practical use, "waterproof to" is something like:

10m - washing up

50m - having a shower/bath

100m - swimming/snorkelling

100m+ - Scuba

I think you’re right. In terms of practical use, “waterproof to” is something like:

10m – washing up

50m – having a shower/bath

100m – swimming/snorkelling

That is the impression I had in the past and seems it might still be right:
https://www.thrillist.com/gear/what-your-watch-water-resistance-numbers-mean#

Which is bad news because I plan to swim/kayak in my 50m waterproof Forerunner 35. 🙁

Does this sort of legitimised lying get anyone elses' goat(s)?

I swim in a 50m 920XT Triathlon watch and its fine. I have duck dived down to probably 7 or 8M with no problems.

Cynical -  it's measured in static pressure, there is then a large margin added for dynamic pressure like diving into a pool.not worth servicing 7s26, replace with new.