I've been dipping my toes into learning watch repair. A few weeks ago I scored a sweet little Seiko Turtle diver watch on eBay for $85. Normal retail for this model is $625, but it can absolutely be found new online for less money. I got it so cheap because it was being sold as a 'non-runner' with no additional details. It's pretty odd that this thing was for sale because it is a 'PADI' (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) special edition watch that is still in current production from Seiko, so I would've thought that it would still be under warranty. Nevertheless I bought it and figured that I'd try to diagnose what was causing it's issues and see if I could fix it.
I will say upfront that I do not have any sort of sophisticated camera equipment and cannot take detailed pictures of all of these tiny parts, so the only pics I have to share are that of the finished watch, and a stock photo from Seiko showing how they look from the factory.
When I opened up the back case I noticed that the jewel setting on the top side of the balance wheel was missing it's spring clip and the top half of the jewel. Without this in place there is no shock setting for the pivot on the balance wheel staff. If I had more specialized tools I would've attempted to replace just the pivot, but that requires a staking set, etc. which I do not currently own. I was able to purchase a new jewel setting, spring clip, and full balance assembly though so I just replaced the entire assembly. I'm pretty sure that someone had been into the watch previously because I took apart the full movement and could not find any of the missing parts. Nevertheless, I did a full service on the watch, including a full cleaning, lubrication of all internal parts, as well as new gaskets on the crown, bezel, and case back all with freshly applied silicon grease. The bezel didn't feel all that great when I first received it. After replacing and lubing a new o-ring gasket, it is now turning perfectly. I also regulated the watch to 3 positions and have it running at +1 second per day, with an amplitude of 280 degrees and a 0 m/s beat error (for my fellow watch nerds out there!).
I decided that I did not like the cyclops that was on the factory Hardlex mineral crystal, and chose to replace it with a double domed sapphire crystal (which should never scratch and does not distort when viewing at an angle) along with a blue antireflective coating on the underside of the crystal. I also changed out the factory chapter ring (the indicator ring just on the outside of the hour markers) for one with blue indices. I think it ties the watch together nicely.
Here's a pic of the watch as it looks from the factory (Seiko SRPG19):
Here's a pic of the used and formerly damaged, but now running in tip top shape watch. I really like how the blue antireflective coating gives that little blue ring around the dial when it hits the light just right:
I got the factory metal bracelet that came with the watch, but I ordered a rubber strap for it that I think will suit it better. I told myself that if I could fix this watch I'd put it on eBay and sell it for $400-$450, which I could probably get for it. The plan was to use the sale to fund the next project. After getting it fixed and adding in a few little upgrades, I'm really liking this watch and I think I'm going to keep it. It's really growing on me and sort of holds a special place being my first top to bottom watch rebuild. In hindsight, I should've picked an easier watch to start on. The watch movement itself is pretty simple to take apart and reassemble. The additional complications of a day and date wheel on the front side of the movement proved challenging to take apart and keep all of the parts straight. I had to refer to a diagram I found online a few times to make sure that I had all of the little gears and springs for those two wheels installed properly. It is all working beautifully now, so all is well. Later down the road I think I can re-polish and brush the case to get rid of that scratch you can see on the lower right lug. It's a very minor scratch, but right now I'm not too concerned with it. It was a used watch after all.
I'm pretty proud of this so I thought I'd share it with the folks on here. Reading in other threads I am aware of at least one other OSA member who is starting his watchmaking journey as well.
I will say upfront that I do not have any sort of sophisticated camera equipment and cannot take detailed pictures of all of these tiny parts, so the only pics I have to share are that of the finished watch, and a stock photo from Seiko showing how they look from the factory.
When I opened up the back case I noticed that the jewel setting on the top side of the balance wheel was missing it's spring clip and the top half of the jewel. Without this in place there is no shock setting for the pivot on the balance wheel staff. If I had more specialized tools I would've attempted to replace just the pivot, but that requires a staking set, etc. which I do not currently own. I was able to purchase a new jewel setting, spring clip, and full balance assembly though so I just replaced the entire assembly. I'm pretty sure that someone had been into the watch previously because I took apart the full movement and could not find any of the missing parts. Nevertheless, I did a full service on the watch, including a full cleaning, lubrication of all internal parts, as well as new gaskets on the crown, bezel, and case back all with freshly applied silicon grease. The bezel didn't feel all that great when I first received it. After replacing and lubing a new o-ring gasket, it is now turning perfectly. I also regulated the watch to 3 positions and have it running at +1 second per day, with an amplitude of 280 degrees and a 0 m/s beat error (for my fellow watch nerds out there!).
I decided that I did not like the cyclops that was on the factory Hardlex mineral crystal, and chose to replace it with a double domed sapphire crystal (which should never scratch and does not distort when viewing at an angle) along with a blue antireflective coating on the underside of the crystal. I also changed out the factory chapter ring (the indicator ring just on the outside of the hour markers) for one with blue indices. I think it ties the watch together nicely.
Here's a pic of the watch as it looks from the factory (Seiko SRPG19):
Here's a pic of the used and formerly damaged, but now running in tip top shape watch. I really like how the blue antireflective coating gives that little blue ring around the dial when it hits the light just right:
I got the factory metal bracelet that came with the watch, but I ordered a rubber strap for it that I think will suit it better. I told myself that if I could fix this watch I'd put it on eBay and sell it for $400-$450, which I could probably get for it. The plan was to use the sale to fund the next project. After getting it fixed and adding in a few little upgrades, I'm really liking this watch and I think I'm going to keep it. It's really growing on me and sort of holds a special place being my first top to bottom watch rebuild. In hindsight, I should've picked an easier watch to start on. The watch movement itself is pretty simple to take apart and reassemble. The additional complications of a day and date wheel on the front side of the movement proved challenging to take apart and keep all of the parts straight. I had to refer to a diagram I found online a few times to make sure that I had all of the little gears and springs for those two wheels installed properly. It is all working beautifully now, so all is well. Later down the road I think I can re-polish and brush the case to get rid of that scratch you can see on the lower right lug. It's a very minor scratch, but right now I'm not too concerned with it. It was a used watch after all.
I'm pretty proud of this so I thought I'd share it with the folks on here. Reading in other threads I am aware of at least one other OSA member who is starting his watchmaking journey as well.
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