Update - It's Finished

[thor447]

very nice should be a great watch

I really think so. I really like the look of those 70’s Seiko chronographs. I am on the fence on whether or not to restore the case or just clean it up. It definitely shows signs of its age, but they are only original once. Same thing with the lume on the dial. It is basically faded to near black, and with some work I could re-lume it, but then it takes away from the originality of the watch. The Pogue that will be built next will definitely not have the case restored. It is a true collectors piece and it is going to be staying in its original condition, just mechanically brought back to life. On this one here I could go either way.

 

[GlockPride]

I may not be saying this correctly, but are you going to buff or polish the crystal to try to remove the scratches?

 

[Snattlerake]

Damn son, when are you gonna quit your day job and go full time in horology?

 

[Bocephus123]

Damn son, when are you gonna quit your day job and go full time in horology?

sounds like something i was in when i was young!

 

[surjimmy]

I'm working on my first dual register chronograph, a Seiko 6138-0010 'UFO' from May of 1970. It got it all taken down this evening and found the reason why the hour recorder would not reset. It had a broken arm in the reset linkage (as seen in the lower right side of the 2nd image). Someone has been in this watch before me and has absolutely drenched everything in oil. The process of scrubbing everything by hand is about to begin, and then a few trips through the cleaning machine will be in order.

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I'm not documenting each stage of this rebuild like I've done previously. I wanted to give this my full attention and not be distracted by trying to remember to document each thing as I go for the purpose of a future write-up. This is my 2nd chronograph, and first dual register. I'm pretty comfortable with the mechanics at this point, and I'll document the next one on my bench, which will be one of my all time favorite watches. A correct Seiko 6139-6005 'Resist'. This is the exact same model watch as worn by Colonel William R. Pogue in the NASA Skylab mission of 1973. It was the first automatic chronograph watch ever worn in space. Seiko made several models that looked like this with the same color dial and bezel combination. All are referred to as Pogue's, but mine is the same exact model as what Col. Pogue wore - 6139-6005 "Resist" - and is known as the 'True Pogue'. It's a grail watch of mine and I'll document it for the forum. It's a really special one.

Is this the one that you're gonna give me that you promised me several years ago. You probably don't remember just take my word for it.

 

[Snattlerake]

I really think so. Love the look of those 70’s Seiko chronographs. I am on the fence on whether or not to restore the case or just clean it up. It definitely shows signs of its age, but they are only original once. Same thing with the lume on the dial. It is basically faded to near black, and with some work I could re-lume it, but then it takes away from the originality of the watch. The Pogue that will be built next will definitely not have the case restored. It is a true collectors piece and it is going to be staying in its original condition, just mechanically brought back to life. On this one here I could go either way.

I know after watching the Antiques Roadshow old worn watches that run well with honest wear demand more money than the same being refurbished with old parts being replaced by the factory.

I have seen a new in-the-box Rolex from the 70's that was minimally worn then in storage for 40 years appraised at $700,000.

 

[enuf]

I don't need it done, just wondering - do you work on watches that use batteries?

 

[thor447]

I may not be saying this correctly, but are you going to buff or polish the crystal to try to remove the scratches?

I have a new crystal for it, along with seals and chrono pushers.

 

[thor447]

I know after watching the Antiques Roadshow old worn watches that run well with honest wear demand more money than the same being refurbished with old parts being replaced by the factory.

I have seen a new in-the-box Rolex from the 70's that was minimally worn then in storage for 40 years appraised at $700,000.

That's my thought on it. It is worth more if I were to sell it if it was in original condition. I do not plan to sell this watch, and on a personal level I really like to restore the watches on the one's I keep. I think I'll probably just keep it original with it's age marks for now. I can always change it later if it really bugs me I suppose.

 

[thor447]

I don't need it done, just wondering - do you work on watches that use batteries?

I've only mechanically repaired 1 quartz watch. I've changed batteries on tons of them, but battery powered watches require a different set of tools, testers, etc. to fully rebuild them, which I don't own.