A vintage Seiko 5

[Lo']

All,

I've been coming across this very interesting piece. A Seiko 5 which looks nothing like the other nos watches from the nineties you can find for a dime the dozen on the bay.

This looks much older (at least all the way down to the seventies judging from the shape of the case and the bracelet). The intriguing part is the iridescent dial which looks like it's been printed directly on the metal, while the tritium is completely spent. I have been trying to find some infos on this particular model but did not come up with anything. Does anyone have any pointer to share?

[HaydenM]

That's an absolutely stunning seiko

[Mike on a bike]

[Lo']

That's an absolutely stunning seiko

Indeed it is.

It belonged to a mechanic at my local bicycles workshop which would not sell it, until he found out the hard way that it was no longer water resistant... He then gladly handed it to me in exchange for a brand new (waterproof) watch.

So much water had leaked into the case that there'd be droplets instead of fog on the internal face of the crystal...

The movement was nonetheless still ticking away peacefully, but for how much longer? Since I am currently waiting for my new house to be ready and all my belongings are tucked away in neat boxes, my stuff is dispersed God knows where; without a readily available way to open the case I tried various "creative" alternatives to no avail. That is when I remembered that the workers which are renovating my place have been bringing these huge halogen lamps with them to light up the place now that it gets dark early. I went there and hanged the watch right in front of a lamp, until the metal got so hot that I wouldn't be able to touch it with bare hands.

At that point there'd only be fog left on the crystal. I turned the watch so that the dial would face the lamp and kept it there for another ten minutes. Upon picking it up the crystal had become so hot that it got literally ejected from the case with a huge pop... I found it on the floor a couple of feet away and pressed it back on the case and presto! No more fog!

Of course now she's off to the watchsmith but the movement has gone through all this without skipping a beat....

[martijnp]

Fantastic watch! I really love my Seiko 5, it's a watch which is older than I am and it's running like a champ 

Here is a topic to mine with some info and a lot of pictures: http://www.rwgforum.net/topic/165228-genuine-vintage-seiko-5/

 

Wear her well mate!

 

[Lo']

Thanks Martin, interesting thread you've got going on there.

I have gathered a few more bits and pieces from the net:

First off the movement is a 6309 produced during the eighties (not the 70s as I thought). The serial engraved on the caseback is comprised of 6 digits the first two of which indicate year and month in which the piece was produced. Therefore mine which bears number 614179 will be 29 years old next January. Of course there is nothing to brag about in this piece but, it's as no-thrills, though-as-hell little mother*****r which will go on forever whatever you throw at it.

[panerai153]

Nice watch and a great story! I have found that you can find out a lot of info about older Seikos over on the Seiko and Citizens forum. Also WatchUseek has a pretty active Seiko forum.