Seiko 'homage watch' movement info...

[automatico]

Seiko has an alphabet soup of movement designations and one movement that turns up in many homage watches and a few replicas is the Seiko 6R36.  There is little doubt it is a few notches above an Asian '21 jewel' or etaclone movement. 

Here is some info on it:

 

https://www.thewatchblog.co.uk/seiko-4r36-movement-review-which-watches-use-it/

 

I forgot to add the old Invicta standby, the Seiko NH35:

 

https://www.thewatchblog.co.uk/seiko-nh35a-movement-guide/

 

[ceejay]

Can also be found listed as the Hattori NH35.

 

I have a Seiko 5R-- on the bench at the moment for servicing. Unfortunately Mainspring/Barrels (they are designed to be replaced as a single unit) are not available any more, unless you want to pay a kings ransom.

You can, if you're careful split the Seiko barrel and put in a generic mainspring. Probably the route I'll take. Or swap out the entire movement for a NH35.

If you do this then you have to swap in the original date disk and stem/crown. The date on the NH35 is at the 3 o'clock position and the Seiko is at 4 o'clock.

 

Another thing worth noting, the mainsprings on these run in the opposite direction to most movements.

[automatico]

The only mechanical Seiko models I am familiar with are the Seiko 5 models from 10 or 15 years ago with the 7S26.  I hardly ever work on one except to put a winding rotor 'in time' where someone got it out of whack or c/o the balance jewels to get one running so I can trade it off. 

 

A store I was with sold 'Fives' and we had so much trouble with them that we had to buy quite a few back so we stopped selling them.  Low reserve and bad time keeping were the usual complaints.  To be fair, I suspect many of the complaints came from former quartz watch owners.

 

Sold a nos 'Five' to a guy a while back and he returned it not long after and asked:  "What's the matter with this $#&%*@$ thing?"  I gave his $$ back...all $35 of it.  

I still see posters on other forums singing their praises though.

 

About 15 years back when we used to buy them for $35 or $40 each the guy we got them from claimed the Plain Jane dress models cost $12 out of the factory in Singapore.  I did not believe it then but now...  

[madasboot]

On 9/28/2019 at 8:58 PM, automatico said:

forgot to add the old Invicta standby, the Seiko NH35:

 

https://www.thewatchblog.co.uk/seiko-nh35a-movement-guide/

 

R.

Thank you for your constant enlightenment and knowledge sharing.

Here is some additional info on the NH35A, a sturdy fifty buck mvmt on ali*xpr*ss

best,

M.

[horologist]

I was just reaching out of infancy in the late 1960's where I recall that I had some nice toys which kept breaking down or did  not work properly when they came out of the box and my late father said "what do you expect " made in Japan!!"  

 

I grew up with the fear to keep away from anything made in Japan if quality was at risk!  Well we have made a complete turnaround that anything made in Japan is second to none for quite a long time now!!  As I began to discover this ,I bought with total confidence and never looked back!   I bought my first seiko from a garage sale for under $10 back in 1991 and used it as a beater for when doing work around the house and changing the oil in my car.  Never serviced it and surprise surprise it still runs some 10 seconds fast per day.  I recently opened of up to check the seals and even more surprising is that it is corrosion free and mechanism still looks  pretty clean. It is a 17 jewel 6309 day date .   Over the years I have seen many seikos which are a mixed bag of either very good or very #*%+#~.   Then there is the Grand Seiko, high beat king seiko and the credor. I even remember the seiko Lassale where a watchmaker said back in 1982, "it is the best thing I have seen as a Japanese equivalent to a high end Longines" when Longines models sold for double the price of equivalent Omega models, but I was still not convinced at the time as I still had some Japanese broken toys  in the back of the garage 

[alligoat]

I just bought a $105 Seiko- the SNZG13 with the 7S36C movement- 23 jewels.

It came with a metal bracelet, but I put it on a modified Nato strap last week- I cut off the bottom part of the Nato strap and shortened it maybe 1/2"- used a quarter as a round form and cut it with a sharp utility knife and then brazed the nylon ends with a hot steak knife so that they won't run or unravel. This is an old steak knife that has been relegated to my workshop- I wouldn't recommend using your wife's fine knives!

The movement is about 6-10 seconds fast per day. The lume is excellent- I can see it at 4 am. Haven't had a chance to check out the WR yet, but 100 m sounds impressive.  

[automatico]

Good looking watch!

Here is a road test of an earlier model Seiko SNZG13 with a 7S26C:

 

https://wornandwound.com/review/seiko-5-snzg-review/

 

[alligoat]

Enjoyed the article R, tanks! I don't know what the difference between the 7S26 and 7S36 is- I guess just one more refinement. I wasn't keen on the 42mm at first but it's growing on me. I'm also thinking about the SNK809 at 37mm- looks like it's running around $70- just wish it was a little more WR.

I'm still trying to figure out what watch Scott Bakula/Pride was wearing on NCIS- New Orleans- the SNGZ13 was the closest I could come in a Seiko.