Seiko Silverwave 69799 Diver Revival

[HiBeat]

The earliest (pre-62MAS) Seiko divers were snap back design attempts to get themselves established as a underwater sport watch manufacturer. Starting arguably with the earliest of Seahorses but certainly with the J12082 Silverwave in 1961. In 1964 Seiko introduced a second version of this SilverWave with the 2451 = 6601 movement using fewer jewels to sell at a lower price point. This one interestingly became their first countdown timer, as seen in the inner rotating chapter ring. That was the iconic 69799 (later referred to as the 6610-7990) that is featured here.

I have always liked the super early Seiko Silverwave divers and their place in Seiko horology. They are stark, practical, with an old school designed for intended use sort of look witbhout regard to trying to double up and vie for a fashion award. So when this affordable candidate for revival showed up in a For Sale post I saw a watch with 'good bones' and as such took the plunge to take a shot at the refurbish.

So we started with this suitable starting point. Movement does not run needs a full service. Hand set in need of a relume. You can see in the second photo the top case was missing the outer silver crystal retaining bezel. I figured that would be my biggest headache and was even prepared to try to 3D print one. Crystal was shot. On the plus side it has the crown and gear/spring/stem assembly and no significant damage or corrosion to what's there. And a pretty strong case back imprint with an early Seiko Tsunami logo which on these models is often worn away with the tides after years of being worn on the wrist.

I was advised that this bracelet is indeed the original and hard to find - bonus!  I had dismissed it as being aftermarket due to the clasp code but shows you how you keep learning more about vintage Seikos.  It will need a lot of TLC to get it back into proper shape but it is good to have.

All in all a good project to take on.

So the plan was to swap in a terrific running (single digits seconds per day in multiple positions) movement from this patina'd special J13045

Here it is all swapped in and set to go with the little mounting screws all back in place:


For the outer stainless steel bezel (crystal retainer) I knew it would be nearly impossible to get the part and can't even find a casing guide that lists it. So as a first attempt I rooted around in my old watch project and donors bin and - amazingly ! - came up a watch with while using a different 340W crystal it fits well enough to work - the 6119-8160:

OK we are humming along now. Dauphine lumed hands off a modern 7S26 dress watch, a "fun" vintage red pointer sweep hand, a vintage Tropic strap with curved lug ends, new proper NOS vintage 340W02AN crystal now just waiting for a Vintage Time Australia 'wavy ring' to smooth out the operation of the rotating inner ring and the results are actually quite pleasing enough for me.

It's my "Thunder Road 69799" - It ain't a beauty but hey it's alright......and that's alright with me.

[nordlys]

Awesome restoration! Don't you love it when a part off of a donor watch can bring another watch "back to life" so to speak? It's like horological organ donation haha.

[3Pedals6Speeds]

I have a special affection for this model.  It's cousin's say 'Hello"!  

[pip]

That's a cracker, and is a beauty in its own right. Thanks for sharing!

[time4seiko]

Nice restoration! Congratulations 👍