Back to Basics.....My re-entry back into Watch Fettling
Jun 13, 2013 8:48:13 GMT -8
jim1963 likes this
Post by Deleted on Jun 13, 2013 8:48:13 GMT -8
Gents....and of course Ladies too.
I spent the better part of the previous 7 months attempting to distance my self from watchmaking and collecting. The Hobby for me just lost it's spark, my exit strategy was to down size my collection and shutter my case restoration/refinishing business.
As things paired down and hard earned watches left my case for better homes, I felt confident that I had made the right choice in walking away from the hobby. Or so I thought.
Recently, most of us encountered an incident on another forum which effected us in different ways, Ironically instead of me using it as a final nod to leave, it had the opposite effect. Instead it drove me kicking and screaming back into watch fettling.
That was the moment when the sad truth dawned on me.....I had sold off 99% of my collection leaving me with an inventory of just 2 Seiko's....My 7548-700F and a SSC015 solar chronograph. Appearently somehow during the great purge I had managed to mistakenly sell a 6309-7049 that I owned since 1981...was a 10th birthday gift from my grandfather....Now that Sucks!
Thus began the rebuilding process...but where does one start?
The core of a Vintage Seiko collection should always include the iconic 6309 or some variant of that classic diver. So with a heavy heart full of hope I began trawling my usual haunts looking for the right candidate. My criteria was simple, I wanted an unmolested all original specimen for restoration. Gross is good in my book because the nastier the case looks the higher the odds are that the watch has never been opened or messed with. Basically.....I wanted a Virgin. It didn't need to look like a prom queen but I also didn't want something that was dragged behind a boat anchor either. In a relatively quick time I managed to locate and win a decent example from our favorite auction site. the sellers photos showed a well worn and loved 6309-7040. The watch appeared to have a great original Suwa dial & hand set with nice patina. the case displayed a generous amount of wrist cheese caked in the usual spots. The crystal was well worn as was the bezel insert. Was the watch going to be worth the auction amount??? In the end as with all vintage watch purchases.....you pay money and take your chances....also known as taking a punt, but this one looked promising.
The watch arrived a couple days later and turned out to be everything that I had hoped for. A well worn but nice condition German Market variant 6309-7040 that started running the moment that I picked it up. definitely worthy of a restoration effort. Of special note....I've owned dozens of the 6309-7049/40 variants over the years and this is my very first German sales market variant
Let The fun begin..
First step is disassembly....gotta see what lurks under the hood
As you can see, the watch was caked with a mix of who knows what. I'll call it Wrist Cheese for easy explainations.....Believe it or not, this is exactly what I was hoping to find. it's a very good indicator that the watch is unmolested and a virgin for all intensive purposes.
The coating of debris and biological matter is hard but can be removed easy enough with small picks. Instead I, my plan is to completely deisassemble the case down to the main parts and let the ultrasonic cleaner do all the initial clean up.
here's a few more photos of the watch disassembly and it's key groups
The rotating bezel, insert and gasket
Schmagma encrusted caseback pre-disassembly.....(I had to place the watch in a padded vice and use my Jaxa tool carefully to open the back)
The caseback removed along with the old hard gasket. The movement is actually prestine and sparkles despite is's age. If you take note of the ink marks/service indicators on the inside of the caseback, you'll notice a "WP" which means water proof testing and also "3N88" which is broken down to a service date of Novmember 3, 1988
. I have only seen markings like these just a couple times in the roughly 100 6309's that i have handled over the years..My best guess is that this one was serviced directly by Seiko
Next the dial/movement and crown are removed for inspection. no surprises here....everything looks awesome. the dial and hands are minty and have a soft aged patina on the lume markers
close up of the dial & hands
Break down of the remaining case assembly
After separating the crown assembly the old crown gasket is removed.
The entire group of main case parts after being in a ultrasonic bath for 10 minutes
After the initial cleaning I have a chance to survey the case for damage/wear. It's basically in great condition. the case lines are all straight and crisp, but there is a rather large ding on the upper left lug / case line region that will require so reworking.
I won't go into my personal regiment for case refinishing (trade secrets) but after reworking the case by hand you can see the results were well worth the time and energy involved
Here"s the top side surface that I've rebrushed back to a factory finish.
The caseback along with the original owner's initials engraved
The case is now ready for re-assembly using a new oem crystal and full gasket set received from Jonathan (Swedefreak)
I should note...and this will be a shameless plug on my part....If you are restoring a vintage Seiko, Jonathan should be your first and only stop for purchasing oem replacement gaskets and crystals. they are true to factory spec on every detail
After main case re-assembly
And finally The finished product and obligatory wrist shot.
In the end, the original bezel insert was beyond hammered so in the short term I installed a Seiko factory insert from a SKX-007 as temporary fix until I can source a better original insert.
I'm super stoked to once again be the proud owner of a classic 6309... the new forum and having such a great group of members has really revitalized the watch fettling/collecting hobby for me. Now I'm back to scanning the net for my next addition... stay tuned for more in the future.
Best
Shawn
I spent the better part of the previous 7 months attempting to distance my self from watchmaking and collecting. The Hobby for me just lost it's spark, my exit strategy was to down size my collection and shutter my case restoration/refinishing business.
As things paired down and hard earned watches left my case for better homes, I felt confident that I had made the right choice in walking away from the hobby. Or so I thought.
Recently, most of us encountered an incident on another forum which effected us in different ways, Ironically instead of me using it as a final nod to leave, it had the opposite effect. Instead it drove me kicking and screaming back into watch fettling.
That was the moment when the sad truth dawned on me.....I had sold off 99% of my collection leaving me with an inventory of just 2 Seiko's....My 7548-700F and a SSC015 solar chronograph. Appearently somehow during the great purge I had managed to mistakenly sell a 6309-7049 that I owned since 1981...was a 10th birthday gift from my grandfather....Now that Sucks!
Thus began the rebuilding process...but where does one start?
The core of a Vintage Seiko collection should always include the iconic 6309 or some variant of that classic diver. So with a heavy heart full of hope I began trawling my usual haunts looking for the right candidate. My criteria was simple, I wanted an unmolested all original specimen for restoration. Gross is good in my book because the nastier the case looks the higher the odds are that the watch has never been opened or messed with. Basically.....I wanted a Virgin. It didn't need to look like a prom queen but I also didn't want something that was dragged behind a boat anchor either. In a relatively quick time I managed to locate and win a decent example from our favorite auction site. the sellers photos showed a well worn and loved 6309-7040. The watch appeared to have a great original Suwa dial & hand set with nice patina. the case displayed a generous amount of wrist cheese caked in the usual spots. The crystal was well worn as was the bezel insert. Was the watch going to be worth the auction amount??? In the end as with all vintage watch purchases.....you pay money and take your chances....also known as taking a punt, but this one looked promising.
The watch arrived a couple days later and turned out to be everything that I had hoped for. A well worn but nice condition German Market variant 6309-7040 that started running the moment that I picked it up. definitely worthy of a restoration effort. Of special note....I've owned dozens of the 6309-7049/40 variants over the years and this is my very first German sales market variant
Let The fun begin..
First step is disassembly....gotta see what lurks under the hood
As you can see, the watch was caked with a mix of who knows what. I'll call it Wrist Cheese for easy explainations.....Believe it or not, this is exactly what I was hoping to find. it's a very good indicator that the watch is unmolested and a virgin for all intensive purposes.
The coating of debris and biological matter is hard but can be removed easy enough with small picks. Instead I, my plan is to completely deisassemble the case down to the main parts and let the ultrasonic cleaner do all the initial clean up.
here's a few more photos of the watch disassembly and it's key groups
The rotating bezel, insert and gasket
Schmagma encrusted caseback pre-disassembly.....(I had to place the watch in a padded vice and use my Jaxa tool carefully to open the back)
The caseback removed along with the old hard gasket. The movement is actually prestine and sparkles despite is's age. If you take note of the ink marks/service indicators on the inside of the caseback, you'll notice a "WP" which means water proof testing and also "3N88" which is broken down to a service date of Novmember 3, 1988
. I have only seen markings like these just a couple times in the roughly 100 6309's that i have handled over the years..My best guess is that this one was serviced directly by Seiko
Next the dial/movement and crown are removed for inspection. no surprises here....everything looks awesome. the dial and hands are minty and have a soft aged patina on the lume markers
close up of the dial & hands
Break down of the remaining case assembly
After separating the crown assembly the old crown gasket is removed.
The entire group of main case parts after being in a ultrasonic bath for 10 minutes
After the initial cleaning I have a chance to survey the case for damage/wear. It's basically in great condition. the case lines are all straight and crisp, but there is a rather large ding on the upper left lug / case line region that will require so reworking.
I won't go into my personal regiment for case refinishing (trade secrets) but after reworking the case by hand you can see the results were well worth the time and energy involved
Here"s the top side surface that I've rebrushed back to a factory finish.
The caseback along with the original owner's initials engraved
The case is now ready for re-assembly using a new oem crystal and full gasket set received from Jonathan (Swedefreak)
I should note...and this will be a shameless plug on my part....If you are restoring a vintage Seiko, Jonathan should be your first and only stop for purchasing oem replacement gaskets and crystals. they are true to factory spec on every detail
After main case re-assembly
And finally The finished product and obligatory wrist shot.
In the end, the original bezel insert was beyond hammered so in the short term I installed a Seiko factory insert from a SKX-007 as temporary fix until I can source a better original insert.
I'm super stoked to once again be the proud owner of a classic 6309... the new forum and having such a great group of members has really revitalized the watch fettling/collecting hobby for me. Now I'm back to scanning the net for my next addition... stay tuned for more in the future.
Best
Shawn