Reply With QuoteThat’s come up nice !
When my dad died 15 years ago my mum gave me 3 items; his watch, pen knife and wedding ring.
In recent years he'd worn a Tissot so I guess this Seiko had become unreliable.
According to the Seiko serial number website this watch was made in 1973 or 83; I suspect it is the former as I recall dad wearing it when I was a child. The watch was looking pretty shabby and the bracelet was beyond recovery but Paul Walker has done a superb job on this and the watch now looks fantastic.
A 50 year old Seiko which has sat in a drawer for the last 15 years in now on my wrist on a nice new JPM leather strap.
Thanks Paul for your efforts in returning this watch to great condition; showed it to mum earlier today and she was most pleased to see it on my wrist.
That’s come up nice !
That’s a nice result and a good looking watch. Even better are the memories it holds
Looks fantastic, well done both.
Is that a 6119 movement ref I see at the bottom? If so, its definitely '73.
Cheers..
Jase
Originally Posted by JasonM
Yes it is a 6119.
I see this example of a similar restoration:https://adventuresinamateurwatchfett...iko-6119-8083/
Very nice.
I bet your dad would be happy.
Wow! Great job and a lovely watch and momento of your father. Wonderful to see
Lovely work and a proper memento of your dad. Wear in good health, as they say.
Great!
I like stories like this , top Job Paul .
BTW the watch looks great and that strap looks spot on with it .
A love a happy ending. That looks really nice.
Looks wonderful and excellent work from Paul.
Awsome!
Also... I have watches that have been in the drawer for 15 years myself!
...
BUBI
@porque.racing
Lovely story. Good work from Paul.
Great to see a vintage Seiko with a new lease of life.
Sent through the ether by diddling with radio waves
Lovely memento of your dad... are you glad you had it tidied up? I have a similar decision to make
That is lovely. Thank you for sharing. It's prompted me to get my late father's timepiece restored.
Yes, very happy it’s now like new. It will get worn now. I understand some people like to preserve history but my take is I want to enjoy he watch like dad did when it looked it’s best.
That looks fantastic.
Now, if my memory serves me correctly!
You have two beautiful timepieces from your Dad.
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That’s fantastic. I need to do something similar to my dads old quartz seiko.
That was a lovely read and nice to see life being breathed into an old watch.
Also, proof that a watch doesn’t have to be expensive to be valuable.
No, just this Seiko from my dad.
I do have my grandad’s Omega which was also restored by Paul.
Great to have these two watches in a condition that I will now wear them, probably not often but often enough to make the investment worthwhile.
Omega Seamaster – 1965 – Grandad’s Watch
That looks brilliant, I love stories like this.
Looks great and lovely story.
That Seamaster is looking beautiful, it would get a lot of wear were it mine!
Watches make the best heirlooms as they are very personal items.
The Seiko has come up lovely.
Well worth doing and well done Paul.
Cheers,
Neil.
That came out beautifully and I think your dad would’ve been very pleased. I believe I have the same model Seiko myself, though it’s not as nice as yours. It’s a 6119-8080 from September 1969 and it still runs very well:
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That looks the same as mine did before I sent it to Paul.That came out beautifully and I think your dad would’ve been very pleased. I believe I have the same model Seiko myself, though it’s not as nice as yours. It’s a 6119-8080 from September 1969 and it still runs very well:
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The dial and hands look good so would likely come up nice.
Hardest part of the job was getting the bezel off the watch!
The original crystal turned out to be in good condition with no cracks, a replacement could've been ordered but I`ve had trouble getting them to fit in the past so I opted to repolish the original and it turned out well. The bezel had to come off to allow the lug tops to be re-grained, I gave it a light refinish to sharpen it up and get the polished finish back. Likewise the case sides, taking care to preserve the bevel along the edges. Trying to remove all traces of marks and scratches would've been impractical, that would've required removal of too much metal, so a compromise was reached which gives a shiny polished finish but close inspection will still reveal traces of the original marks in places. The watch presents and wears like an almost new watch but close inspection will reveal a few signs of age.
All work was done by hand, no machine work on this one. It's impossible to be certain how a watch will turn out but I was v. pleased with the outcome . A clean dial and handset provides the basis for restoring a watch in this way, that's what I saw when I took it apart and that's why I offered to refinish it. A scruffy tarnished dial wouldn't work with a refinished case.
A new crown seal and caseback seal have enabled the watch to pass a 3 bar pressure test. Thankfully the area where the crystal seals was free of pitting or corrosion so the crystal is still able to seal as intended.
Despite the inevitable wear the movement responded well to a thorough service. I tried it with the original mainspring and wasn`t happy so it was renewed. The exact replacement isn`t available so the nearest equivalent has to be used, that's what Cousins list for this movement. It's slightly longer and the centre hole is too big, modifying the centre hole to fit is always a bit fraught but this went smoothly. The new mainspring has to be unwound to allow this, then fitted with a spring winder, there's scope to wreck the new spring if this is done wrongly but thankfully this went OK. With the new spring the amplitude was restored to 255° which is OK for a movement of this type and age.
I have a later Seiko 5 with a 7S26 movement that's in need of some TLC, have to say I much prefer this 6119 and I was almost sorry to see it go. Lack of handwinding is a drawback and the day/date is fiddly to set , but those are minor issues. Having worked on a couple of 60s/70s Seikos I`ve got a new-found respect for them, quality was better than I ever realised and they could give some of the more prestigious Swiss brands a run for their money.
I hope the OP gives the watch some wrist time, it's perfectly practical for everyday use, if the crystal gets a few marks polywatch and metal polish will fix it!
A lovely watch and story. It's amazing how it still looks current.
I hope you get many years of enjoyment from it
Looks pretty decent alongside the Explorer.A lovely watch and story. It's amazing how it still looks current.
I hope you get many years of enjoyment from it
Lovely story and result. Don't have an heirloom watch but both my sons will have one in due course, hopefully a few years yet though!
I have specified in my will who gets which watch ... the challenge is I have acquired more nice watches since writing the will but I'm not paying the solicitor to update the will ...Lovely story and result. Don't have an heirloom watch but both my sons will have one in due course, hopefully a few years yet though!
I'd suggest preparing a simple letter of your wishes but then again most on here would need to update it every couple of months so probably not worth it
Looks fantastic!
That's a lovely story and a fantastic result.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
Love to read things like this on 'the how', would love to be able to do this / refinish a bracelet fully. Know it takes time, but I just don't even know if possible; nothing like a late father's watch just a desire to learn how.
My father doesn't really do watches, he had an old gold coloured Tissot that you used to adjust holding in a small button with a toothpick / similar. Then he started using a corn on the cob fork, then a biro before the hole around the button was stupidly large & deformed. Last I saw of it he was using a biro to do it; not sure where it is now, as must be 30yrs since last seen after he replaced it with a Gucci watch which he wears on the most plastic of leather straps that cost him £5.
I would love for him to have something like the OP's watch to remember him by, but that Gucci and a Gen 3 Apple Watch are not really in the same ball park alas! I even tried to give him my mid 90's constellation to wear to build some form of memory but he didn't wear it enough to keep the auto movement going & gave up!
Great looking watch and great work by Paul. Two lovely heirlooms you now have from your father and grandfather.
After 35 or more years in a drawer I had my Dads watch serviced in 2010ish. Hardly worn it as its so small but running nice and strong at 75 years old :0)
Thats scrubbed up well.
That’s very nice, you should give it more wrist time. I find you soon adjust to different sizes.After 35 or more years in a drawer I had my Dads watch serviced in 2010ish. Hardly worn it as its so small but running nice and strong at 75 years old :0)
And you could try it on a bund to bulk it up a little.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
Superb restoration job and the watch looks fantastic. Lovely that you can wear the watch again in memory of your Dad.
Wow a stunning job by Paul! Congratulations on such meaningful getting a second life!
Olloydy
Thanks for all the positive comments, really pleased with it.
My dad had a ten bob watch as he was constantly up to his elbows in engines and gearboxes. Dad's timekeeping was appalling, with or without a watch and we would often turn up late for family get togethers! I am happy, for you, that you have those pieces to remember your dad with. I inherited dad's tools and a lot of his skills and habits (apart from the timekeeping - I'm usually early!). Every time that I use his saw, hammer or spanners, I remember his words of warning and instructions! Wear in good health and happy memories.
This warms the cockles of my heart.
A devoted son and a beautiful restoration by a good man. Great combo.
Well done Paul!
Jim
Superb!
And the SAK looks great too........ now you need to put a decent edge on that, and put it to use as well!
The SAK lives in my biking wallet.
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