Vintage Seiko Divers Watch

Thought I'd share a few pics of my latest watch project, a Seiko 6309-7040. I occasionally scour ebay for these watches, hoping to find one that needs a bit of tlc or even something that has been modified which I can return to it's former glory and if I can make a profit on it then that's a bonus. This is the first time I've bothered to take pictures of the process so I thought I'd share them

So on ebay I spotted this with only one picture and a very basic description. Note the non-standard seconds hand and the poor copy of an original bezel insert (pic taken from the ad) -



It was a bit of a gamble seeing as there was no picture of the movement or any detailed pics of the case condition. This is how it arrived -



No prizes for guessing what the previous owner worked as. Thankfully with the case opened there were no nasty surprises -



Serial number on the case back indicates that this watch dates to January 1985. To date a Seiko you need to know the decade it was produced. The first number indicates the year and the second number the month -



Stripped down and ready for a bath in the ultrasonic cleaner -





Then onto the case. Fortunately there were no dents or dings and the crown and case back threads are all good. The only issue is that the brushed finish on the top of the case has been polished away. To restore this I fit the case in a drill and hold a sanding block against it and then polish the back and sides with a dremmel -





Once this is done its time to rebuild. New bezel insert and correct seconds hand are fitted and the watch gets a nice upgrade in the form of a domed sapphire crystal with blue tinted anti-reflective coating. A new case back gasket is fitted and the bezel was a bit loose so that gets a new gasket as well. The old strap is binned and replaced with a nylon Nato strap and this is how it looks now -







The watch is currently loosing about one minute per day so I'll spend the next few days regulating it and get it as accurate as possible. Then its off to ebay again to find the next project

Nice job - I've got the exact same ultrasonic cleaner. What sort of briefcase have you got...

I've got some of those straps, recently, to put on my Seiko divers (not an auto, a solar) as the original was a bit too stiff / shaped to follow the outline of my wrist. Have you bought the slightly thicker ones? Many on ebay sell the ones that are about 1mm thickness, which seems a bit flimsy, but there's some selling the slightly thicker ones that feel just about right.

I've got a Seiko 5 / 7S26, 3 x 5M42 Seiko Kinetics (SKH559P1 and a blue variant of it, and SKH565P1), 1 x 5M62 (SKA573P1), a Seiko Solar divers, and one of those Seiko induction chargers (YT02A).

Cheers Neil. The strap is 1mm thick. I've tried the heavy duty ones but find them a bit uncomfortable as the buckles are so much thicker, plus these ones cost only £2.50 from Cousins

Neil":mc3my4bb said:

What sort of briefcase have you got...

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I've never owned a briefcase. Most of the pics above were taken with the watch sitting on my laptop...

Lovely job great attention to detail

Wow, top job. Do you do anything to the movements?

Next time you have a clean example at a reasonable price you're looking to move on let me know

Hey Dave, how much would you charge for an overhaul & new capacitor? Had this for my 21st birthday back in the mid 90's and fair play, it's stood up to a fair bit of abuse including scuba diving, but its looking a bit tired and no longer holds charge and I was gonna buy & fit a new capacitor kit but might treat it to a bit of tlc like you've given the one above

I quite like that watch how much would you be looking for it? PM me if thats more suitable.

John":2bz155nd said:

Wow, top job. Do you do anything to the movements?

Next time you have a clean example at a reasonable price you're looking to move on let me know

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Signal11th":2bz155nd said:

I quite like that watch how much would you be looking for it? PM me if thats more suitable.

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Pm's on the way

Unfortunately this one is still running slow with no more room for adjustment so I stripped, cleaned and re-oiled it earlier. During the strip down I dropped a wheel and spent the next hour on my knees searching for it but the carpet gremlins had already eaten it :evil: . A new transmission wheel is in the post and then I'll know if its in good health...

Here's a pic taken earlier during the re-biuld -

Gorgeous!
I first saw Martin Sheen wearing one in Apoc Now.

I've a small collection of Auto/Manual watches. Used to have a Seiko SKX007 too, but am always on the lookout for 6309/7040, iconic and beautiful.

ibbz":rydrgxoy said:

Gorgeous!
I first saw Martin Sheen wearing one in Apoc Now.

I've a small collection of Auto/Manual watches. Used to have a Seiko SKX007 too, but am always on the lookout for 6309/7040, iconic and beautiful.

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Cheers buddy

The Captain Willard watch is actually a 6105-8000 which was the previous model to this one and was quite popular with the American troops in Vietnam. I think the 6105 was replaced by the 6309 in 1976.

Some Seiko geeks refer to the 6309 as the Ed Harris as this is the watch he wore in the Abyss. Mick Jagger has also been pictured wearing one too...

If you're in the market for a 6309-7040 then shoot me a pm. I have one on ebay at the mo and I also have a 6309-7290 that will be looking for a new home shortly