Modern Seiko Divers

I get where you're coming from, you have an attachment to the watch which you can't put a price on, and as such you will only trust it with an authorised repairer. Nothing wrong with that.

My issue is with Tag Heuer and the ridiculous prices they charge for a quartz service. A £15 movement swap, a new crown and case back gasket costing pennies and a pressure test. It takes less than a hour to do all this and a good independent would charge £60-£80, but take it to an authorised dealer and they are obliged to send it back to TH and present you with a bill for more than the watch cost in the first place. There must be hundreds of dead watches lying in drawers where the owner has been quoted a price and decided that they are not worth repairing, which is a bit of a shame especially when there's a sentimental value to the watch.

On the flip side, it allows amateur tinkerers like me to pick up non-running Tags on ebay for £100-£150, spend £20 on parts and then sell it on ebay for £300+ and the wife is wearing a beautiful little Heuer diver from the early 80's which cost me less than her cheapest DKNY or Storm watch .

Yeah, I might try that for the GF

As much as I don't like the neon ones, I am sure she would like these in the small size and they would suit her lifestyle perfectly :





If you come across something like that cheap, please let me know - I might need a tutor for fixing them myself to ... ;-)

WD

Ebay's your best bet for finding watches but beware of the fakes. I've yet to see a dodgy classic F1 but as you go up the range the fakes become much more common. Stick to ebay and paypal (preferably funded by credit card) and you are covered should the worst happen. Then you have Cousinsuk.com for movements and crystals etc and maybe £40 on tools from ebay or Amazon to get you started. I hate cheap tools but this way you'll quickly find out if you have the aptitude for this kind of work before blowing £100 on a set of screwdrivers from Cousins.

Getting back on topic, here's a group shot of my 80% Seiko current collection -



From L-R

Tag Heuer F1 Chronograph, purchased new in 2000 and retired a few years ago. My first 'serious' watch. It was on my wrist for 10 years and many important events in my life and its the only watch here that will never be sold.

Seiko SNKH63. This one is the predecessor to the popular SNK809 and has a slightly larger case (39mm vs 38mm and 20mm lugs vs 18mm) along with subtle differences to the dial and hands. I've had several different hands and dials in this one but its now back in standard guise with the exception of a domed and blue tinted anti-reflective sapphire crystal.

Seiko SKX171. Fitted with a Murphy coin edge bezel, SKX007 insert, Seiko Samurai hands and a domed sapphire. I don't wear this one much but its a great looking watch and only owes me about £200 so why bother selling?

Modified Seiko 6309-7040. The case and movement are original dating to 1981. As for the rest: Seiko SBBN007 Tuna dial, black day & date wheels, Seiko Stargate hands, Yobokies stainless bezel insert, WJean (ebay seller) PVD shark mesh bracelet and a domed AR sapphire. This is another one that has been modified previously and I plan to change the hands again.

Seiko 6306-7001. This one is all original apart from a WJean Oyster bracelet and domed sapphire. I like domed sapphires . January 1979 serial number and it's probably my most worn watch at the minute.

My next purchase will probably be a Seiko SBBN015 Tuna or the vintage 7549-7010 version. The head says go for vintage because its slightly smaller and I have skinny wrists, but I prefer the looks of the new one and they are both around the same price :? .

A fellow skinny-wrister, eh? ;-)
I've recently got an SKX013 - which is the smaller-faced diver. It's a great watch - though I do also fancy getting the orange proper diver (the 011?) as I reckon if you're going to get a silly bigger watch, it might as well be a bright one. My Festina is a black and yellow bumblebee of a watch as it is...

Unless you're slimming the collection down?

If you are looking for a SKX011 check out Creation watches. They ship from Singapore and my 171 took only 4 days to arrive and was marked with a low value so no customs fees. They are quite large at 44mm across but they wear surprisingly well on a skinny wrist (6.75" here), as does the 6309 due to the distance between the lugs being relatively short at 46mm.

I'm not selling any of the watches pictured but I do have a 6309-7040 here which I'm planning to put on ebay before xmas. Send me a pm if interested .

New member this evening...hello folks, hope you're well.

This subject caught my eye. Have a bit of a Seiko addiction...not all divers however so apologies for going off topic.

Here's a few of them...there's a modded 007 Pepsi missing, and a couple of Bellmatics I haven't taken photos off...

My mid 90s Diver recently fettled by Fudd and lovely it is too.

PabloRoberts":19y4sc5w said:

New member this evening...hello folks, hope you're well.

This subject caught my eye. Have a bit of a Seiko addiction...not all divers however so apologies for going off topic.

Here's a few of them...there's a modded 007 Pepsi missing, and a couple of Bellmatics I haven't taken photos off...

Click to expand...

I absolutely love the Pogue,must keep my eyes peeled for one.

Loving the blue 6138 Kakume. I have a gold / brown Speedtimer version sitting here that I've just serviced and its convinced me that I need one for myself. The Pogue looks like a very nice example too .

66 triumph daytona":aj4q0r18 said:

I absolutely love the Pogue,must keep my eyes peeled for one.

Click to expand...

Hey Denis, I currently have this one on my wrist which will be available in the next week or so -



Pm me for more details if you are interested, or if you'd rather have a gold one then pm me for advice because buying one of these is a minefield with all the fake dials etc out there