Regarding Watches

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The Editor is located in Australia and may be contacted by email - gregandsuesmith@gmail.com

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Charging A Seiko Kinetic Watch – SKA 787

I have a small collection of Seiko watches and I wanted a representative from the Kinetic range but I had read that there were difficulties keeping them charged. Fortunately, I think I have a fix, at least for the SKA787 (shown left).

A 70's Seiko With A Mesmerising Dial

Seiko are famous for producing stunning watch dials and improvements in technology have enabled them to up their game in recent years, but I have just received a Seiko watch with a truly mesmerising dial that was made 50 years ago. The watch is a Seiko model 2002 (3803-7070) produced in 1973, and is quite rare. It is a quartz watch from an era when quartz was king and these watches were more expensive than their mechanical counterparts. Seiko housed these sophisticated and highly accurate movements in chunky stainless cases and decorated them with some lovely dials. This particular watch has an emerald green dial with a corduroy style stripe that would have been completely at home in the 70’s. And there is a lot going on. I will forgive those who believe the following photos are of different watches, because how you angle the light changes the appearance. In the photo on the left the centre spindle appears to be located on a light green stripe. At a different angle the order...

Seiko Champion - When Less Is More

Seiko Champion Calendar 860 7622-8980 In the huge back catalog of watches made by Japan's Seiko Watch Corporation there are many examples of minimalist dials. The classic styling of Grand Seiko probably first comes to mind, but there are minimalist watches from other sub-brands including the one featured in this article. This is a Seiko Champion Calendar 860 from 1964. Ironically, it can be accused of having too much writing on the dial, but those incredibly small indexes, and large expanses of luscious cream dial, surely qualify it as a minimalist watch. And the indexes are worthy of their own paragraph. "Less is more" definitely applies here. Small pillars of an incredibly shiny metal (palladium, rhodium, chrome ? - see below) are located at 5 minute intervals on a circular ridged track. That ridged track is actually three layers forming the outer minute track, with each layer set slightly back from the other. Despite their small size the indexes are incredibly reflecti...

Rare Seiko Skyliner

Seiko 6220-2990: Ok, I can see some of you saying “What’s rare about that”, but let me explain. When I received this watch from Japan, I was immediately struck by the lack of information on the dial. Seiko’s from the 60’s are known to have word cluttered dials. This one was minimalist by comparison. Typical 60's Dial shown on left and the Seiko 6220-2990 on the right. Strong marketing elements at that time included jewel count (the more jewels the better), shock proofing (protecting the fragile balance wheel was critical), and water proofing. These were important ingredients and they were regularly recorded on the watch dial. But my watch only had “Seiko Skyliner” on the dial and when I did a web search for Seiko 6220’s I could not find one image (amongst 100’s) that had such limited information. Every photo of a 6220 dial included at least a jewel count, and in most cases a reference to shock protection. In the 60’s jewel count was very important to watch buyers, and they could ch...

A Remarkable Chronograph – The Seiko Speed Timer 7015-8000

Seiko 7015-8000 When two life interests crossover it can have a significant impact, and my latest watch, with its motor racing connections, is quiet remarkable. Let me explain. With some 50 watches in my collection, it is normal for me to put on a different watch each day. I do this to keep each watch relevant, and because I just love the luxury of having a choice of significant watches. But this Seiko Speed Timer 7015-8000 has now been on my wrist for ten days straight. That is most unusual. The reason for its longevity is twofold. Firstly, it is a significant watch in its own right (with a couple of tricks up its sleeve). And secondly it is a watch connected with motor racing/rallying which has been a passion since I discovered the joys of motor vehicles in the 60’s. I had an unnatural interest in all things automotive and could reel of the engine size, and power rating of most cars with a sporty pretension available at that time. Rallying was a key interest, and probably one of...

An Inexpensive Watch With Vintage Style And A Useful Party Trick

Humble watches don't always look great but this one is a standout. The Seiko 5T32 was a late 1980’s watch that incorporated many design features of more expensive watches. It has the unusual notation on the dial “EQUIPMENT FOR PROFESSIONAL” which is probably the least impressive element of its design but the rest is pure class. The case includes both polished and brushed surfaces, not unlike my Grand Seiko SBGX009. The dial is a delicious cream colour without any flashy sunburst effects, and the date window is perfectly proportioned. If you have to have a date window it should be as unobtrusive as this one. The stepped bezel adds a vintage look. The hour numerals are in sharply contrasting black and the font has an art decor look to it. The railway track incorporating the minute indices is quite traditional and yet timeless (see what I did there) because many modern watches include the feature. I just love small seconds watches, and although this isn’t a small seconds watch, the a...

A Marvelous Vintage Seiko

Seiko Marvel 14035 A statement on the current Seiko Epson Corporation website makes it clear that the Marvel watch from 1957 was a very important watch, and arguably, the most significant in Seiko’s history. It reads “The Seiko Marvel was the first original mechanical watch made by Epson”. In the lead up to the release of the Marvel, the movements that powered many of Seiko’s wrist watches were sourced from the Swiss watch company, Moeris. In 1950 Seiko introduced the Super, their first central seconds watch, with a redesigned wheel train although it is believed the movement otherwise remained a Moeris design. But in 1957 Seiko introduced the Marvel, its first wristwatch to be designed and manufactured entirely in-house. This set the pattern for decades of amazing innovation by Seiko including Japanese firsts and world firsts. The Marvel came in a number of versions including 17, 19, and 21 jewels, anti-shock, and Diashock. The watch in my collection is a 1957 19 jewel version wit...

A Watch Collecting Dilemma

Seiko 5626-7111 I support my watch collecting financially by buying and selling watches but there is a big problem with that. It is often difficult to sell a watch. As a small business owner for many years (retailing) my retirement nest egg was a little on the small side, so collecting what can be expensive items has its challenges. Fortunately I have reasonable craft skills (ex-woodworker with mechanical skills) and can rejuvenate a neglected timepiece so it is closer to its original condition. The inherent quality in many of our timepieces over the last century makes that possible. Watches are pretty amazing pieces of technology. So what is the problem? The watch shown in the lead photo is a King Seiko from 1973. It is a desirable, quality watch from Seiko’s “luxury” era (the 60’s and 70’s) but when I make my daily watch selection it rarely features. The deep blue dial is very rare but a little boring, at least in strong sunlight, and so it is consigned to the list of watches that I ...

A Surprising Feature On An Old Seiko

SEIKO ACTUS 7019-7060 One of the things I love about collecting Seiko watches is the incredible depth of the brand. It seems that there is something new around every corner and this latest discovery, although small in significance, is yet another surprise. The watch in question is a Seiko Actus 7019-7060 from the 70’s with a usually boring silver dial that somehow fits this watch perfectly, and raises its profile to one of my favourites. But it is not the dial that surprised me here, it is the clasp (I said it was small in significance). Somehow I missed this clasp feature when I purchased the watch. It arrived in very good cosmetic and running condition, so I didn’t need to do my usual dismantling and cleaning. The watch went straight on my wrist and immediately endeared itself. I loved the perfect match of dial colour and stainless steel case, the original bracelet (?) fitted beautifully, and it just felt so comfortable on my small wrist. In fact, it is one of the f...

Seiko Crown – Simple Dial and Case Renovation

Renovating a vintage watch dial or case is difficult, and the general advice to watch collectors is tread warily. In fact, in the case of dials, the advice is usually “don’t”. But this article may just offer an option in some circumstances. The watch being renovated here is a Seiko Crown. Or is it? It was purchased on a Japanese auction, which generally brings few surprises although when every second item is described as “junk”, you know it is buyer beware. Good Seiko Crowns sell for hundreds of dollars, and this one was only A$100 but when it arrived I found that a Seiko Crown dial was mated with a Seiko Skyliner movement (a 402), and the case back was from a Seiko Cronos. There was some damage to the clear coat on the dial and some corrosion to the case but both are common in 60 year old gold plated watches. The movement was operating well and keeping good time. For starters the watch was dismantled. The case back, bezel with crystal, and dial with movement, were separated from the c...

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