Advice on 50 year old seikos

njburke · 28-09-2018 1:54pm #1

Hi,
I'm looking to buy a birth year watch for myself and my brother, we're Irish twins from 69 and 68.
I've been looking and I have a handle on serial numbers etc.
Is there any particular calibre from the era I should aim for or avoid. The 7005 didn't come out till the 70s. I have a 4006 bellmatic from '73 that runs well but is a tad fast at rate of 20 secs a day. It's not a big deal when worn in rotation so another like that would suit me.
Lordmatics and weekenders come up from Japan as tidy examples but in a more dressy and timeless style. I'm looking for something that has late sixties style, cushion cases etc.

Any ideas welcomed. There's a chap on adverts from chapelizod that seems to trade older Seiko's many are quite nice but alas not the right year, so far anyway.

shutup · 28-09-2018 2:18pm

I have a 37 year old Kinetic Seiko 5 which I love.
I dont have any technical knowledge to offer you. I just know what I like and this 1968 off e bay is a cool looking watch. Best of luck.

njburke · 28-09-2018 4:49pm

Yes, I had seen that 6119 on the bay. It's the kind of thing I'm after but I'm hoping to get a specific month. No rush, the searching is half the fun anyway.

blue5000 · 28-09-2018 6:30pm

The younger one of you might stretch it to a '69 pogue, but rocking horse crap would be easier to find. What months are you looking for?

Longines is another brand possibility, they have good records for the serial numbers, pre 1970 are easier to track online. However the funky cushion cases as divers are expensive, AFAIK casual/dress watches with a cushion case didn't appear until perhaps 1970. I'm open to correction on this.

Throw up a few pics of what appeals to you. Look for old magazine ads from then as well.

Are you able to see this?
https://forums.watchuseek.com/f29/1968-seiko-5-a-4769511.html

njburke · 28-09-2018 7:25pm

Yep, a pogue in good nick is like rocking horse pooh, hence the search for the common or garden variety seikos.
I'm looking for a July 68 and a June 69.
I'ld like to get the 68 first, there's a new old stock Seiko 5 on eBay that's 500 $, the downside is that it doesn't look 50 years old.
I was outbid on one in the UK this morning,excellent condition.

That Seiko 5 on WUS link is the right month and year, but seller says US only. I'll send him a message to see if he'll mail to a friend of mine in the US. It's a good price given that it's been recently serviced
I'll post a few pics later, I can't attach with this boards reader I use on the phone.
Edited:
Here are a couple I already own, one is the 1969 reissue the other is a seiko 5 turtle. They have the look of vintage watches but are new. I bought them as I thought an old seiko mightn't be reliable but then I bought the 1973 bell matic and had a bit of rethink.

shutup · 28-09-2018 8:29pm

Both above watches are lovely. Please keep posting photos of what you buy, try to buy or are thinking about.
Will be a fun journey to follow!

njburke · 28-09-2018 8:58pm

Ok Shutup.
I missed out on this 7005-7130 this morning. It came up when I was looking for the late sixties, it was mis titled as this is actually from 1973. It looked good enough to try a punt of £100 on, It sold for £107. I was busy when the auction ended.

shutup · 28-09-2018 9:46pm

We have the same taste in watches. Another great one there

HDMI · 29-09-2018 4:38am

njburke wrote: »

Hi,
I'm looking to buy a birth year watch for myself and my brother, we're Irish twins from 69 and 68.

This guy is not too bad, watches are generally in good original condition (not polished to bits)

I had a mad fit a couple of years ago and fancied a birth year and month watch so I sent him off an email. He responded fairly quickly with some nice suggestions but the watches were all coming back around 36mm so I decided not to proceed. But if he can he will try source what you want but you have to be quick because he moves his stuff very quickly.

http://antiquewatchat.blogspot.com/?m=0

saccades · 29-09-2018 8:53am

Apart from a birth month bellmatic my knowledge is Seiko divers (and wrecking them), most divers of that age are silly money. Before the bellmatic purchase I was looking at king Seiko, classy, nearly as well built as the grand Seiko and not on everyone's radar.

Rauteken is a Japanese eBay type thing that is good for stuff that wouldn't have made it to Europe 50 years ago.

Your bellmatic is probably the worst movement for hard to get parts, unless you get a chronograph movement.

njburke · 30-09-2018 7:02pm

HDMI wrote: »

This guy is not too bad, watches are generally in good original condition (not polished to bits)

http://antiquewatchat.blogspot.com/?m=0

Thats a good site, he seems to have some watches in good condition at what look to be fair prices. None of the hassle of an auction. I'll keep an eye there.

OK, so I have found one, the '68. I went with blue5000 link to WUS and managed to buy from the seller but need to ship to friend in the US. The watch is showing some wabi but its been cleaned ,oiled and regulated recently so thats worth a good portion of the purchase price.

Watch is a 5726-8060, which I can't seem to find any info online about.

I know the bellmatic 4006 is hard to get parts for, the one I have has the common problem that I can't quick set the day. Date quickset and alarm work fine though. Apparently the cog that sets the day wheel or something in the setting train wears out.

I'll post some decent snaps when this'68 seiko arrives to me in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime I'll keep looking for the '69, something a bit more funky looking than that '68.

IrishPlayer · 30-09-2018 8:45pm

njburke wrote: »

I know the bellmatic 4006 is hard to get parts for, the one I have has the common problem that I can't quick set the day. Date quickset and alarm work fine though. Apparently the cog that sets the day wheel or something in the setting train wears out.

There's no quick set for the day on the Bell-Matic , only the date.

DavyD_83 · 01-10-2018 11:12am

Nice work; love all the watches you have added above.

I'll keep an eye on the thread for a bit of watch perving.
But you've inspired me to try get myself a birth year watch; will have a look around and see what is available.

I might just have to add it to my list of watch types I would like if I didn't have a mortgage and kids.

njburke · 01-10-2018 11:39am

Cheers for that info on the bellmatic. I thought the day should index when the crown is in the second position. Ok, that makes my bellmatic 100% functional so.

An update on the '68. It's reference number is actually a 5126-8060. The pics I've got of the case back aren't great. I've found some info on the watch on the web

Kintarō Hattori · 03-01-2019 3:17pm

njburke wrote: »

What's the model number on this beauty? I'm in love.

njburke · 03-01-2019 9:45pm

Thats an SRPC13K1. Its a re-issue of 1969 design. I thought it might scratch an itch I had for birth year watch, a new watch that looks like an old watch is not the same.
As I recall it was hard to find and I ended up getting it from chronospride in Australia.

I'll take a bit of time at the weekend to update this thread on my search for birth year watches.

Kintarō Hattori · 04-01-2019 10:29am

I love it so will have a good poke around and see where might have one in stock at a reasonable price. You're some fecker. Post a random photo and boom, I have to have it now :P

njburke · 04-01-2019 11:46am

@Kintarō;, I paid €188 plus the import fees.
If you have no luck finding one let me know and I'll put it up in the for sale swap thread. I don't wear it much and would put the cash towards a vintage seiko.

Kintarō Hattori · 04-01-2019 12:49pm

njburke wrote: »

@Kintarō;, I paid €188 plus the import fees.
If you have no luck finding one let me know and I'll put it up in the for sale swap thread. I don't wear it much and would put the cash towards a vintage seiko.

Well if it suits you, I'll take yours from you. You don't want it and I do want one. Only thing though is it'd be towards the end of this month as I'm still paying for December! Would that suit you?

njburke · 04-01-2019 2:38pm

Grand, it'll be in watch drawer until then, PM me whenever .
I'll see if I still have the box for it. I've been hiding watch boxes in around the house so the other half doesn't find them all at once:-) ,ah the double life of watch collecting.

njburke · 25-05-2019 7:24pm

Hi all,
Just an update on these old seikos. The '68 seiko I bought on WUS never arrived. I changed my paypal address to a US Friends house and paypal stuck IRELAND on the bottom of it. I guess it zinged back and forth across the atlantic or is in parcel bin in an An Post office somewhere, and I was out $150.

All the searching lead me to a Japaneese proxy site where I bought a couple of modern casios (an m640 and an oceanus-s100).
Then I spotted this for $80, a Jan 1971 Seiko 5 sports 7019-6040.

It arrived in good physical condition and on the original bracelet which fit me. Everything works in the movement but it runs for a while then stops, I think the oil has gone viscous so a good internal clean and service should have it in tip top condition. Not a '69 or '68 though, just a watch that appealed to me.

In last the two weeks I did land a watch for my brother a July '68 Seiko Seikomatic-P .

FS: Vintage Seiko 5106-7020 Seikomatic-P (c.1968!)
It arrived in great condition for its age, everything works and the regulation looks good.

Lastly , I have a Jan 1971 bellmatic that I picked up on ebay, its in good condition , all works and came on its original Coffin link bracelet.

Pic below of all three, but I'm still on the lookout for a June '69. I had a recraft SRPC13 from '69 design which I sold onto an active member of the forum here.

niall

Cienciano · 25-05-2019 10:15pm

HDMI wrote: »

This guy is not too bad, watches are generally in good original condition (not polished to bits)

I had a mad fit a couple of years ago and fancied a birth year and month watch so I sent him off an email. He responded fairly quickly with some nice suggestions but the watches were all coming back around 36mm so I decided not to proceed. But if he can he will try source what you want but you have to be quick because he moves his stuff very quickly.

http://antiquewatchat.blogspot.com/?m=0

That's a great site, can you search by year?

longshotvalue · 27-05-2019 12:56pm

I too am 50 this year, and would love and 1969 Longines maybe. Or something else maybe, that green seiko really looks well..

njburke · 30-05-2019 1:45pm

Hi,
I gave the '68 watch to my brother he was very pleased with it, he has a collection of old Nikon and Leica cameras so apart from the birth year it had another appeal to him. I talked him through the operation of the watch. He was most pleased with the fact that it didn't require batteries, he has drawer full of watches with dead batteries.

Cienciano · 30-05-2019 2:11pm

njburke wrote: »

Hi,
I gave the '68 watch to my brother he was very pleased with it, he has a collection of old Nikon and Leica cameras so apart from the birth year it had another appeal to him. I talked him through the operation of the watch. He was most pleased with the fact that it didn't require batteries, he has drawer full of watches with dead batteries.

On the dead batteries thing, you can buy a cheap watch repair kit on amazon or ebay for under a tenner to take backs off and a sheet of different size watch batteries for about €2 in most pound shops and sometimes aldi and lidl.

njburke · 30-05-2019 3:00pm

I have the tool kit, I did a garmin fitness watch the other night with a 2032 coin cell, I happen to have one spare after doing the remote on my car. The trick is to have a selection of batteries, seals would be good too.

Advice on 50 year old seikos

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