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Seiko Bell-Matic 4006-7000 November 1966 Dolphin
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08-08-2020 8:36pm#1Going from a Post back in June [Link],last Year I started looking at Yahoo Auctions to see if I could spot any of the rare models as a harmless way to find other ways of enjoying his hobby without spending money....or so i thought,
Here is a list of the rarest Bell-Matics:
1. 1966 4006-7000 "Diashock" w/dolphin caseback
2. 1967 4006-7000 7030T "Business Bell"
3. 1967 4006-7019 21J US export model
4. 1967 4006-7000 "Diashock"
5. 1968 4006-7029 21J US export model
6. 1967 4006-7010 7040T "Business Bell"
7. 1968/69 4005-7000 "Date Only
Found a couple of Business Bells (4006-7010),some with original bracelets that tempted me as they are really cool,also loads of 4005s.This year have noticed a couple of 'DIASHOCK',including Dec 66/Jan 67,even bidded on one ,lucky missed out as the caseback was not correct,posted more about it on the forum [Link]
The next is one I never could have imagined
It all started on the evening of Friday 24th July around 7pm,was on the computer,actually looking at games to take a break from watches.Wasn't really in the mood of starting a game,so did by now a routine search 'Buyee.jp - Seiko 4006'.Scrolled down through the listings,spotted straight away the 'DIASHOCK' dial,thinking it was another 1967,as soon as the page loaded,spotted the Dolphin! Nearly fell out of the chair,completely lost for words.Checked the description,title no mention of Dolphin,just a regular 7000.Only three watchers,compared to some other more common that have over forty,no bids.Searched through various forums,a guy on twitter alam_fan [Link]
who has recorded every Dolphin serial number to see if he noticed it...Nothing.
Wasn't sure to try to bid,contact the experts,say something on the forum.I knew I was not the right guy for it only being around these parts barley three years,knowing guys have been chasing them for decades.Turned off the computer and later went to bed,couldn't sleep a wink.Got up and after a walk,decided I had to at least try.Unfortunately in my infinite wisdom,after the last close call,had decided to delete my Buyee account and could not reactivate it nor use the same email/Papal.After creating new accounts,everything was ready,but was I?
Learned from my last experience about the annoying automatic extension and the sniper bids around the five minute mark.Also struggled to come up with a max bid,knowing the last sold for $680,could not go that high.There was still no bids,decided to place the opening bid of €110.50 in case for some reason the listing was removed,had a similar thing happen with a Zodiac Alarm on eBay,no bidders.Went to bed,again not sleeping.
Sunday was one of the longest days I can remember,still the only bidder, felt even if I didn't win,felt very fortunate getting a chance to bid.Later that evening,the guy posted it on Twitter,thinking game over.
Around 11pm,six hours to go,I was out bided,€114.49.Now coming up to 1am,starting to fall asleep,going to give up and put in a max bid.Could put a sniper bid,but remembered an email from Larry(Uncle Seiko) that missed out on a Dolphin due to the sniper failing to go through,not wanting to take the chance,decided to bid manually.
As the time got closer,got a second wind.Misjudged the closing time by one hour,so the wait was even longer.Thirty minutes left, my nerves were gone,knew had to wait as close to that five minute mark as I could,but after would increase time.Finally with sixteen minutes left I put in my max bid,logged out to avoid going crazy.
Now €220.48,reaching the ten minute mark.7-6-5-4 minutes,the bid held, no sniper bids!,3-2-1,A minute away from owning a Dolphin!To avoid attracting attention to it,checking it from the search,not the actual page.Clicked the listing, 10 Minutes €356.16!!,3AM,screaming at the screen,knew it was over,one minute away from owning it for €220.48.
I was still the highest bidder,the time ticked back down,5 Minutes,3-2-1,shouting "JUST END-END-END".
Refreshed the search,Gone,scrambling to login,saw the text" You Won",3:40AM,lost for words.
After the auction ended,checked Twitter,was sad to find out he was the other bidder as I had no idea he was going to bid and he has a lot more knowledge than me,he was the seller of the Dolphin that sold last year for $760 [Link]
Due to the going on, EMS shipping was unavailable, had to go with DHL,after getting caught by customs and fees/protective packaging,the final cost ended up at €531.31.
For anyone not familiar,Bell-Matics were introduced in November 1966 and were in production till 1978.For one month only,November used a caseback with a Dolphin,a way Seiko used to show resistance to water,earliest example of a Dolphin is a Seiko Sportsman Dolphin from September 1961,credit goes to Duncan The watch Bloke
In December 1966,they changed to the Horseshoe.The Dolphin Bell also has other differences compared to the later 7000,a notch in the case around the alarm button,lasted until January 1967,Longer sounding Alarm spring,
Dimple in the button for the alarm and the DIASHOCK dial that was used until February 1967.
Going by the information collected by the guy on Twitter,less than 3,000 were made,less than 20 have been documented, by the serial numbers,mine is the second earliest recorded.Tried to contact the seller to get more history of where he got it,no luck as Buyer can't ask about sold listings.
Hope to someday track down and reunite it with an original "Chiclet" Bracelet
Took a trip to Fairview,Big Thanks to Damien at Duggan Jewelers for removing the caseback,
Unboxing,Love at first sight
Still cannot believe I have it,was talking to John Bentley (TheTigerUK),someone I look up to when it comes to Belles,that has had a huge collection,couldn't believe he never manged to get one!
Also shared it with Spencer Klein who never knew it existed!
Going to send it to Richard Askham to be looked after,feel a huge weight on my shoulders with this one,so many others that deserved to get it than me.
Some extra information/Pictures
Listing on Yahoo-[Link]
Pictures-[Link], [Link]
Movement pictures-[Link]
Unboxing pictures-[Link]
Testing Videos-[Link], [Link]
Last Dolphin that sold 2 months ago -[Link]
Thank You.17
Comments
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Moderators, Science, Health & Environment Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 60,071 Mod ✭✭✭✭
Join Date:Posts: 59000
That's really cool!! :eek: Well may you wear. Rejoice in the awareness of feeling stupid, for that’s how you end up learning new things. If you’re not aware you’re stupid, you probably are.
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Apologize for not being more active on here, too much time spent looking at bracelets :P
Just after getting an update from Richard, made progress on the Dolphin Bell today. The movement and the case have been disassembled and cleaned and he is starting the rebuild.
Something I did not notice before sending it to him, the date wheel has some damaged numbers and will need to be replaced. He was saying it is one of the most commonly damaged parts in Bell-Matics
Also shown in the picture are the two broken clips that hold the alarm bezel which I already knew beforehand.
There is some plating loss due to the rotor weight. It usually caused by worn bearings but he mentioned that the rotor weight screw was loose and if it has been like that for a long period of time, that could also account for the plating loss, wont know the cause until it is resembled.
Another concern is he found oil on the hands, if it has soaked into the painted black stripes they may lift away. Also I am very worried about the oil getting to the unique Diashock dial. Here is a post from his blog showing the the damage oil can do that destroyed this very rare 21J Bell! [Link]
On a happier note, he took a picture of the back of the dial for me
Dated December 1966,he noted, dial is a different construction to later models, which either have a flat back with a separate dial spacer, or a ring bonded to the back of the dial,here is an example of a later dial credit to his Blog
The dial on the Dolphin is folded over at the edges and has much longer dial feet.
Hope everything will be alright, look forward to getting it back 0 -
Got another update from Richard this morning on my Bell-Matic. Thankfully the oil that was on the hands was able to be removed without causing any damage to the painted black stripe and the oil did not get onto the dial.
Some of the paint for the black stripe was already missing, he offered to fill in the missing paint but went with his recommendation to leave them as-is and keep it original
The movement has been fully serviced, the case cleaned, the date ring, bezel clamps have been replaced. The the alarm wheel which also had to be replaced as it was particularly scored due to wear causing additional friction which resulted in the balance amplitude to drop by 30-40 degrees across the board.
The original crystal has been polished to reveal that beautiful unique Diashock dial that was only used from Nov 1966 until Jan/Feb 1967. New alarm pusher and caseback gaskets have also been fitted, the gasket for the crown could not be changed due to the design on the early crowns.
The rotor bearing for the auto winding mechanism didn't need to be replaced. It was due to the loose rotor screw after all! Luckily it hadn't caused any further damage.
The watch is now on a test winder and will be for the next few days to ensure the calendar and auto winding mechanisms are working correctly and hopefully if all goes well it will be ready either late this week or early next week
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Hi all,
Again sorry for not being active on here much recently, have been really busy in work lately (Retail for anyone wondering for the recent 'What Jobs' Thread).
The Dolphin is back!!
Not that one, this one
Richard sent it out last Tuesday, but with the slow post it only arrived this week. By the time I got home from work it was too dark to get good pictures so only getting a good look at it now.
Once again Richard did a fantastic job! Cannot recommend him enough! http://thewatchspotblog.com/ The watch was completely stripped, case was cleaned but not polished. Movement fully serviced. The original crystal was polished which makes a huge difference reveling that beautiful unique Diashock dial.
New gaskets were fitted to the caseback and alarm pusher, the crown on these early models uses a different design making it difficult to change the gasket without damaging it.
The date wheel had to be changed due to damage which I believe is a very common problem with Bells. Along with new clips for the alarm bezel, another very common part to break.
I asked Richard to send me the broken parts to have a closer look
I mentioned before that the alarm wheel had to be changed, It was actually the unlocking wheel
Just a quick video showing it in more detail, the alarm on these early models has a different sound due to the longer alarm spring
Feels like only yesterday I was sitting the the computer at 3am,watching the minutes slowly count down :pac:
Still on the hunt for the original bracelet, a picture from a Seiko catalog showing what it looks like
Richard sent the old one back, decided to leave it off and I will find something better until I can hunt down the bracelet
Still in complete disbelief that I managed to find it! With everything currently going on in the world, it was a very welcome surprise and a great escape from all the worries of the world!
This year in relation to watches has been fantastic! Along with finding the rarest Bell-Matic, going on the trip to Prague (very lucky to even make it there in the first place!) getting to visit all those watch shops and finding that pilots watch, thanks to the help of Wibbs.
Couple of days later, thanks to hitemfrank, got to attend that fantastic talk by Damien Duggan, meeting some incredible people with a love for watches. Then taking that trip to Duggan Jewelers ,meeting Damien, seeing his work bench and that Tissot Seastar, same as my Grandfathers!
Thanks to everyone who posts some amazing watches along with some really great stories to go along with them. Hope to be more active from now on. Great to have it back and now look forward to wearing it.
Thanks all!
Some extra pictures [Link]0 -
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