[Maynard]

So I’ve been getting more into watches thanks to this thread, and decided to revive an old heirloom Seiko Quartz (a Sports 100, 7546-6049) – my first real watch, and it was with me for many early (mis)adventures. It has been sitting for the past decade, after showing signs of shutting down, and I was no longer needing to wear a watch for work as much. It had started to go through batteries very fast (IIRC, first two lasted about 8 yrs, third did not go a full year, and fourth only lasted a month or two). So I figured it might need cleaned and sorted, rather than just a new battery. I took it to a local jeweler who is also Seiko Authorized dealer, and they sent it out to their watchmaker (they don’t have an in-house person doing that, was not sent to Seiko). I asked for a thorough cleaning and whatever R&R needed to get it running right, but asked that they not replace the bezel or crystal, nor polish the case (wanting to keep the patina and history).

I get it back and things are not right. They have reassembled it with the inner ring misplaced by about 2.5 minutes (the inner ring around edge of dial, with minute-marks). The second hand seems tied in to this, as it is perfectly aligned with the ring, but now half-off the face hour-marks. The stem is also quite stiff to pull out for adjusting time, much more so than it was before (back when wearing it, but DK if I tried it just before sending it in). It also appears that they did no cleaning at all on the outside – I think I can still see gunk in the threads on the back of the case, and the band is untouched. In the process of complaining to the jeweler, I got them to ask repair place what they did specifically (any replaced seals, parts, etc.) and was told they “removed the battery and coil, then ran the mechanism through a cleaning bath 2 or 3 times, then lubed and reassembled it.” No mention of any new seals/parts.

The jeweler is offering to have it repaired again, but I’m thinking my best move is get my money back and find somebody I can deal with directly, and trust to tell me if they broke anything. I’d be worried that they would not tell me if there were problems, and if they botched this up the first time they are either careless or unskilled, neither of which makes me want to just roll the dice again. It didn’t help that the jeweler did not automatically offer to have it repaired elsewhere, and was initially just offering to send it back to the original place – now assuring me that they ‘have lots of options, and would send it to the best person they know of’.

I wanted some input from the forum as you all may have much more experience with this. I know these Seiko Quartz watches are WAY below the typical collector watch, and a whole different type of mechanism, but hoping to get some advice. Can anybody tell me how likely it is for there to be damaged parts from all this? Is it typical for repairs to include surface cleaning, at least for the watch case itself (and the strap – is that a separate charge/process, or usually included)? Is there any way to verify it is still waterproof? Should I go through Seiko official site? And any suggestions for reputable repair places – I’m in Upstate NY, but figured odds are I’ll need to be mailing it out. Would I be better off to keep working with the local jeweler, but through a new repair place – are there advantages to this I’m not seeing (or to put it another way – are the online places likely to do me worse than these people have)?

Thanks in advance, and when I get the hang of posting pics, I’ll upload some.

[monterey]

I thought they would just replace a quartz movement rather than repair it. Did you use a quality battery? Sometimes those cheap 10 cent ebay batteries dont last more than a few days. I bought a 12 pack for 3 bucks for my car remote. It lasted 2 days only. Comfort access couldn't see me. But i had many horror stories with incompetent watch makers. Now i only send my watches to the factory for repair.

[Nivarox]

We have Seiko Kinetic watches, once they keep running down what I was told regulators going bad needs to be replaced .They need quality parts indeed ,if you can't find a skilled watchmaker to be entrusted with then check Seiko USA to service points .

[Maynard]

Thanks for the input - I DK about the batteries, as last replacement was a long time ago, and done at a regular jewelers. I was hoping it was a bad battery, but also hoping that these don't leak acid like the regular ones are doing these days.

My main concern now is that the misalignment of the inner bezel ring might have damaged things, rather than just put them out of alignment - anybody know if this is something to be concerned about, or is it just a matter of redoing it properly so they line up?

[GuidoK]

Originally Posted by Maynard

And any suggestions for reputable repair places –

Best US repair guy for seiko is Spencer Klein:

https://www.youtube.com/user/spkslk/featured

kleinvintagewatchrepair@gmail.com

[Maynard]

Thanks for the reference - the only contact I've made is in England, very pricey to ship.

[Poiseuille]

Originally Posted by Maynard

Thanks for the reference - the only contact I've made is in England, very pricey to ship.

I see this thread is a few months old but I was surprised your jeweler wouldn't have sent the watch to Seiko's repair house which is in Mahwah NJ right at the NY border. SeikoServiceUSA.com. Previous post regarding replacing the movement rather than repairing it is correct, but if you also have dial/hand issues those are always fixable. Hope you found a solution.