How to tell when your Seiko watch was made (Part 1)

ScreenShot069 (Small)

So, youโ€™ve just purchased a used or new Seiko watch. Congratulations! Have you ever wondered when your watch rolled off the assembly line at the factory? In other words, when was it manufactured? Questions relating to the production date of Seikos frequently pop up in various watch forums from time to time.

Well, in case you didnโ€™t know this, the answer to this question actually lies in the set of numbers that are etched or printed on every Seiko watch made. Chances are if you ask watch store assistants when that particular Seiko watch youโ€™re interested in buying was made, youโ€™ll get a blank expression from them. Either that, or theyโ€™ll come up with an excuse for not knowing by saying that itโ€™s a new arrival (yeah, right!) ๐Ÿ™‚

You canโ€™t really blame them for not knowing because watch sellers are in the business of selling watches, period. From my experience many Seiko dealers arenโ€™t watch enthusiasts themselves. Theyโ€™re more interested to get a sale from you rather than discuss the history or significance of that Seiko watch that youโ€™re looking to purchase.

Well, Iโ€™m a firm believer that knowledge is power. And if you have that knowledge, you have an edge over the seller that could be very useful. Especially when it comes to bargaining for a better price for that new, old stock (NOS) Seiko that caught your fancy.

File photo of a typical watch store in Kuala Lumpur. Chances are that the store owner in the picture doesnโ€™t even know when the Seiko watches that he sells were made, ๐Ÿ™‚

If the store owner senses that you know more about that watch than he or she does, thereโ€™s a good chance that you can bargain for a more realistic price. I have gotten a few discontinued Seiko watches in this manner, saying โ€œHey look, this watch is eight years old! It canโ€™t be worth the price youโ€™re quoting me!โ€

Fortunately for me, the watch dealers relented to my counter offers and I got them for the price that I wanted.. They probably figured out itโ€™s better to sell off the watch now than risk their capital tied up in old stock that nobody else is interested in.

Letโ€™s find out how to date your Seiko watch and I donโ€™t mean socially! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Where to look for the serial number

To locate the serial number, youโ€™ll need to flip over your watch and examine its caseback. Seikos with solid casebacks (plastic, stainless steel or titanium) will have the 6-digit serial number etched in a straight line. Those that come with glass display backs like modern Seiko 5โ€™s have the numbers printed horizontally on the glass display back but the numbers are usually faint and difficult to read.

Higher end Seikos with display backs, like the 6R15 caliber Premier or 7L22 Sportura for example, have the serial number engraved not on the glass but on of casebackโ€™s rim.

Here are three examples of Seiko casebacks depicting their serial numbers.

Type I: Seiko 5 glass display back:

Seiko 5 glass caseback

Basic Seiko 5 models made from the year 2002 onwards have clear glass display backs as you can see above. The 6-digit serial number is always located at the opposite end of the โ€œSEIKOโ€ text. The numbers are faintly stamped from the inside of the glass. Youโ€™ll have to tilt the caseback towards the light to read the numbers properly or better still, use a magnifying glass. The Seiko 5 in this picture is from February 2004.

Update: Some very recent model Seiko 5s have the serial number printed not on the glass but along the caseback rim. If you canโ€™t see the serial number on the glass, then look for them on the caseback rim (usually located on at the bottom part of the caseback).

I guess Seiko decided that itโ€™s easier and cheaper to produce spare display backs without having to etch the serial number individually

.

Type II: Display backs on higher end models:

Non-Seiko 5 glass caseback

In more expensive Seikos with glass display backs like the Premier 6R20 pictured above, the serial number is usually found engraved along the rim of the caseback. Unlike the rest of the identifying text, the serial number is printed in a straight line. Why doesnโ€™t the serial number follow the curvature of the rim? Iโ€™m not sure but I think casebacks are manufactured en masse and the individual serial numbers are stamped on later prior to packing and shipping from the factory. Anyway, the Premier pictured above was made in August 2007.

Type III: Solid metal caseback

caseback

The majority of Seiko watches come with solid metal casebacks (stainless steel, solid gold, gold plated or titanium) and the serial numbers are also stamped in a straight line. Pictured above is a the caseback of an SKX007K Seiko dive watch. Reading numbers off solid metal casebacks is pretty straightforward. The Seiko diver above is from November 2003.

How to the serial number works

Every Seiko watch manufactured is given a 6-digit serial number. There are however exceptions to this rule. Seiko watches made prior to the late 1960s, most probably 1967 have 7-digit serial numbers instead. Limited edition models with unique sequenced numbering, e.g. 123/300 (denoting the 123rd piece out of a total of 300 pieces) usually donโ€™t have serial numbers.

Limited edition Seikos are usually made within a very short time frame โ€“ perhaps not more than a few months in the year it was introduced. In this case youโ€™ll need to know the intimate history of the model โ€“ for example, the SBDX005 Historical Collection 600m diver was released in 2000 with 1,000 pieces made. You may not know the exact month the watch was made but suffice to say, the production year couldnโ€™t be any later or earlier than 2000.

To simplify things, I will use the 6-digit serial number convention. This table below describes the structure of the serial number.

Digit Position Description Characters used Notes
1 Production year 0 to 9 Denotes the year in the decade, not absolute year
2 Production month 1 to 9, โ€œ0โ€, โ€œNโ€ and โ€œDโ€ 1 to 9 denotes months of January to October. โ€œ0โ€, โ€œNโ€ andโ€Dโ€ denotes October, November and December respectively
3 Sequence number, thousands 0 to 9 The last four digits represent the running number of the watch
4 Sequence number, hundreds 0 to 9
5 Sequence number, tens 0 to 9
6 Sequence number, ones 0 to 9

Deciphering the serial number

  • The first digit signifies the year the watch was made. It doesnโ€™t tell you the decade โ€“ only the year. This will present a problem because you may not be able to distinguish whether the watch was made in 1997 or 2007. The digits always range from 0 to 9.
  • The second digit denotes the production month. Seiko uses 1-9 for January to September. October is represented by the number 0 (zero, not the letter โ€œOโ€) while November and December are abbreviated to โ€œNโ€ and โ€œDโ€ respectively.
  • The remaining 4 digits represent the production number of the watch in a sequence. It is generally believed that the first watch produced every month begins with โ€œ0000โ€ and the last watch made in that month ends with โ€œ9999โ€. Going by this convention, up to 10,000 watches of a particular model could be manufactured in one month. The sequence number is reset for the following month. Therefore if Seiko made up to 4,900 pieces in February, the last watch produced will have the the sequence number 4900. For the following month of March, the first watch produced will have the sequence number 0000 instead of 4901.

The following table below gives examples on how the serial numbers are interpreted:

Caliber Serial Number Year Month Watch Number
7S26A 717872 1997 January 7872
7T32 8N1030 1998 November 1030
6105 200421 1972 October 421
6138 731999 1977 March 1999
6309 4D8001 1984 December 8001
8L35 259393 2002 May 9393
7S26B 760023 2007 June 23

Jayhawkโ€™s Production Date Calculator

Fortunately there is an automated method of determining when your Seiko was made. Savvy Seiko watch enthusiasts have been using Jayhawkโ€™s Production Date Calculator to check when their watches were made. Itโ€™s linked from the Seiko & Citizen Forum and to my best knowledge, it is currently the only automated tool for dating your Seiko watch on the Internet.

Itโ€™s easy to use โ€“ just enter your movement number and the serial number and hit the Calculate button. There you have it โ€“ your watchโ€™s date returned to you in a matter of seconds! ๐Ÿ™‚

However, there are a few caveats that you need to know when using the Production Date Calculator:

  • Firstly, the results that are returned to you are based on the accuracy of the internal database table. There may be unintended mistakes in the range of the years entered into the table.
  • The calculator does not take into account for calibers that are made for more than 10 years.
  • The production date calculator does not cover the entire list of Seiko calibers made.

The problem lies in Seikoโ€™s numbering convention as it used only one digit to represent the year. The first digit only signifies the year number in a certain decade (10 years). While it is true that Seiko movements are discontinued in less than a decade, there are however, some exceptions to the norm.

A well known example is its very popular 7s26 automatic caliber. If you enter a serial number beginning with โ€œ7โ€ or โ€œ8โ€ for a post-2000 made 7s26, the date calculator will return you the years 1997 or 1998 respectively, which is off by a whopping 10 years! Even if you are certain that your watch was made in 2006, the date calculator will still think that it was made in 1996.

Hereโ€™s why:

The Production Date Calculator unfortunately doesnโ€™t have the ability to account for calibers that have been made for a decade or longer. It merely checks the first digit in the serial number (the year of production) and compares it with its internal table of calibers with the starting year. Since Seiko uses only one digit to denote the production year, the calculator cannot determine the exact decade the watch was manufactured.

For instance, 7s26a caliber was first introduced in 1996 and therefore it naturally assumes that it was from the 1990s. The replacement 7s26b caliber however, came out in late 2006 but the production calculator does not take this into consideration.

Seiko 5 Superior

Caseback dating dilemma: Was this Seiko 5 Superior from January 1997 or January 2007? Itโ€™s actually from 1997.

Manually dating a Seiko watch

Fortunately, there is an alternative to the Production Date Calculator if it returns you erroneous or dubious results. In order to do this, you will have to date the watch by manual means that can give you an approximation or the exact the decade the watch was made.

If youโ€™re interested in pursuing this topic, learn how to manually date a Seiko watch here.

Did you enjoy this post? Why not leave a comment below and continue the conversation, or subscribe to my feed and get articles like this delivered automatically to your feed reader.

Comments

Dear Quartzimodo.
First, many 10x for your great help.
Second, Iโ€™ve bought the SRN001P1 today.
How can i know where is it made?
The number is 843123.
The caliber is 5M54-0aa0.

10x a lot!

Hi Roy,

Congratulations on your new Seiko SRN001P Kinetic watch. Itโ€™s made in Singapore on April 2008. The 5M54 is a relatively new Seiko caliber.

cheers,
Quartzimodo

Hi Quartzimodo,
Yesterday I bought an old Bell-Matic at a thrift store. I am trying to date it. The Model # on back is 4006-7019 and on the face is 4006-70207 AD. The serial number on the back is 7000031. Thanks for your help.

Hi Clemualb,

The serial number that you gave me is 7 digits long, instead of six. Can you confirm whether your Bell-Matic has โ€œwaterproofโ€ or. โ€œwater resistantโ€ markings on the caseback?

Quartzimodo

Dear Quartzimodo,
Just bought a used 9020-7010, SNo. 560117. As I learned from your detection rules, the watch was made in June, 1995 (or 1985?). The current product no. is 177, right? Is there a source that can tell how many pieces of that watch were produced? (It has 14 kt gold back. No steel!)
Regards, Detlev from Munich

Hi Detlev,

Iโ€™m not familiar with the Seiko 9020 quartz movement but designs based on this caliber suggest that itโ€™s an 80s watch rather than the 1990s.

Therefore itโ€™s quite probable that yours was from June 1985. Although your serial number has the number 177, it is actually piece #178, because the first watch made in any month has the ending 4 digit numbers starting with โ€œ0000โ€ and not โ€œ0001โ€.

Unfortunately I have no idea how many pieces of your particular model were made. Youโ€™ll have to contact Seiko Japan to get the information.

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

Hi,
It says Water Proof. A member of the Bell Matic blog dated it at Oct 1967. Here is my post there with pictures of the watch.

www.thewatchsite.com/index.php/topic,29050.new.html#new

Hi Clemualb,

The reason that I asked for the serial number verification is because a 7-digit serial number applies to vintage Seiko watches made between 1966 and 1967. Most Bell-Matics Iโ€™ve seen in pictures (I own two myself) are from the early 1970s. Itโ€™s quite rare to see one thatโ€™s made in the late 60s. So there you have it โ€“ October 1967. You have one of the earliest Bell-Matic models, which is a rare occurrence. The โ€œWater Proofโ€ marking also confirms that your watch has to be from 1967 and not 1977, because it if were from 1977 (about the time the Bell-Matics were discontinued) it would have โ€œWater Resistantโ€ marked instead.

John Nelson (John N) is a contact of mine and he used to run a site dedicated towards Seiko Bell-Matics; he would know about the subject more intimately. I bought a 4006-6040 from him two years ago as he was liquidating his collection.

cheers,
Quartzimodo

Hi, I have a Seiko ladyโ€™s watch that is very confusing to me. The serial # is 880186. It also has the # 55105 on the face and inside it is 17J and 11A witch i am unable to find any information on it. I would appreciate any information you can give me. Thanks, Tammy

Hi Tammy,

Not much is known about the hand winding Cal 11A as to when it first appeared and when it was discontinued. However, itโ€™s believed that this caliber was introduced in 1970.

My best guess is that your watch was made on August 1978, based on your serial numbers on the back of the watch. The numbers on the dial refer to the dial code and is not used for dating the watch.

Hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

Hi Quarzimodo

I recently received a SNK315K from the US, 1D1107, and I notice that the caliber is 7S26c, whereas my SNKE53K1dated June 2011 is a 7S26b. Does this mean Seiko has upgraded the 7S26 caliber recently?

Incidentally, do you think Seiko solar is superior to Citizen Eco-drive?

Hi Foxbat,

I havenโ€™t been poking my nose in watch stores for a long time, but word has it from the Seiko collector communities is that the 7s26C version did appear sometime in 2011. Some believe that the 7s26C has a more pronounced, elevated pinion in the movement for better height clearance for the main time hands. If this is true, then it should solve cases of sticking second hand that tend to rest exactly where the minute hand lies when the main spring is nearly unwound. So far I noticed that one of my watches (7s26B caliber) has this problem.

Thanks for reporting your watch production dates. Since you have observed your SNK315K is from December 2011 and your SNKE53K from June 2011, this narrows down 7s26Cโ€™s debut between the months between June and December 2011. More feedback from owners having the newer 7s26C movement are needed to pinpoint the exact month Seiko introduced the 7s26C.

The new Seiko solar powered watches should be at least equal to Citizenโ€™s Eco Drives. Actually Seiko has had solar powered watches dating to the late 90s or early 2000s, but they werenโ€™t as popular as Citizen Eco Drive watches. For Seiko, they were busy pushing their Kinetic technology while Citizen had no choice but move forward with what theyโ€™re already good at โ€“ light powered watches. Once upon a time, Citizen made a few models based on its Eco Drive Duo technology (solar and kinetic movement charged), but they were quite expensive. Those watches were probably more efficient at charging using sources of light than the wrist movement, therefore it made the โ€œkineticโ€ charging method redundant.

I might buy one of those nice Seiko Solar chronographs this year. I saw quite a few models when I visited Singapore last October and was tempted to buy one, but Iโ€™ll wait for newer solar powered chronographs to appear.

cheers,
Quartzimodo

Thanks again Quartzimodo

The reason I asked about Seiko solar was I saw a SNE031 advertised recently and considered buying it. I was waiting for the SNK315 to arrive and discovered that the two watches are virtually identical (37mm across and 10-11mm thick with very similar plain white/cream faces). In the end they were too similar, despite the different mechanisms, so Iโ€™ve changed tack (see your chronograph blog).

Incidentally, as I once said before, I have a โ€œvenerableโ€ 5M62-0AK0, s/n 386455, which I bought in Canberra on 9 February 2005 (18 months old at the time). None of the documentation tells me what the model (S**etc) is. Is there some way I can find out?

Hi Foxbat,

I Googled for your Kinetic watch and found the reference number. Itโ€™s either the SKA196P (white dial) or the SKA198P (black dial).

The SNE-series solar watches are one of Seikoโ€™s latest revivals into the solar powered watch scene and this time theyโ€™re putting more effort into promoting them. I expect them to be vastly improved versions of their earlier efforts. Its solar panels are located behind the translucent dial like the surface of a white ping pong ball. Your Promaster AV0031-59Aโ€™s solar panels on the other hand, are located at the subdial apertures. Itโ€™s best that you view the SNE031 yourself before buying it, in case you prefer solid, opaque dials.

cheers,
Quartzimodo

Thanks again. You are a champion!

My SKA is the black 198P. There is considerable similarity to my recently bought SMY115 โ€“ which you gave the suffix P, which I assume means that both watches were assembled in Singapore. Does the suffix K indicate Hong Kong assembly?

I shanโ€™t be buying the SNE031. I was looking at it amongst a group of watches but in the end I plumped for a Citizen CA0021-53A, which had features that encapsulated the whole group.

Cheers.

Your education, and that of one or two others, has shown me the absolute need to shop around for watches, especially via mail order.

Hi Foxbat,

Yes, the โ€œKโ€ suffix designates a Seiko watch that is cased in Hong Kong (China). Do note that some models that are exclusive to the U.S. market do not have any letter suffix at all. Some examples include the SKXA35 and SNM035 automatic diverโ€™s models. They are not referred to as the โ€œSKXA35Kโ€ or โ€œSNM035Kโ€. U.S. market models also have the country of manufacture printed on the dial to comply with the American Federal Trade Commission labeling laws. For watches that are made in China, they are clearly marked โ€œMovโ€™t Singaporeโ€ or โ€œMovโ€™t Malaysiaโ€ and โ€œCased in Chinaโ€ in fine print on the dial.

The Citizen CA0021-53A is a great looking watch, but personally I avoid watches with no contrast between the dial and the hands/markers. Theyโ€™re hard to read the time in dim lighting. BTW, have you ever considered Orient automatic watches before? I have an Orient CEY04002B and itโ€™s a very fine dress/sports automatic, with a power reserve indicator and perpetual world time. For its asking price, Seiko offers nothing like it. A unique feature of the Orient CEY04002B is its sapphire glass display back, which is quite unusual as most watches with see-thru casebacks use the cheaper mineral glass.

This watch is equally eye-catching as the Citizen Promaster E210 series and Iโ€™ve often received compliments whenever I wear it. ๐Ÿ™‚

cheers,
Quartzimodo

Hi again

Three things:

I looked at the SNK315K I received allegedly from the US this week but the curiosity is it does have the suffix K and no origin printing on the face, even with a maginfying glass. Perhaps a US entrepreneur imports for export but not for the US market?

In that regard, I used the hotlink re the Orient CEY04002B and came up with an LA supplier who clearly indicated โ€œUSA onlyโ€. I subsequently looked at a Singapore supplier just out of interest as my budget and brain are exhausted for the time being. I will probably end up with a simpler Orient power save indicator automatic some time in the future.

I take your point about the CAโ€™s white on white but we all wear watches by circumstances and mood. I go to meetings regularly and generally wear black faced watches like my Citizen BM8430 or my SKA (thanks again for identifying it) or SMY Seiko kinetics which allow me to glance at the time. I have drawn up for fun and some self-indulgent justification a list of my 18 โ€œactiveโ€ watches and how I intend to use each of them.

But now this 66yo โ€œsemi-WISโ€ is going to withdraw from the field for a while.

All the best, thanks a million and cheers.

Hi Foxbat,

In the early 2000s, Asian market Seikos were available exclusively from Southeast Asian and Hong Kong based sellers. Things have changed since then, with a few enterprising Far East based watch sellers setting up offices in the U.S. to cater for the North American market. Such watches, including your SNK315K Seiko 5 are considered parallel imports from Seiko USAโ€™s point of view.

The Orient CEY04002B is a watch thatโ€™s worth saving for, because itโ€™s a lot of watch for the asking price. There is also a Japan market, limited edition model that uses the identical movement but sells for USD2,000. Iโ€™ve seen the watch in person and have taken photos of it at my regular watch store. After a year sitting on the shelf, the watch was returned to the distributor as nobody wanted to spend that much on a โ€œmere Orientโ€ watch.

If I could offer some advice, itโ€™s better to save up towards something thatโ€™s more unique rather than going for quantity for your collection! Take it from someone whoโ€™s owned a little over 80 timepieces. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Oh dear, Oscar Wilde is winning!

After your last advice I internetted Orient automatics and you are of course right, they are a great idea. The reviews from far and wide are universally, or almost, glowing.

I have ordered a FEU07008DX as a starter, just over $100 delivered and very interesting looking. As to the CEY04002B, what about the slightly more expensive CFA05001B? I prefer the look of the latter and the specs seem very similar.

My only problem with having a surfeit of automatics is keeping them all going. I know you say itโ€™s not really necessary but an Orient site suggests they should be wound at least once a week to keep the lubrication constant.

Itโ€™s also suggested that it is best practice to keep an automatic on your wrist for eight to 12hours a day. Obviously with a reasonable number of watches, including potentially five automatics, that wonโ€™t happen.

As usual, I look forward to your invaluable advice.

Hi Quatzimodo

I got the FEU and to my surprise and mild disappointment it turned out to be a FEU07005BX instead of the 8D; the former is thicker, heavier and mineral rather than sapphire.

One pleasant surprise is it features a Breitling Navitimer, or copy. The manual doesnโ€™t explain it but googling naut and stat did.

I took you advice, sort of, but went for the CEY04003W0, as you might have foreseen. Unlike you I do like the white on white look; my Citizen CA0021-53A is a particular treasure.

Thank you for all your expertise, advice and interest. After $2000 or so Iโ€™ve done my dash and reached a respectable 20 watches so it really is time to stop!

Hi Michael,

Congratulations on buying both (wow!) Orient watches. ๐Ÿ™‚ The model FEU07005BX is most probably a recent model as I havenโ€™t been following developments of watches for some time. The scale thatโ€™s printed on the edge of the dial is an E6B Flight analog computer which works on the slide rule principle. On watches today, the E6B scale is mostly for aesthetic/decorative purposes as even single engined Cessna/Piper pilots use digital flight computers for navigation. I have several watches with the E6B scale on them and never bothered to learn how to use it, lol..

Your purchase of the white dialed CEY04003W0 didnโ€™t come as a surprise to me (I was nevertheless elated that you chose this model) as from your past comments, you like white-on-white watches. I have only three or four white dialed Seiko models, but their index markers are black, providing some contrast. Itโ€™s a good thing that you selected the CEY0400 series, because the small perpetual second hand departs from the traditional long sweep second hand on your other timepieces. Due to its short hand, the individual ticking motion is not discernible to the eye and this gives it a fluid-like motion like the second hand of a Seiko โ€œQuiet Sweepโ€ wall clock or a Seiko Spring Drive watch.

My advice is not to buy too many watches within a short span of time, unless they are on the endangered species list (read: vintage/discontinued). Spacing out your watch purchases will give you time (pun not intended) to enjoy your most recent purchase.

The CFA05001B is a newer model to the CEY0400 series; it sports a different caliber than the latter. Modern mechanical watches donโ€™t really need to be worn all the time โ€“ there are millions of unsold automatics sitting in retail stores all over the world that havenโ€™t been โ€œshakenโ€ in six months or longer, but they still work nicely. You donโ€™t need to buy an automatic watch winder unless you own some exotic Swiss mechanical with complications like a perpetual calendar. Such watches can have complex setting procedures, thatโ€™s why their owners invest in watch winders to avoid the hassle of setting these watches.

Enjoy your new watches in good health! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

i have, since bought new a seiko quartz divers 150m s/n 531231 and these other numers 7548-700f stainless steele japan. any info on this still great working time piece will be greatly appreciated, value,cost new and year made.i am getting older and cannot remember when i bought it. THANKS in advance for any help, p.s. love your site,richard

Hi Rick,

You have one of the more collectible Seiko quartz diverโ€™s watches. The 7548-700x series are generally well liked by most Seiko dive watch collectors and a Pepsi-bezeled 7548-700F can fetch between USD200 to USD250 depending on the condition and originality. The 7548-700x is commonly believed to have influenced the styling of the SKX007/SKX009 series, automatic divers which appeared in the mid 90s. Your watch was fully made in Japan by Seikoโ€™s Suwa factory on March 1985.

The five jeweled, 7548 movement is robust and long lived. It requires an Energizer 301 or Seiko/Maxell SR43SW 1.55 silver oxide battery, with a 3-year lifespan.

thanks for the compliments! ๐Ÿ™‚
Quartzimodo

Hi Quarzimodo

Thank you for your encouragement and advice.

I agree I have dived in rather precipitately. Fortunately I have decided to stop at 20 with the two Orients. I had expected to stop at 18 but your salesmanship for the Orients was so excellent that I had to expand my collection accordingly. My philosophy is not to have a conventional collection of collectable watches but to be able to have a cross-section of horological ideas and to wear them all at different times, with the possible exception of the Seiko 6139-8002 (still being repaired) and the Citizen 49-9714, both of which have sentimental, rather than practical, value.

I now have five Eco-drives, five automatics, two kinetics (after my purchases over the past three months I agree that too many kinetics would cause problems), three HRMs (as a diabetic I have to keep fit and my weight down) and five assorted quartz watches, of which the star is my 1979 Citizen 49-9714 SF8 calculator; the un-star is my fake G-Shock GA-100, which the G-Shock cognoscenti want me to throw in the rubbish bin but which actually excites my sense of humour.

Incidentally, taking the ideas together of old watches and fakes (or more kindly replicas) I recently googled the serial number of a ten year old Citizen Eco-drive I bought in Singapore in 2002. It turned out to be a BM0730-59A; when I googled that name I found it was discontinued by Citizen some years ago and has become the model for replicas! An ironic turn of events given my recent mania.

I was interested in you description of what I called the Breitling Navitimer derivative. Having googled โ€œstat nautโ€ I found a website that told me how to use it for multiplication and division. I will never use it for navigation as my car and GPS will do that but it will occasionally be useful for rough calculation, mile to kilometre conversion and currency conversion.

So as you advise I have decided to call it a day for a while. I shall enjoy my watches, both old and new, and rejoice in the great advice you have given me.

Just finishing emptying my motherโ€™s house so it can be sold. (Sheโ€™s in an assisted living facility). I ran across a Seiko with the numbers 7N01 5C39. Iโ€™ll probably pass it along to one of my children. Iโ€™m not even sure if itโ€™s a manโ€™s or a womenโ€™s watch or if it has any value. The serial number is 880742. Can you help?

i purchase a seiko UFO 6138 0011 and i want to know the fabrication date..the number on the back is 448900..thats mean mi clock is from april 1974?

Hi Pablo,

Yes, your 6138-0011 is from April 1974. Itโ€™s easy to date 6138 automatics because they only existed in the 1970s. Sadly, as quartz technology became more prominent, Seiko decided to cease production of affordable automatic chronographs in favor of digital watches and quartz chronographs.

cheers,
Quartzimodo

[โ€ฆ] of some decade that ends in a 7. 67, 77, 87โ€ฆ something. Decipher your serial number here. How to tell when your Seiko watch was made (Part 1) Reply With [โ€ฆ]

i have seiko of my grandfathers.. i dont know weater that seiko is origional or not.. behind watch have writen 750592.. is that serial number origionalโ€ฆ and under that 6309-5060 what its means..

Hi ganes,

Without looking at photos of your grandfatherโ€™s 6309-5060 I can only assume that itโ€™s an original Seiko watch. From the serial numbers I would say itโ€™s from May 1977.

The watch was fully made in Japan by Seikoโ€™s Suwa factory and its design harks from the late 1970s.

Quartzimodo

Hi I have a Seiko Sea Lion M55, serial No.6301500. can you possibly date it for me.
Bob

Hi Bob,

Sure thing. If you have the Sea Lion M55 Weekdater, itโ€™s most probably a 6119-851x model. It should have โ€œwaterproofโ€ markings on the caseback and the 7-digit serial number dates this watch to March 1966.

hope this helps and wear it in good health,
Quartzimodo

I have a Seiko watch serial No.848466 TL on the back it says water resistant, stainless steel, 6309-8020, number on the strap, Z152. On the black face Day/date, Seiko Automatic 17 jewels, Japan 6309-813LR can you date it please.

Hi Bob,

Your Seiko 6309-8020 is an early model dating from April 1978. The 6309 movement came out sometime in 1976 and those that were manufactured before 1984 were made in Japan. Later 6309 models were Hong Kong assembled until they were discontinued by the late 1980s.

hope this answers your question,
Quartzimodo

I have a ladies seiko watch that belonged to my mother in law. serial number 038150 stainless steel+base metal gold tone in color. since the first number is 0 would that mean 2000?

Hi Todd,

The movement and caseback number must be known before one can date a Seiko watch. For example, if your mom-in-lawโ€™s watch has a movement that was discontinued by before 2000, it would be from 1990, 1980 or even 1970. Seiko made quite a few movements in both quartz and mechanical forms with differing market lifespans, therefore itโ€™s imperative that the movement and caseback numbers are identified first.

Quartzimodo.

I have a menโ€™s Seiko Lassale watch. On the back it says 5L14-600H with A3 in a box. S/N 760088. On the face under the 6 it has โ€œJapan 5L14 6000Tโ€, do you know anything about this watch?

Hi Don,

Seiko Lassale watches are not really my forte and Iโ€™ve never really paid much attention to them. The Lassale sub-brand was conceived when the K. Hattori Company (Seiko) bought the Jean Lassale watchmaking company in 1982. At the time Seiko had proudly designed several ultra wafer-thin quartz movements and they fitted them to the initial Seiko Lassale models.

Towards the end of the 1990s when the Lassale lineup was totally discontinued, Seiko had widened the range of Lassale from simple gentsโ€™ dress watches with complicated quartz movements such as the 7F68 moonphase and Seikoโ€™s own 7T32 chronograph movements. Iโ€™ve never seen a Seiko-branded 5L14 watch before and in my best opinion, the 5L14 was exclusively used in the Lassale sub-brand. Without seeing an actual photo, your watch could be from June 1987 or 1997.

The 5L14 is a simple 3-jeweled, quartz movement with no calendar or second hand (its sister 5L15 caliber has three hands though). It requires a Seiko/Maxell SR920SW 1.55V silver oxide battery which is rated for 5 years between battery changes.

Thereโ€™s an interesting post on Seiko Lassale watches which might interest you here.

cheers,
Quartzimodo

I have a sieko 7t36-6a39 watch, it has chronograph-quartz on the face, it has the moon phase shift option ser number 937542. could you tell me the value on this watch

Hi Danny,

What you have with you is a Seiko model SEJ010J, which was fully made in Japan and was possibly made on March 1989, at the time the moonphase quartz watch fad began. Iโ€™m sorry I canโ€™t put a value to your watch, because 7T36 models are considered rare even in the used market. Some 7T36 models which belonged to the collectible, โ€œAge of Discoveryโ€ series may fetch at least USD450 in excellent condition, perhaps a bit more.

eBay is a good place to investigate the average winning bids or Buy-it-Now asking prices of 7T36 watches. Not all used 7T36 watches for sale will have uniform values as it will also depend on the exact model. Right now thereโ€™s only one live auction for a 7T36-6A40 on eBay, but itโ€™s not completed yet. You might be interested in following the auction to the end to see how high its winning bid will be.

cheers,
Quartzimodo

Mate,

Just picked up a Seiko 5 with Thai numbers today. I believe itโ€™s made in โ€™99 but would value your input.
serial: 997768
other numbers: 7009-876A
Itโ€™s a little beauty.

Hi Nongbrown,

Your special Thai numeral, Seiko 5 would be more likely from September 1989 and not 1999, because the 7009 caliber was discontinued by 1996 and was replaced by the current 7s26 caliber.

It might interest you that the Muang Thong company (Seiko Thailand) in Bangkok has the biggest influence on Seiko watches in Southeast Asia, outside of Japan. It has the decision making clout to issue special editions for the local Thai horology market.

Seiko Thailand has been responsible for coming out with the legendary SKZ201K Seiko 5 40th Anniversary divers back in 2003, the highly collectible Yellow, Red and Blue Monster diverโ€™s models and one-off, Seiko watches commemorating their King Bhumibolโ€™s Anniversaries, such as this one.

Therefore a Seiko watch such as yours was likely to have been originally sourced in Thailand and not sold in other countries.

cheers,
Quartzimodo

Hi, Quartzimodo. Long time no speak.

Thanks for the plug. That thread I wrote has had a lot of traffic over the last couple of weeks โ€“ partly because itโ€™s also hot-linked in various Jean Lassale related threads on TheRolexForum, Watchuseek, TZ-UK, Orologio&Passioni, etc.

Any queries you get on Seiko 7Axxโ€™s (particularly 7A38โ€™s) and the related Orient, Yema, Cartier Ferrari calibers, please feel free to point them in my direction. ;o)

Regards, Paul.

Hi Paul,

Thatโ€™s really great! Iโ€™ve been off the watch scene for sometime and only stumbled upon the 7A38.com forum site recently. Back in my SCWF forum days, there was very little interest (or none at all) in Seiko Lassale watches and information on them were really scarce. The content material on the Seiko Lassale models was the most comprehensive that Iโ€™ve read in a long time, great job on the article. ๐Ÿ™‚

The Seiko 7A28 and 7A38 are two quartz chronographs that Iโ€™d really like to get my hands on; but very good condition ones are hard to find nowadays.

cheers,
Quartzimodo

Hi Quartzimodo

Thatโ€™s great insight and very helpful. Knowing that, I will be on the lookout for a couple more unique items. This one I found at a Thai Army market.

Cheers

Hi Quartziguru

I have recently finally got back my treasured Seiko 6139-8002 (or 8010 โ€“ my first question) after five months being repaired (the crystal was the issue, I was told).

Two things:

The model number on the rear says 6139-8002, but on the face the number is 6139-8010. Which is it and is this common? I have had the watch since new, which gets me to my second question.

The watch was bought by a friend for me when he was visiting Port Moresby in 1977. But the watchโ€™s serial number is 262996, indicating manufacture in June 1972. Is such a delay unusual or a problem?

Cheers.

I donโ€™t see my automatic divers watch exactly. The back of my case has the wave design but it says Seiko water resist Japan A then the serial number 100800. Then from the s/n on the other side is St. Steel 6309-7049 the second hand has a little round thing at the end of it. I have the day and date window and the days are Spanish/English. Does this ring a bell?

I have a SEIKO Quartz 5y23-8a69 serial # 180903 it is a hand me down was stored a few years the battery was removed I need to know which battery it takes & any other info will be greatly appreciated TY

I have a ladies seiko two tone dress watch. The front face says automatc, 17 jewels. The back says 780005 and 4206-0519, water resistant, s. Steel basse, movement singapore. WAS PURCHASED IN Aruba in The late 1990โ€™s. What type of battery is needed? Thank you.

Hi lisamarie,

Thanks for your question and I apologize for not being able to reply sooner. You have a self-winding, mechanical watch which is also referred to as an โ€œautomaticโ€ watch. Automatic watches are purely mechanical and are not electronic. As such, they are powered by a tiny main spring that drives the watch mechanism and do not require any battery whatsoever.

In the case of the 4206 day/date caliber, you can actually wind the watch manually by carefully winding its crown in its pushed-in position. The 4206โ€™s winding mechanism isnโ€™t that efficient therefore Seiko provided an auxiliary hand-winding capability to this movement. Your Seiko watch is a U.S. model and was made on August 1997. By the early 2000s, the 4206 caliber was replaced by the 4207 (with the same features) and is still used in Seiko 5 automatics for ladies.

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

we bought seiko watch 5 from someoneโ€ฆ it doesnt have box anymoreโ€ฆ tha warranty card saysโ€ฆ model no. 7009 watch no. 196050.. the no. on the warranty card and the back of the watch do matchesโ€ฆ but im still confused if its real SEIKO % watchโ€ฆ please help

Wow! what a great site! Amazing you are, and I thank you!
I need a watch battery and was given this beautiful watch about a year ago but I know itโ€™s rather old. I know nothing about watches though, like what is a jewel?

The person who gave it to me says it looks exactly like a Lady Rolex, but I donโ€™t even know what they look like either, soooโ€ฆ I just need a battery. And Iโ€™d really like to loosen the band by one tiny piece of gold wristband. Is that possible? I stopped by walmart tonight to see if they would sell me a battery but they told me they canโ€™t take the backs off watches anymore, and the size number is inside.

Mine says SEIKO 3Y03-0160 A4, water resistant, Japan M, base metal st. steel back. Does that tell you about what year mine was born? ๐Ÿ˜‰ Also on front it has the day and date.
What is the best tool to open the back with? They let me use their tiny screwdriver set at Walmart but I donโ€™t see how that could work. not for me anyway.

Any help that you can provide would be just awesome for me!
Thank you sooooo much for this cool message board! Youโ€™re the best!

how did that ugly avatar get on my post? i hate the color pink, ugh, can it please be changed? help? thanks!

hell0 quartzimodo,

the watch serial number is 114644. so are you saying that i wonโ€™t be able to tell if it was made in January of 2001? or 1991? or 1981, etc? and does it matter which year it was made when purchasing a battery for it?

do you recommend a place online to find correct batteries for certain watches? i would buy quite a few for different dead watches I have, if so.

thanks for passing along the excellent advice and experiential knowledge on this subject

Dear Quartzimodo,

Iโ€™m Mongkol from Thailand. I has 1 Seiko 5 Sports, Could you please help me to know this watch is original one or replica.

Serial number 230116
7S36-03D0 AO(in square) KY

and have litle card with watch
Ref.SNZF45K1
Cal.7S36, Automatic
Barcode 4954628101266

Thank you for your support in the future

Mongkol

Sawadee, Mongkol

This is a good question. As far as I know there are no fake Seiko models made like the new SNZF45K with the present 7s36C movement. Therefore your Seiko 5 Sports watch would be a genuine one.

Itโ€™s made on March 2012 and the SNZF45K is a very recent model.

Cheers,
Quartzimodo

Dear Quartzimodo,

Iโ€™m Mongkol again. I saw half circle (inside) it have 3 line

SEIKO TIME CORP
SEIKO
7S36C TWENTY-THREE JEWELS

Thank you again

Mongkol

I bought both a ladies Seiko solar and a gents Seiko 5 glass back watch in Dubai last week. The sales assistant wrote the serial numbers on the guarantee but did not say which is for which watch.
The numbers she wrote are PO22PI and KK6211. These do not appear to be serial numbers !!!โ€ฆ Could they be the model numbers?
The number on the ladies watch appears to be 1N1298.
I cannot read the serial number on the gents watch as the bracelet blocks my view.
I am now home in Australia and cannot return to the shop in Dubai.
Can you help me determine which guarantee is for which watch ? Thankyou Valerie

I have a seiko mickey mouse ladies watch that was given to me in the 80โ€™s. It has a two toned metal band, a white face, a date square. the serial number is3y030039 and the watch number is 960335. I dont still have the warranty papers, but I do remember that it was water resistant to a deep depth, like 100 ft or more. I sent it to be repaired to CSA and they tell me it is not high grade water resistant, but I have always worn it in water and it never leaked. They want $164 to repair it and donโ€™t guarantee it to be worn while swimming. Is it worth the cost to repair? I found your site very informative.

im not sure if you got my question. Judy, about the Mickey Mouse ladies watch.

hi! i liked ur article my mom is big fan of vintage watches and she has a gold plated seiko pendant at the back the following numbers are written ASGP 21-7160 and 6900431 please i need ur help in knowing its re-sale value ! i would be really greatful for ur cooperation! its in best quality and still shiny and lustrous

hi! i liked your article very much im a great fan of collecting watches my mother has a seiko gold plated pendent watch and the numbers that are written at the back are these ASGP 21-7160 and 6900431 im unable to figure out the year of manufacturing is as the numbers are some what confusing please help me with this please i would be really grateful also if you can tell me its re-sale value that would be really nice!

Hi,

it is very helpful for me, i can see it on my seiko chronograph 7t32-6m10, from your table, 6m10, it means 1996 May, and watch number 10, is that right ?

thanks very much

Rudi

Hi Rudi,

It doesnโ€™t work that way. 7T32 is the caliber type while 6M10 refers to the caseback model. You also need to know the six digit serial number, with the first two digits identifying the production year and month respectively.

Kindly go through my article again as youโ€™ve sort of misunderstood my guide. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Can you help? I have a Seiko Watch which is an Automatic Day and Date. The numbers on the back are..6619-5413 and 328731. Any help would be very much appreciated by this 75 yr old Gentleman. Thank you.

SteveD

Hi SteveD,

Your old Seiko watch is likely to be from the Seiko Sportsmatic or the Seiko 5 Sportsmatic Weekdater lineup. The 6619A is a 21-jeweled, self-winding movement that was first introduced in 1964. Your watch was made on February 1973. Although the 6619 Sportsmatics are collectible timepieces, only those in very good condition might sell for $300 US Dollars on eBay, usually no higher than that.

Itโ€™s good to know that your faithful old ticker is still happily with you for the last three decades! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Seiko skz215j1 No:s #1 and 3000#. Date and value please.

Hi k.g.,

You have one of those Limited Edition โ€œAtlasโ€ titanium models. Unfortunately, the exact production date cannot be determined as Seiko does not print serial numbers for its limited edition watches. However, from the various sample photos that I have of this watch Iโ€™m certain they were released in the year 2005. The average value of this watch today is from USD325-400 for the โ€œKโ€ version. Although you have the โ€œJโ€ (Japan) variant it doesnโ€™t necessarily mean that collectors are willing to pay over USD400 for one.

good luck with the sale! ๐Ÿ™‚
Quartzimodo

I have a womanโ€™s gold watch number 7N83-0049 when was it manufactured?

Hi Demina,

Thanks for asking, but the 6-digit serial # found at the back of your watch tells the production year and month. 7N83-0049 is NOT the watchโ€™s serial number, but its movement and caseback code. I also need to know the 6-digit numbers before I can (hopefully) tell you when it was made. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Hi. I have a seiko 5 21 jewels, self winding watch I purchased at the PX in Bien Hoa Vietnam in December 1969 for 19.95 cents. On the back it has the numbers 6119-8090, and the serial number: 990468. Mine has the regular numberals that glow in the dark with a black face. I have tried to find another with just the numerals on it, but have only seen the ones with the โ€œslash marksโ€ instead of numbers. I have been told that these were only sold at the military exchanges in southeast asia during the vietnam war. Is this true? Hope you can shed some light on this for me. Oh, by the way, I still wear it everyday. I have it cleaned every year and have the crystal changed every two or three years. Still works great. Thanks.

Hi Charles,

Seiko made several models based on the 6119-8090 design but most of them have the more common, baton styled hour markers. However an acquaintance of mine who collects vintage Seiko watches, โ€œCobrajetโ€ posted about finding one with Arabic numerals in this discussion. I assume the one which he purchased is similar to yours. ๐Ÿ™‚

With regards to the Arabic numeral 6119s being sold โ€œexclusively at military PX storesโ€, I have found no historical evidence to support this theory. I highly doubt that Seiko produced the Arabic numeral dialed 6119-8090s just for the U.S. Armyโ€™s Post Exchanges but itโ€™s not unusual for any watch with Arabic numerals to be popular with servicemen as theyโ€™re much easier to read the time. Therefore I presume such watches (and Seiko diverโ€™s models) were in great demand; therefore you were likely to find Seiko watches with Arabic numbers at your PX.

BTW, your Seiko 5 was made by the Suwa factory in Japan on Sept 1969, therefore your watch was practically brand new when you bought it. The 6119 is a robust caliber and maintained frequently it can last a very long time. Good to know that your daily beater is still happily ticking to this day! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Hello Quartzimodo
I have Seiko # 236481 and 6139-6002 needing repairs.I have looked all over for info on this watch with no avail, can you help? It is Chronograph automatic.

Thanks

RB

Hi Ralph Boggs,

I have a dark navy blue 6139-6002 myself. ๐Ÿ™‚ The 6139-6002 is one of Seikoโ€™s classic automatic chronographs from the 1970s and itโ€™s a crowd favorite โ€“ especially the rare, yellow dialed โ€œColonel William Pogueโ€ version. Colonel Dr Pogue was an astronaut who wore the Seiko 6139-6002 on his missions aboard the old Skylab 4 space station in 1974. Partly due to the significance of the yellow dialed 6139-6002 having been worn in space by Col Pogue, the yellow dialed version fetches a higher price on the used market.

The 6139 is a column wheel type chronograph and shares the same oscillating balance weight as the more complicated, 6138 chronographs. Unlike comparable Swiss chronograph designs, the 6139โ€™s stopwatch should be left running at all times whenever the watch itself is running. Many Seiko watchmaker experts advocate leaving the stopwatch running as this actually lessens wear-and-tear on its vertical column stopwatch clutch mechanism. In contrast, Swiss made chronographs incur more wear if the stopwatch is used more frequently, but opposite is true with the 6139/6138 chronographs.

BTW, your watch was from March 1972 and was made by the Suwa factory in Japan. An average condition, 6139-6002 generally fetches between USD200-250 on eBay, with super mint condition ones twice that amount.

Quartzimodo

Hi loved your artical, got a few questions about a Seiko i just gotโ€ฆ.

7d56-0AA0= kinetic perpetual?
910477=if i understood your artical right my watch was made either 89/99/09 in January and should have been nr 477 made that month?
[A4]= ??
4A081-CC= ?? (That serial is stamped on the armband)

so am i right in my guess about year&month?
Second how can i tell if its a genuine Seiko or a better made fake?

Stay safe //Matt,Sweden

Hi Matt,

Thank you for the compliments. ๐Ÿ™‚ With regards to your multiple questions on your new Seiko SNP019P (black hands on silver white dial), SNP022P (gold toned hands) or SNP036P (black dial, rose gold case):

1. 7D56 is the caliber code for the Kinetic Perpetual, while 0AA0 is the case design code.

2. 910477 means your watch was manufactured on January 2009. The 7D56 caliber wasnโ€™t designed until the late 2000s. Your watch was the 478th piece from the production line as the very first one would have the number โ€œ0000โ€. Any Seiko watch bearing โ€œ0000โ€ as its last four digits would be the first piece assembled for that particular caliber/case and for that particular month and year.

3. [A4] is believed to be the caseback design or official Seiko procedure to remove the caseback, but nobody really knows for sure.

4. 4A081-CC is the watch band part number.

Kinetic Perpetual watches like the 7D56 are very difficult to copy due to its very complicated movement. Thereโ€™s not much incentives for counterfeiters to duplicate a 7D56 and they would rather make knock-off Swiss replicas, where the real money is. As long as you did not buy your watch from a replica watch site, you should be safe. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

And approximate current price for the above 263481

opps sorry the number should be 236841, please disregard the previous note.

Thanks

RB

Hi! I have a Seiko watch that has the serial number POP 1E2O-OO7O. 511119. Could you please give me an idea of how old this watch may be? Thanks Susie

Hi Susie,

I canโ€™t figure out what โ€œPOPโ€ means but your actual watch caliber and caseback type is 1E20-0070 (zeroes, not the letter โ€œOโ€). Itโ€™s made in Japan on January 1985 making it 27 years old . Does your watch have stylish beads as its bracelet?

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

Thanks for the surprising information on the Seiko yellow dialed โ€œColonel William Pogueโ€ version. I have this one but as I said it needs a little work But as far as the information supplied, I did not know any of this. I have not seen another Seiko like this any where and I receive many compliments on it wherever I go. Thanks again.

Ralph

Hello Ralph,

Youโ€™re most welcome :-). I dug up some further information on your watch and the original Seiko reference number for the yellow 6139-6002 is AH035M. In the old days, Seiko didnโ€™t use a standardized nomenclature for their watches and they used both letters and numbers, e.g. 54332M, 55029, AV017M, etc making model typing very difficult. Because of the non-uniformity, Seiko collectors found it easier to refer to a vintage model as โ€œ6138-0030โ€, โ€œ6105-8100โ€, etc instead of their original reference numbers. Beginning from the mid to late 80s, Seiko decided to use โ€œSโ€ as the first letter for every Seiko model made and the second and third letters representing the movement or caliber family.

I hope your watchโ€™s date quickset mechanism is still working (by depressing in the crown fully until it clicks and advances the date). Many old 6139 chronographs that were largely uncared for over the decades have faulty or sticking quickset mechanisms. Do take note never to set the day/date between 9pm and 2am as doing so can damage the calendar advance mechanism.

Take care of your watch!
Quartzimodo

Many thanks for this new info about time setting, this I did not know. ( Alas ) too late. The watch functioned with precision until the stem broke and shot out and was lost. I am attempting to either have it repaired at Seiko America or purchasing a damaged one for parts.

Ralph

Hi again Quartzimoto, you are 5 star in my book. But I have another question for you>
Are there any other Seiko watches that have the same parts as the 6139 series, namely the stem, and do you know the part # for the stem for the 6139? Opps can the mold be cleaned from the indices on the hands and face?

Many thanks

Ralph

Hi Ralph,

Iโ€™ve never heard of anyone sending vintage Seiko 6139s (or any mechanical watch from that era) to Coserv (Seiko USAโ€™s service center) for repairs. Unless there is at least one Seiko USA watch technician in his late 70s who happens to still work for Coserv (which is highly unlikely), I doubt they will undertake repairs for your watch. Parts for long discontinued calibers are likely to have dried up many decades ago and it is normal for watch repairers to cannibalize parts from junked watches of the same caliber.

As a policy, Seiko repair centers only use new or New Old Stock (NOS) parts, if available. If theyโ€™re unable to procure the part from Seiko Japan, they will return the watch to you. Another factor is repair expertise. If you could travel back in time to 1980, youโ€™re still likely to find Seiko USA technicians who are proficient at repairing 6139 chronographs and getting the required parts. Todayโ€™s Seiko watch repairmen are generally trained in recent model, quartz or Kinetic watches, not complicated mechanical chronographs from a bygone era. Itโ€™s much easier and less labor intensive to completely replace a defective quartz or Kinetic module than to overhaul an automatic chronograph.

Although Seiko still makes automatic chronographs today, these watches are exclusive to the Japan market and as such, could only be repaired by Seiko Japan technicians. Note that since the mid 1990s, Seiko only makes expensive, luxury mechanical chronographs (like from their Brightz, Credor and Prospex ranges) and these calibers are definitely not in the same league as the once affordable, 6139 or 6138 calibers. So who undertakes the repairs of discontinued mechanical chronographs today? Hobbyists and third party, watch repairmen who are specially trained in servicing vintage Seiko calibers. A mechanical watch repairer who services solely Swiss mechanical watches e.g., Omega, Breitling, IWC may be able to repair your 6139-6002, but itโ€™s better to send your watch to those with vast experience in vintage Seiko timepieces.

Offhand, the only U.S. based vintage Seiko watch repairman that I know is Mr Bob Thayer, who charges reasonable labor fees for watch repairs and cosmetic makeovers. Note that I have no affiliation with Mr Thayer but he seems to get good feedback recommendations in Seiko watch forums. The 6139-6002 should be very familiar to him and he should be able to advise you as which parts need replacing.

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

Hi Quartzimodo..

I have a seiko watch with the description on the back as stainless steel 2205-0190 water resist 156574 Japan B, and on the face it states Seiko automatic 21 jewel hi beat. Can you give me any info on it please.

many thanks soozie

I have a seiko duo-display quartz Cal.H249 alarm chronograph
original leather strap
On the back..base metal top st.steel back
071662
H249-5049 with an R in a box
japan-a
w
very stylized s or lightening bolt
dial is roman numerals with hatching border under numerals
viewing window on bottom, below numerals
bottom right-hand corner in teeny weeny โ€ฆH249 with 4
teenier numbers
time changer is gold with black bezel
face/case is gold colour on front, square face/case
any help will be greatly appreciated..if itโ€™s real, will get it running, if notโ€ฆoh sigh.
many thanks

Hi Elizabeth,

There are NO fake H249 caliber Seiko watches that I know of; nobody ever counterfeited them in the first place. You have a genuine old Seiko watch, and I believe it dates to July 1980. The lightning bolt symbol signifies that this model was made by Seikoโ€™s Daini factory in Japan. Whether itโ€™s possible to get it running again depends on the extent of the malfunction; and if the entire quartz module needs replacing and there are no replacement movements to be found (remember, this is a long discontinued model) then the effort might not be worth it.

Hereโ€™s an example of an H249 duo-display watch I found on the Internet. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Hi There!

Yes indeed my Seiko watch 1E200070 has a beautiful beaded bracelet with a tiny face which makes it tricky to read after cocktail hour! I just love this watch. Thank you so much for your reply! Kind Regards, Susie

Guess there is good news and bad news concerning this watch.
Do you have any way for me to contact Mr. Thayer?

Thanks for the up date and all your time, you are the best!

Ralph

Hi Ralph,

Bob Thayer can be contacted at [email protected] according to his website. Hope everything works out for you, sir! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo.

[โ€ฆ] sequence number; 709LT is the dial reference number and 7089 is the case reference number from: How to tell when your Seiko watch was made (Part 1) How to interpret numbers found on SEIKOs โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€”โ€” Currently in [โ€ฆ]

Hi

Great article I have a 1969 Sports Diver 6106 8100 and would be greatful if you could give me some history on this model and if possible an approximate value. I am currently having some restoration works undertaken as it was my fatherโ€™s watch.

Thanks

Hi Simon,

My sincerest apologies for the belated response as Iโ€™ve been away for over a week. I happen to have a silver-white dialed model of the 6106-8000, which was my very first vintage Seiko watch that I bought. The 6106-8000 (8009 for U.S. versions) are slim bodied sports watches with a bi-directional, non-ratcheting bezel. As far as I know, they came in at least five colors: charcoal grey dial, yellow, blue, emerald green and silvery white. The dial is of the acrylic kind, not mineral glass. Most examples come with โ€œWater 70 Proofโ€ markings on the dial, and โ€œWater Proofโ€ engraved on the caseback. So far I have not seen any examples of the 6106-8000 with โ€œWater Resistantโ€ markings, suggesting that they were discontinued by the middle of 1971.

I donโ€™t think the 6106-8000 models have any significant history behind them; and they were one of Seikoโ€™s many 6106-based gentโ€™s watches like the old โ€œSeiko DXโ€ lineup. Like the date-only 6105B caliber, the 6106 hacks when you pull out its crown for accurate time synchronization. The 6106-8000 is considered a collectible vintage Seiko watch, although they donโ€™t fetch a lot on the used market. Iโ€™ve seen sellers listing them for sale between USD150 and USD200, depending on the watchโ€™s condition. Itโ€™s quite usual to see some of these watches riddled with scratches on the rotating bezel.

While I doubt any Seiko service center still keeps stock of the bezel, fortunately the acrylic crystal is of a common design and can be substituted with a generic one. When I found my silver 6106-8100 at a watch store, it didnโ€™t have its original stainless steel bracelet and the crystal had to be polished to remove the scratches. Unfortunately the retailerโ€™s watchmaker over-polished it and made the crystal too thin and uneven. I had the acrylic crystal replaced with a generic one and I canโ€™t see any difference between it and the new one. ๐Ÿ™‚

Itโ€™s a good idea to have your dadโ€™s watch restored and keeping it within your family. The 6106 is a robust movement which should last decades, requiring minimal routine servicing. I hope you have had your watch regulated for timekeeping accuracy.

best regards,
Quartzimodo.

Hi, Quartzimodo:

Your article was very helpful for me. Since I as unable to see the model of my watch in the dial, is possible that you can tell me the model of it and when it was manufactured? Do you think the watch is original?

The data I have gathered from the watch is as follows:

Caliber: 7S26 02W0 A4 KY 7S26C
S/N: 231140

Thanks very much in advance and for the article.

Luis

Hi Luis,

Seiko made many variations with a black dial and a 3-oโ€™clock crown based on the 7S26-02WO and I donโ€™t have a Seiko 5 catalog, therefore unfortunately I canโ€™t tell which exact model that you have. However, the fact that your watch has the 7S26C movement means that you have a very recent model Seiko 5. Itโ€™s from March 2012. It cannot be from 2002 because Seiko was still making the older 7S26A movement back then, so it has to be the year 2012.

Without seeing pictures of it (try uploading a photo of your watch to Tinypic.com), I canโ€™t determine if your watch is a fake but the probability is that you have a genuine Seiko 5. Counterfeiters usually donโ€™t bother to replicate newer Seiko 5 models with the 7s26C movement as itโ€™s not worth their trouble and investment.

cheers,
Quartzimodo

Hi again Quartzimodo:

I forgot mentioned the color of the dial (black) and the fact that the clock have day/date at 3 oโ€™clock.

See us.

Luis

Hello,

I was very pleased to find your wonderful website this afternoon.

I was wondering if you could assist me regarding a Seiko watch that I purchased from an antiques shop in Lyndhurst, Hampshire in June of this year?

I paid ยฃ70.00 for it. It said that it had been fully serviced. The face states that the watch is a Seiko Automatic Waterproof 17 jewels. The code on the back states: 7625-8033. 8D4472

Kind regards,
Claire Bates

Hi Claire,

Thanks very much for the compliments. ๐Ÿ™‚ You have a rather vintage Seiko date-only automatic, dating back to December 1968. The movement itself was one of Seikoโ€™s earliest automatic movements and the 7625 caliber was first introduced in 1964. Itโ€™s one of Seikoโ€™s collectible calibers but its value today will vary from model to model. The 7625 has a rather leisurely beat rate of 18,000 beats/hour (compared to the more common 21,600 bph in todayโ€™s automatics), which translates to 5 ticks per second. When mechanical watches are concerned, the higher the beat rate the better its overall accuracy is.

Iโ€™m not really sure if you paid the right price for it, because if the antique shop added the cost of labor in repairing/servicing the watch (labor is expensive in the UK) that might account for its asking price. This is one of Seikoโ€™s evergreen classics and itโ€™s said that the recent Japan model, Seiko Spirit SARB031 was heavily influenced by the 7625-8033 that you have.

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

Hello,
I have long been an admirer of Seiko watches and own a number of the 7t32 range. I recently purchased a 7t32-6F69, with the serial number 438915 on the back. The face is a very deep red colour with ruby coloured subdials.
The bracelet appears to be plated and is quite badly worn. It also appears fairly lightweight. The casing is, on the other hand, bright and intact.
I was wondering if you had any information on the watch and if you were aware if a replacement bracelet might be available for this type.

Hi Brian,

The 7T32 is a crowd pleaser amongst fans of Seikoโ€™s quartz chronograph models and Seiko produced some very attractive models from this caliber. Itโ€™s too bad that the company decided to discontinue the 7T32 with the 7T62 for simplicity and cost cutting reasons. I have three 7T32s myself and wished that I had more of them but New Old Stock 7T32s that are desirable are very hard to find today.

It might be still possible to get a replacement bracelet from the Seiko UK service center. If they donโ€™t have one, theyโ€™ll need to request the replacement bracelet from Seiko Japan. If the latter has none in its parts warehouse, youโ€™re out of luck. ๐Ÿ™

Your watch was made on March 1994 in case youโ€™re wondering.

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

Hi,
My dad has got an old seiko watch..
At its back it is mentioned as follows..
Seiko
Water Resistan
271051
AP
Stainless steel 6309-602A [A5]

Can u pls help me with the manufacture month and year and if possible what would have been its cost at that time.

Thanksโ€ฆwaiting for ur reply

Hi finto lawrence,

Thanks for your question. Your dadโ€™s watch was made by Seikoโ€™s Suwa factory in Japan on July 1982. The 6309-602A was one of the many low cost, Seiko 5 automatics sold during that era. Iโ€™m afraid I donโ€™t know how much this model cost back then but today its value should be around USD100, depending on its condition. ๐Ÿ™‚

best regards,
Quartzimodo

I have my mothers gold seiko watch. I has 14K on the back of the works and on the clasp on the band. I canโ€™t seem to find the watch anywhere. It has to be pre 1976. The band is smooth and the dial has no numbers. It has a red stone on the winder. Thanks, Randy

Hi Randy Montgomery,

Your momโ€™s watch is one of Seikoโ€™s earliest womenโ€™s quartz models. It uses the simple six-jeweled, Caliber 14A quartz movement and requires an Energizer 364/363 silver oxide cell. Iโ€™m inclined to say that her watch was made on April 1981 as Seiko did not make quartz watches for ladies as early as 1971. At the time the Japanese watch manufacturer only had mechanical watches for their ladiesโ€™ watch lineup, while menโ€™s quartz watches were still in their infancy.

This watch is a U.S. export model and the โ€œblue stoneโ€ on the winder is what is called a cabochon crown. Vintage Seiko womenโ€™s watches donโ€™t carry much value but as your momโ€™s watch is made of 14K solid gold, its value today will be influenced by the gold metal itself rather than the watch.

hope this answers your question,
Quartzimodo

Sorry the stone is blue. The numbers on the back are
14-7309-a
140188

Hi Quartzimodo,

Please can I tap into your amazing knowledge of Seikos โ€“ Iโ€™ve got in front of me my father in laws Seiko and Iโ€™d love to know a bit more about it.

It think itโ€™s a fairly generic version but Iโ€™d love to know roughly when it was made and pass it onto my partner. My father in law died almost 20 years ago so it must be at least that old.

The serial number is 870771 and the 8 digit code i 5Y23-8A11. Interestingly I note that the 8 digit code on the face is different to that on the back โ€“ itโ€™s 5Y23-8A2M.

Any help you can give me would be amazing.

Thanks,

Hannah

Hi Hannah,

Thanks for your comments and compliments. ๐Ÿ™‚ Your late father-in-lawโ€™s watch is a Seiko โ€œSQโ€ dress menโ€™s watch and you are indeed right โ€“ it is a generic Seiko watch from the mid 1980s. The quartz caliber has one jewel in it and requires a Seiko or Maxell SR920SW 1.55 volt battery, with an operational life of 3 years between battery changes. The caliber has been discontinued decades ago.

This watch was fully made in Japan, as with most Seiko quartz watches before the 1990s. The serial number indicates that itโ€™s from July 1988. The โ€œ5Y23-8A2Mโ€ is a unique dial code which separates this model from its other siblings with different dial colors or design; but for reference purposes Seiko collectors refer this watch as the 5Y23-8A11 rather than the dial code.

As this watch may not have had a service history, it is a good idea to have it checked by an authorized Seiko dealer and have its moving parts lubricated plus the rubber seals replaced if you intend to give it to your other half. Itโ€™s important that a 24 year old quartz watch to be serviced to have it ticking in good health. What is more crucial is that a quartz watch with a dead battery should have its battery replaced as soon or possible or completely remove it. Fully exhausted batteries are very prone to leakage and its chemicals can corrode the battery compartment or other vital circuits in the watch module.

hope this helps! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

HI there wonder if you could help this old fart?

seiko watch purchased about 1970 .on the back of the case
WEST GERMAN
MADE CASE
18 KT
6N0060
4110-5149-D

Any help would be appreciated. Seiko Quartz

Hi Edd,

You have an early Seiko gentsโ€™ watch from the mid 70s and it was manufactured by Seikoโ€™s Suwa assembly plant on November 1976. The 2-jeweled 4110A caliber was first introduced two years earlier (1974) and was followed by the improved 3-jeweled, 4110B movement. It takes an Energizer #384 silver oxide cell and Seiko rated its accuracy to +/- 15 secs per month, which is the standard rate for common quartz watches to this day. Unfortunately, I have not seen examples of a 4110 based quartz watch before, therefore I canโ€™t give more information beyond that. ๐Ÿ™

Iโ€™m unable to comment about the โ€œWest Germanyโ€ made case as this is the first time Iโ€™ve heard of a vintage Seiko watch that has a caseback sourced from Europe. It could be because your particular model was a U.S. export model and during the time Seiko contracted solid gold casebacks to a West German manufacturer.

cheers,
Quartzimodo

Thank you so much!! So grateful for your help.

Hannah

Quartzimodo,
Thank you very much for the information.
Hopefully I can source a replacement strap through Seiko, as the case and crystal are in almost perfect condition.
Once again, thank you for your assistance and for providing an excellent site.

Regards
Brian

Thanks for your precious info mateโ€ฆ
Great goinโ€ฆThanks Thanks a lot for your replyโ€ฆ
You are truely a seiko guru

Hello, I bought a Seiko H566-5029 in 1983, what an awesome watch. I have just bought on e-bay an unworn one with orginal box, paper and manual. What a find!!

I recently bought a used Seiko watch for $75 without knowing much about it. I tried entering the model # in the watch finder section on Seikoโ€™s US website and nothing turns up. Maybe you can help me out and tell me if my money was well spent or not.

4D3606

ST. STEEL BASE METAL BEZEL

WATER RESISTANT MS 7N43-9041 [A4]

Thank

Hi Chris,

Your Seiko 7N43-9041 is an older model and Seikoโ€™s websites donโ€™t feature discontinued or generic models. Thatโ€™s why you canโ€™t find it on the Seiko USA website. Iโ€™m not familiar with the 7N43โ€™s history but photos of the 7N43-9041 suggests that it was a 1990s design. Therefore Iโ€™m inclined to say that it was made on Dec 1994.

At USD75, itโ€™s a fair price to pay. Enjoy your new Seiko in good health! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Hi my seiko is SNDA77p1 the serial number is 7T92-0KD0
but I couldenโ€™t find anything. would u help me plz?
thnx

Hi Rapisa,

The SNDA77P is a mid-to-late 2000s model that uses the 7T92 quartz chronograph movement. Iโ€™m not sure I understand your question though. What kind of information are you looking for? BTW, 7T92-9041 is the caliber/caseback code and NOT the watchโ€™s serial number.

Quartzimodo

What a site,donโ€™t know how I came across you,but was searching,and was very interested,as I have 2 Seiko watches, one given to me just before my son was born 1969.stainless steel,blue face, and just tiny lines for the numbers,and an unusual shape,,diamond/sqaure but rounded corners if that makes sense,,on the back ..670343 11-8320 wgp back Japan 8 ~

not sure what this 2nd one is made of gold tone,oblong case,gold face,lines for numbers, on the back,sgp back, 940259,,,11-4860,Japan 8~, just interested to see what you think,and to find any info,both are wind up watches
Thank you for reading

Hi Kaye5,

The Caliber 11A was one of Seikoโ€™s mechanical (non-automatic) movements that was made for ladiesโ€™ models. It was first introduced towards the late 1960s and had a production run up to the mid 1970s. My mother still has her Seiko Cal 11A watch which still runs to this day, although she doesnโ€™t wear it anymore. None of Seikoโ€™s Cal 11A watches were water resistant, therefore take care not to let them get wet.

I donโ€™t know much about these watches but I can tell you that your 11-8320 was made on July 1976 while the other one, the 11-4860 was manufactured on April 1969
. The second watch is the one that you received before your son was born. If you intend to wear these vintage Seiko watches on a daily basis, I would recommend that you have them serviced by a competent watch repairer. They should also be regulated to ensure the best accuracy. Also, donโ€™t attempt to overwind these watches; when you feel the winding crown is tight donโ€™t wind them any further as you might break their mainspring.

best regards,
Quartzimodo

Hi, great info but if you could can help me , I have a Seiko I bought in 1970 when I was in Vietnam had it all these years and still works great, not sure what the numbers mean on the back first line of #โ€™s 6106-6006 second #โ€™s 178298. Itโ€™s got a black face DX 25 jewels, also has both the day of the week & numeral day of the month displayed. It is self-winding also. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Mike

Hi Mike Miller,

According to the serial number, your watch was made on July 1971 therefore it would be an anachronism if you purchased it in 1970. ๐Ÿ™‚ This is assuming that the caseback is original to the watch and had not been replaced with some other 6106-8000โ€™s caseback.

The 6106 is the day/date version of the date-only 6105 caliber, which made the 6105-8000 and 6105-8100 diverโ€™s watches legendary. The 6106 was commonly found in the Seiko 5 and Seiko 5 Sports line. I have a Seiko 5 Sports 6106-6040 myself, which I bought on eBay for its sporty character. Your Seiko 6106-6006 was one of the many 6106 generic Seiko 5 dress models in its era and doesnโ€™t carry any historical significance. Itโ€™s just like one of the hundreds of the 7s26 based, Seiko 5 dress models you can find today.

The movement was considered a low end one back then, but unlike the non-hacking 7s caliber, the 6106 can hack (stopping the second hand) for convenient synchronization to a time signal. Today, Seiko automatics that can hack are generally those with upmarket calibers that cost a lot more than a 7s26 or 7s36 Seiko 5/Seiko 5 Sports watch.

Good to know that your Seiko 5 DX is running fine to this day sir. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Hello can you help me date my dads watch please its number 653805 there is another number 0903-8109 its as metal base and st.steel back I
t is also water resist โ€“ G
Can you help me please thanks Cheryl

Hi again, Quartzimodo.

Yesterday I found a Seiko watch that I liked very much. I bought it and I believe itโ€™s from 2007 because the markings are:

Model: SGED01P1 (It appears in a tag attached to the watchโ€™s bracelet)
S/N : 781381
Caliber: 7N42-0DL0

The face is white, the center is light grey and has the section over the date can be seen augmented.

Generally, I donโ€™t buy watches with a big case but this one catch my eye. The only thing that I found weard is that the third hand adveance 1 second first and then it go ahead two seconds. I need to take the watch for a calibration or something like that?

Since the time I bought my Seiko 5, I liked the watches from them but I donโ€™t know if I will start a real collection of Seiko watches.

By the way, this new watch costs me about US$ 149,80 in Chile (the price in local currnecy is 74.900 pesos). This was the freak info of the day, ๐Ÿ™‚

Thank you very much for running this site and your patience.

See us and take care.

Luis

Hi Luis,

Congratulation on your new Seiko SGED01P dress quartz watch. ๐Ÿ™‚ Yes, it is from August 2007 because it has the letter โ€œDโ€ after the SGE prefix which makes it a fairly recent model. The earliest model based on the 7N42 caliber would be the SGE001P Seiko Sports SQ 150 which hails from the late 80s/early 1990s.

The 7N42 caliber has a 5-year battery life and since your watch likely to be on its original factory battery itโ€™s time to replace it. The 2-second interval jumps that you notice the second hand is doing is the movementโ€™s EOL (End of Life) indicator, signalling that the battery power is almost gone. This EOL indicator is nothing new โ€“ all analog quartz watches from the 1980s have this feature.

You paid a really good price for this NOS Seiko watch; given the inflation and the rising prices of current Seiko watches. Enjoy the new timepiece in good health! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Hi there,
I have a Seiko 6020-5380 SN 071161, could you tell me the production year?

Hi antonio,

I donโ€™t have a picture of a Seiko 6020-5380 like your watch, but Iโ€™ve seen a Seiko Quartz 6020-5059 which looks like a late 80s or early 90s design. My best guess is that yours is from July 1990.

best regards,
Quartzimodo

Hi,
can you please help me in dating this Seiko watch and what this model is .

Back case reads .
713849
stainless steel
water resistant KY 7S26-3170 (A4)

bracelet lugs reads : Z1571-3

i1071.photobucket.com/albums/u513/viewsonic166/SAM_1310_zps7995486b.jpg?t=1350555232

i1071.photobucket.com/albums/u513/viewsonic166/SAM_1314_zps18c482b6.jpg?t=1350555249

Best regards

Hi danni,

Thanks for writing in. ๐Ÿ™‚
I apologize for the rather belated reply as I had to find the time to sift through my old pictures of Seiko 5s to identify your exact model. Your Seiko 5 watch was made on January 1997, judging from the all-stainless steel caseback. It uses the first generation 7s26A automatic movement and its model code is SKXN71K. This is a really nice looking watch with a simple, yet classy looking dial and hands. This model has been discontinued for a decade, I think.

cheers,
Quartzimodo

Hi,
can you please help me in dating this Seiko watch and what this model is .

Back case reads .
713849
stainless steel
water resistant KY 7S26-3170 (A4)

bracelet lugs reads : Z1571-3

Best regards

Hi,
please help me in dating this Seiko watch and what this model is .

Back case reads .
713849
stainless steel
water resistant KY 7S26-3170 (A4)

bracelet lugs reads : Z1571-3

REGARDS

Good day,
In August 2012 I bought a new old stock Seiko Baby Arnie H556-5029 for US $200, It came with the orginal box and manuals. The serial no is 443109 (1984/April). Question- is this a sought after model, and what would be the realistic value be? The watch has never been worn.

Hi Clive,

Congratulations on scoring big on your Seiko H556-5029 โ€œpre-Arnieโ€ analog-digital diverโ€™s watch. ๐Ÿ™‚

I think you paid a very fair price for this model, although itโ€™s not the Seiko H558-5000/5009 watch which actor Arnold Schwarzenegger wore in his films โ€œCommandoโ€ (1985), โ€œRaw Dealโ€ (1986) and โ€œPredatorโ€ (1987). Iโ€™ve seen ads for H558-5020 divers (in very mint condition) going for around USD250, while second-hand, actual โ€œArnieโ€ shrouded divers are going for over USD700 on eBay recently even in so-so condition. So you can see that the H556-502x models arenโ€™t that valuable although theyโ€™re nice looking watches.

There will always be folks who like your watch for what it is, but since Arnold didnโ€™t choose this model for his past movie roles it doesnโ€™t carry the same โ€œcollectible statusโ€ that the H558-5000 has. ๐Ÿ™‚

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

Comment by Quartzimodo Admin on October 16, 2012 (3 days ago) @ 11:52 pm

Hi antonio,
I donโ€™t have a picture of a Seiko 6020-5380 like your watch, but Iโ€™ve seen a Seiko Quartz 6020-5059 which looks like a late 80s or early 90s design. My best guess is that yours is from July 1990.
best regards,
Quartzimodo

is similar seiko 6020-5059 but I think this is the Lassale model

postimage.org/image/isw9kjwgr/

postimage.org/image/qx7s2zult/

Hi,
I have a seiko 6139-6010 with a serial no. 9n1311. I think this dates it to november 1969,if so am i correct in thinking this was the first year of production. The watch was given to me in 1976 if this helps. many thanks.

Hi Mark,

Yes, youโ€™re correct. Your Seiko 6139-6010 was made on Nov 1969 and should have โ€œWater Proofโ€ markings on its caseback and โ€œWater 70 Proofโ€ on the dial. The 6139 caliber debuted in 1969 and outlived its โ€œbiggerโ€ sibling โ€“ the 6138 chronograph by at least two years. I remember seeing examples of late model 6139s dating to either 1978 or 1979 while the final Seiko 6138 models seem to be from 1977. By the late 1970s, Seiko was pushing its quartz technology to the masses and they probably thought that automatic chronographs were going out of style (how wrong they were!).

Itโ€™s a rather sad affair because owning a modern Seiko automatic chronograph today means having to fork out thousands of dollars for one of their prestigious Seiko Prospex, Brightz or Credor models. Automatic chronographs are now regarded as status symbols rather than affordable, garden variety timepieces in the 1970s. Thereโ€™s nothing to stop Seiko from re-creating their 6139 and 6138 movements if they wanted to, but quartz chronographs are much cheaper to make and to service.

I have two 6139s myself: the popular 6139-6002 (Pepsi bezel) and the lesser known 6139-7012. In my opinion, one of the components to look out for in a vintage 6139 is its quickset, push button day-of-the-week calendar mechanism. Many 6139s that are not cared for seem to have stuck quickset mechanisms.

cheers,
Quartzimodo

SEIKO QARTZ

SEIKO
ST.STEEL SGP MIDDLE
SGP BEZEL ST. STEEL BACK
7320 5030 RO
JAPAN A
2NO778

Kakav je ovo sat, pukla mi je metalna kop?a gdje da je popravim

Hi there quartzimodo! I need your help with something, I have a Seiko 5 thats serial number is 9D0610. No if I understand correctly, according to your information that would mean it is made in the 90s, but the watch is originally my grandfatherโ€™s watch and he still remebers where he bought it in the late 60s, so I would really like to know what the serial number says, because I know this watch was made well before the 90s but not exactly when.

Hi Eric,

A Seiko 5 that uses a 7s-caliber (usually 7s26) movement is manufactured from 1996 onwards โ€“ thatโ€™s because the 7s26 was introduced in that year. In the blog article, I was highlighting contemporary Seiko 5 watches, not vintage models. However, the Seiko 5 range (including the Seiko 5 Sports and Seiko 5 Speedtimer) actually originated circa 1969 and the watches were been fitted with a plethora of movements, depending on the model.

If youโ€™re looking at the year 1969, in that year Seiko used the 6106, 6119, 6139 (chronograph), 7015, 7017, 7019 to name a few. Thatโ€™s why itโ€™s important to know the caliber/caseback code which youโ€™ll find stamped at the back of the watch. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Hi, Firstly; thanks for such a great informative site.
Iโ€™m in UK. I have had a Seiko watch unused in a drawer for over 12 years & looked for info. Markings are: 3D 05 85
and 2A32-5040 followed by a square box containing RO
Also marked JAPAN-M
PDP middle SGP bezel st.steel back
I bought this abroad in the 80โ€™s. I havenโ€™t seen anything similar despite trawling through many hundreds of pages online. Itโ€™s rectangular in brushed st. steel with gold plated bezel trim, hands, knob & non-numeric dial indices. The st.steel strap is matching with sgp gold bars.Also has date function. Quite slim & very elegant.

From your info it seems to be Dec 1983 & made in Japan.
Having got it out of drawer; I fitted new battery & it runs perfectly. Am I right about date etc. Is this a fairly rare model?
Regards John

Hi John,

Your estimate of the production date is correct (Dec 1983) as the 2A32 quartz caliber was an early 1980s movement and was mainly fitted to gentsโ€™ dress watches. I have no idea whether itโ€™s a rare model in its day but if there very few surviving watches of this model today, I guess you can say that itโ€™s โ€œrareโ€. ๐Ÿ™‚ Do note that the rarity of a model doesnโ€™t always equate to high resale value, because the value of the watch is largely determined by the collectorโ€™s market.

cheers,
Quartzimodo

Hye..can you enlighten me about my seiko 410335 @ 5931-5470A..in what year it was made..?its a normal or rare watch..?Its stated 30k yen on its price tag..Im still wondering about this seiko watch..it doesnโ€™t have neither date nor day..just a simple watch..LoL

Hi Mohd Afiq,

The 5931A caliber first came out around 1978 but your watch was made on Jan 1984. This was made by the Seiko Daini factory in Japan and was part of the Seiko Chario line in the early 80s. 30,000 JPY was equivalent to RM300 (USD127) back in 1984 โ€“ therefore this was considered a mid-priced Seiko watch in that year. I think this model is rare today, but not really that collectible. The watch runs for 2 years on a single Seiko/Maxell TR721SW battery.

cheers,
Quartzimodo

Hi,

I notice you excellent knowledge over Seiko watches and as Iโ€™m trying to find out more for mine
you are the BEST person to ask ๐Ÿ™‚
Mine is model V401-4671 R 2 Movโ€™t JAPAN seral.781910 gold womanโ€™s watch with white face .I think is August 1987 am I correct.

Thank you in advance from Cyprus.

Hi Niki,

Iโ€™m inclined to say that your Seiko V401 (I think you quoted the dial code, instead of the caseback code) was from Aug 1997 because of the โ€œMovโ€™t Japanโ€ text on the dial. This is because throughout the 1980s, quartz Seiko watches were fully made in Japan. It wasnโ€™t until the early-to-mid 1990s that such watches were assembled by Seikoโ€™s factory in Singapore, instead of Japan. A fully Japan-made Seiko model would have only โ€œJAPANโ€ inscribed on the dial, not โ€œMovโ€™t JAPANโ€.

Thanks for the compliments, appreciate it. ๐Ÿ™‚
Quartzimodo

Hi, Love your site. I have a vintage Seiko SQ. The numbers on the face are 4004 0903 -811Y. The back case reads WATER RESIST G STAINLESS STEEL 0903-8109 6D1920. If you can give me any info on this watch it will be greatly appreciated. Thank You

Hi Quartzimodo and thank you for the site. I bought a very interesting Seiko quartz Dolce Exceline necklace watch. The back of the watch appears to be enamel and has the painting of a flower. The dial is gold colored and engraved. It was given as a gift to an American executive by a Japanese Steel company. It comes with a certificate in Japanese with the following numbers:
AQD 894
1400-027
170257

I believe it was produced in the 80โ€™s. Thank you so much for what you do!

Hi,

I have my brothers watch ( he was killed in a plane crash in 1990) it is a seiko automatic 17 jewel black face with chrome case I assume. Water resistant ser # 702270

On the back it also says โ€œbase metal top st. Steel back 7009-8139

Any information you can tell me would be SO appreciated,

Thank you

Jack

Hello Jack Daniels,

Thanks for writing in and I apologize for the late response. Iโ€™m sorry to hear about your brotherโ€™s tragic accident and Iโ€™m sure he appreciates that youโ€™re taking good care of his watch for him.
The Seiko 7009 caliber had a long production run from the 1970s until the late 1980s. While Iโ€™m not familiar with the model that you have, if the dial and caseback doesnโ€™t have the word โ€œJAPANโ€ on them, itโ€™s from October 1987 and was assembled in Hong Kong, with the movement assembled in Singapore.

Try to avoid getting the watch wet because if the watch hasnโ€™t been serviced and had its rubber gaskets replaced before, its water resistance is mostly compromised.

wear the watch in good health,
Quartzimodo

Please help me find this menโ€™s Seiko chronograph Quartz price serial 951539 and model 7T36-6A29 (A4), I would like to know the year it was made and approximately what it would be worth today

I have a menโ€™s Seiko Chronograph Quartz watch, serial #951539 and model 7T36-6A29 in a box after the model is A4. I would like to know where this watch was made, what year and how much it would be worth today
Thank you

Hi Maria,

Your Seiko 7T36-6A29 โ€œmoonphaseโ€ alarm-chronograph was manufactured on May 1989. Its original model number is SEJ012J and was fully Japan assembled for the U.S. market. The 7T36 caliber is similar to the equally discontinued, 7T34 model except that the latter doesnโ€™t have the moonphase window on the dial.

Iโ€™m sorry but I donโ€™t know what itโ€™s worth today. Check eBay from time to time in case people put up their 7T36-6A29 for sale.

Apologies for the late response,
Quartzimodo

Hi ,
I have Seiko 2A32-5140 watch with an R0 , I found it in my drawer ๐Ÿ˜› . But the funny thing I noticed is that it has a credorโ€™s crest in the place of 12 , so I was wondering whether the watch is a real Seiko credor or a rip off ๐Ÿ™‚ .
P.S : Article was really informative.

Please let me know if the following is an antique watch and approximately what it is worth

Seiko Chronograph Quartz, serial 951539 and the model is 7T36-6A29 (A4)

Thank you

Hi Susan,

Your Seiko 7T36-6A29 โ€œmoonphaseโ€ alarm-chronograph was manufactured on May 1989. Its original model number is SEJ012J and was fully Japan assembled for the U.S. market. The 7T36 caliber is similar to the equally discontinued, 7T34 model except that the latter doesnโ€™t have the moonphase window on the dial.

Iโ€™m sorry but I donโ€™t know what itโ€™s worth today. Check eBay from time to time in case people put up their 7T36-6A29 for sale.

Apologies for the late response,
Quartzimodo

hi ,

Loved this site very informative . I have a Seiko watch whose serial number is 2A32-5140 , but I noticed that at the place of 12 on the dial , there is a credor crest ( after searching a lot about the symbol , I came to that conclusion). So can you please tell whether it is a real Seiko credor or a rip-off .

Regards

Hi Mohammed Abdul Monem,

As far as I know, all Credor watches must have the name โ€œCredorโ€ or โ€œCredor Seikoโ€ on it. There was a tiny trident-like crest which Seiko used for some of its dress models in the 80s but such watches are not from the Credor range. Theyโ€™re ordinary Seiko watches. There are also NO Credor rip-off models that I know of; because the brand itself isnโ€™t as popular as โ€œSeikoโ€ worldwide.

Apologies for the delayed reply,
Quartzimodo.

My deceased husband bought me a Seiko watch in a 14K gold case. On the back is:
Seiko
Base Metal
St.Steel back
2P21-5140 (RO) is in a box
Japan V
604879
Could you please tell me something about it.
Thank you

Hi Melanie,

Thank you for the question. Let me preface by saying that used Seiko ladiesโ€™ watches (especially quartz models) donโ€™t fetch much of a value on the second hand market. Seiko made countless models of ladiesโ€™ timepieces in the past and an antique Seiko ladiesโ€™ watch isnโ€™t as collectible as e.g., a vintage Omega or Rolex ladiesโ€™ watch from the 1970s.

I did a quick check on eBay and noticed that used Seiko 2P21 models generally fetch less than USD100. Since yours is made of 14-carat solid gold (as opposed to gold plated), it should be worth โ€œa few hundredโ€ dollars. Your watch will unfortunately be valued based on the price of gold today rather than for its collectible status or historic significance (it has none). In other words, it is the gold content in your timepiece that makes it valuable rather than the watch itself.

Therefore, I would advise you to have your Seiko watch assayed by a goldsmith to get a more accurate estimate of its (gold) value. Note that while the watchโ€™s case is solid gold, its matching bracelet is usually gold plated.

In terms of history, your watch carries the reference (model) number: SZL110J. Iโ€™m unable to determine when Seiko first introduced the 3-jeweled 2P21 caliber, but examples of other 2P21 based watches suggest that they were from the 1980s. Therefore my best guess is that yours was made on October 1986. Your timepiece requires an Energizer #379 or Maxell SR521SW battery and is rated to run for 2 years between battery changes.

hope this answers your questions and I apologize for the delayed reply.

Quartzimodo

thanks so much for the information, I would now look to sell it.

Marla

Hi,
I have a Seiko 5 Quartz 7009-3040 F nr 706076 and iโ€™ve been trying to date it.
It has no day/date indicator.
Thanks a lot,

Vita

Hi Vita,

Seiko did make quartz Seiko 5s sometime in the late 70s or early 80s, but I can tell you this: Firstly, the 7009 is an automatic movement with a day/date calendar and certainly not quartz. Since the watch was given to you by a friend and you are not the watchโ€™s first owner, the actual history of the watch is probably unknown.

Secondly, all Seiko 5 watches have a day/date calendar โ€“ even the short-lived, Seiko 5 quartz models. There is no such thing as a Seiko 5 that has no day/date window, regardless of the export market. I strongly suspect that your dial is either an aftermarket or a non-genuine Seiko one. An all-original 7009-3040 should look like this. ๐Ÿ™‚

FWIW, based on the serial number alone all I can say that the caseback was stamped on October 1987. Thatโ€™s all I can guarantee. However, since your watch is a โ€œFranken Seikoโ€ (put together with non-Seiko parts or parts not original to the exact model), thereโ€™s the element of probability that your caseback is NOT original to the watch too. Once the caseback have been switched or replaced with another, dating a Seiko watch would be meaningless.

Quartzimodo

Hi Quartzimodo,

First, thanks for the informative site! Thanks to you I can now date my Seikos accurately.

I know my idea of โ€œcollectibleโ€ must differ from others, as I could find no questions or comments regarding what Seiko advertised in the US as โ€œIntelligent Quartzโ€ watches. I refer mainly to the 8M25 and (in my case) one 6M13 caliber watches. I love the multi-function hands, etc.

Specifically, though, I have a question about numbers that donโ€™t appear on my watch at all, and maybe you can clarify this for me. I Know one of my watches is a 8M25 movement with a 6000 R dial and a 6009 case. I also know (thanks to you) that it was manufactured in October of 1990 (these were only made late 80โ€™s to early 90โ€™s, I think).

However, Iโ€™ve also seen the number SDT002 applied to this watch. Would this designate a model number? Iโ€™m also curious as to whether or not my two โ€œAge of Discoveryโ€ models have similar numbers that Iโ€™ve simply never seen.

An information would be appreciated. Thanks much!

Paul

Hi Paul M,

Apologies for the delayed response. Yes, it is correct that Seiko 8M25 caliber models carry the suffix โ€œSDTโ€ and therefore, SDT002J is its actual model number. There were more gold plated/gold toned 8M25 models made compared to all stainless steel versions, strongly suggesting that the 8M25 watches were targeted at the โ€œaffordable luxuryโ€ dress watch market. Your 8M25-6009 was indeed a watch from 1990 (this is also a U.S. designated model) and certainly not from 1980. Seiko didnโ€™t have the watchmaking technology to come up with all-analog, complicated quartz movements that early.

I think itโ€™s rather odd that Seiko stamped or engraved the model number on your watches as this was not their normal practice. In certain cases, the model number would be affixed as a peel-away sticker on the caseback, not permanently stamped. The Age of Discovery (AoD) range of Seiko models are quite rare and were available in several, often complicated quartz calibers like the 7T59 with a 1/100sec analog stopwatch and a dual time zone hour indicator. I happen to own a 7T59-6A0A but itโ€™s not from the Age of Discovery collection. One automatic high beat caliber made it into the AoD series โ€“ the very much sought after, 4s15 automatic while there rest comprised of a plethora of chronographs, world timers (5T52), early Kinetics and simple quartz calibers.

While AoD models certainly have its own collectorโ€™s niche, many Seiko collectors that Iโ€™ve met tend to shy away from gold plated or gold toned vintage watches. If you intend to treasure your 8M25 and 6M13 (โ€œSHEโ€series for the international export market, โ€œSCLSโ€ for the domestic Japan market) timepieces, have them inspected every six years for best results. Itโ€™s unlikely that Seiko Japan still stocks on spare movements for these two calibers as they have been discontinued decades ago. ๐Ÿ™‚

In case you haven seen this site before, you might be interested in this collectorโ€™s treasure of AoD watches! ๐Ÿ™‚

all the best,
Quartzimodo

Oops! Follow up to my last.

Just discovered that at least one of my โ€œAge of Discoveryโ€ watches (another 8M25) also has an SDT number (i.e.: SDT134).

Still donโ€™t know what it means, thoughโ€ฆ

Paul

my seiko auto, has 7 numbers top numbers are 7625-1991 lower numbers are 7802463. any info,please,i bought it about 1975.

I have seiko auto,whith 7 numbers7625-1991 other numbers are 7802463.bought it about 1976 ยฃ12.date only.servived house fire still working.any information please.

Hi my husband brought a seiko watch and we wanted to know more about it we have looked online and canโ€™t find any info at all

Itโ€™s Seiko automatic 5 numbers on back of case are 073973 inside says 17j itโ€™s square shaped face with jewels on the numbers 6 9 and 12 it also on the day it can be English or Arabic

Any info would be so great full thank you
Katie brown x

Hi Katie,

Seiko made the Seiko 5 models using varying calibers according to its era. A 17 jeweled movement might suggest a 6309 or a 7009, for example. I need to know the caliber and caseback code (stamped on the rear case) of the watch. The serial numbers alone canโ€™t tell anything about a Seiko timepiece.

Awaiting your reply,
Quartzimodo

Quartzimodo,

Thanks for all the info. I have actually seen the AoD site you linked to. The collector has certainly worked hard to acquire so many representations of the group.

I may have been unclear as regards the model numbers of the watches I mentioned. They are not, in fact, stamped onto the watch cases. I merely stumbled upon them in some print advertisements for the various watches. One of my 8M25s did indeed have a small sticker on the back with an SDT model number as well as the price. Interestingly enough, it was stamped โ€œSAMPLEโ€ (apparently after the blue protective cellophane was in place), and according to the eBay seller, was a working salesmen sample. It does work, in fact, as opposed to the non-working samples (cases, dials and hands without any internal movements) Iโ€™ve also seen on eBay.

I will take your advice on regular inspections. I know some of these watches are prone to failure of whatever micro electronics which power their brains. I fear if those go bad, there will be no reviving the watch(es). Iโ€™ll have to hope for the best.

Thank you again!

I have seiko quartz watch, 1980 vintage, which is still going well. It gains about one second per week.
Caliber 8223-8010. Water resistant stainless steel.
The problem is that theโ€™glassโ€™ is cracked which makes it no longer waterproof. Can it be safely replaced?

Dear Quartzimodo,

First of all your journal is amazing! Thank you for all the information you have provided!

I would like to ask you about my grandfatherโ€™s seiko 5 374057 TL 6119-8430 21 jewels because I donโ€™t seem to find much information about it around the web. From your journal I managed to find out that itโ€™s probably dated from July 1973? 63? 53? Iโ€™m not sure! Also the date dial seems to be in arabic and as far as I know my grandfather must have obtained it while in Syria!
can you please help me?

Thank you in advance! ๐Ÿ™‚

Hi Margarita,

Thank you for the compliments. I apologize not being able to reply sooner.

Your granddadโ€™s old Seiko 5 was indeed from July 1973 and I congratulate you on getting its production date correct! The 6119 caliber only appeared towards the end of the 1960s and therefore 1953 isnโ€™t possible. In the 50s, the Seiko brand was called โ€œSeikoshaโ€ and they were all hand-winding watches, not automatics.

Itโ€™s common to find real Arabic numerals in Seiko watches that were marketed to the Middle East, even today. I have one Seiko 5 with a glow-in-the-dark dial and Arabic numerals which was purchased in Saudi Arabia over six years ago, but have never worn it. I bought it as a souvenir for myself. ๐Ÿ™‚

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

please if you can help me I have watch its very old of Seiko I need help serial number 607314 model sgp back st.steel 6319-7010

Hi ali sharifeh,

Sorry for the late reply. Your Seiko 6319-7010 watch should be from October 1986. That makes it nearly 27 years old! ๐Ÿ™‚ SGP stands for โ€œSeiko Gold Platedโ€ which means its base metal is stainless steel and not solid gold.

cheers,
Quartzimodo

My Seiko manโ€™s watch has the number 6003085 on the back. I think it is a Sportsmatic model with a black face and gold ring inside the silver case. I has the day and date. Can you tell me what year it was made and if it is automatic or battery? I think it was maybe made in 1966 and I just had it worked on. It is working great so far and was my fatherโ€™s. I am 72 so it must be pretty old. Thanks, Ken

Hi Ken Marsh,

The Seiko Sportsmatic is a mechanical automatic watch, not battery operated (quartz). Any old Seiko models with the name โ€œ-Maticโ€ on them are always automatics, e.g. Lady-Matic, Sportsmatic. You are truly correct in saying that your dadโ€™s timepiece was from 1966; October 1966 to be exact. ๐Ÿ™‚

cheers,
Quartzimodo

Hi,

I have a Ladies Quartz Seiko: Ser #913398, other # 2623-0199.
Gold w/gold or Champagne face, gold bracelet band. Can you tell me the date it was made, approx value, and, what type of battery it requires.
Thank you so much for taking the time to do this for all of us.
Liz

Hi HELP I have a Seiko V701 with a Texaco Star T logo on the bottom juging by the serial # it is a 1973 made in Jan. it is gold with a gold band and black face. Matching numbers on the band.
Thanks

Hi, I have Seiko watch,(reading off case) Japan A S/S Seiko 7002-7001 A1 scuba divers S# 571020.

Do you know what year this was made,thanks.

Stan

Hi Stan,

Not many folks own the 7002-7001 diverโ€™s watch as itโ€™s not as collectible as e.g., the 6309-704x or the 6105-800x/6105-811x diverโ€™s models. The 7002 departed from Seikoโ€™s long running tradition of having a day/date calendar on its automatic diverโ€™s watches since the early 1970s. Itโ€™s been said that Seiko used lower quality dials and hands for the 7002-7001 watches and itโ€™s hard to find one with a pristine looking dial and hands, unlike the 6105/6306/6309 diverโ€™s watches which used more robust dial and lume material.

The 7002 series was a replacement for the slim cased, 6309-729x divers and appeared in the early 1990s. Therefore your watch should be from July 1995.

cheers,
Quartzimodo

Hi Quartzimodo, Thanks for all the info,i must be lucky then as my watch is in mint condition,it looks like it`s just come out of a shop :-),thanks again.

Stan

[โ€ฆ] and assemble low cost products too. Have fun getting worked up over nothing Try this article for everyone else Last edited by Drfp; 2 Hours Ago at 19:10. Reply With [โ€ฆ]

i can not find a thing about my watch anywhere. I was hoping you might be able to help me.
its a seiko sq100 quartz watch
serial# 650799
5h23-6070
i think its an 86โ€ฒ mens watch but apart from that, its all i can find. i really hope you are able to help me out, thank you very much in advance

Hi Kerry,

Iโ€™m not sure if my previous reply got through to you, but Iโ€™m posting my reply again to give the benefit of the doubt. ๐Ÿ™‚

Youโ€™re absolutely correct in guessing that your SQ100โ€™s production date: it is from May 1986 and was the 800th piece that was manufactured for this model for the same month and year. Unfortunately I donโ€™t have much information pertaining to your exact model; and the few examples of a 5H23 based Seiko that I have is a Seiko SQ150 Sports 5H23-637H. I donโ€™t know the timeline as to when the 5H23 caliber was discontinued because the 5H23-637Hโ€™s caseback design looks like one from the early 1990s.

Your watch was made in Japan by Seikoโ€™s Suwa factory as itโ€™s from the mid 1980s. The movement has 3 jewels and uses the Seiko/Maxell SR920SW (or Energizer #371) with an operating life of 5 years between battery changes.

best regards,
Quartzimodo

[โ€ฆ] etched on the caseback (first letter of the serial number is the year, the second the month โ€“ How to tell when your Seiko watch was made (Part 1) | Quartzimodo's Time Journal). In my email to creationwatches I was also asking how they package the watches. I distinctly [โ€ฆ]

Hi Quartzimodo I have been collecting Seikoโ€™s for many years now and I found your original post not long after you put it up (end of Dec 2010)I have found it invaluable and not just the original information that you posted but the questions and answers have been a wealth of knowledge. Thereโ€™s no need to ask a question because if you look hard enough you will find the answer there.
Itโ€™s funny you know when you started this you were very knowledgeable about Seikoโ€™s but since youโ€™ve had to do all this research to answer peoples questionโ€™s I think you are probably the foremost authority in the western hemisphere ๐Ÿ™‚
Thank you for all the time and effort you have put into this, from all the people that havenโ€™t asked you a question

Hi Rosco S,

Thank you for the compliments and for dropping by again. ๐Ÿ™‚ Actually Iโ€™m from the Far East but I learned quite a lot from my watch collecting friends from the western hemisphere myself. I have to give credit where itโ€™s due and itโ€™s from the enthusiastic folks who are actively posting in Japanese watch forums to this very day.

Admittedly, this blog layout is getting old and itโ€™s not that search friendly. I have yet to get down and find a suitable theme that also caters for mobile devices. Many of the questions and answers found here have grown repetitive because I canโ€™t remember which ones had been answered previously. The problem with identifying old Seiko watches is that itโ€™s not an exact science. I rely on my previous knowledge found in watch forums and from the thousands of watch photos I have saved into my computer for years as a guide. It is just impossible to find all the models that the company has made and no Wiki exists that lists each and every model manufactured. ๐Ÿ™‚

cheers,
Quartzimodo

Hi, how about my 7002, 5D0367? would it mean December of 2005? For a 7002, is it 1985 or 1995?
Thanks a lotโ€ฆ

Hi George,

This is a relatively easy question as the 7002 was a popular automatic caliber in its time. The 7002 was a 17-jeweled low cost movement that superseded the 6309 in the early 1990s and is a date-only display caliber. It had a very short market lifespan and was phased out in 1996 by the 7s26 caliber, which is still in production today. As such, your watch is definitely from December 1995.

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

Hi Quartzimodo,

My seiko SKX031โ€™s SN is 998509, when was this made? Thanks and more power!!!

Hi Bert,

Iโ€™m inclined to say the date of production of your Seiko โ€œSubmarinerโ€ is September 1999. Seiko ceased production of the SKX031K sometime in middle part of the last decade and I donโ€™t remember seeing brand new units of the SKX031K sold in the local stores by 2009. Therefore itโ€™s unlikely any SKX031Ks were fitted with the short-lived 7s26B caliber. Mine is from the year 2003 and I have William Jeanโ€™s Type I Super Oyster solid link bracelet on it. It has a premium twin push button clasp instead of the cheaper flip-lock design on the original, hollow link factory issued bracelet.

If you like the original Oyster-type bracelet on your SKX031K, youโ€™ll like the solid link version even better! ๐Ÿ™‚

cheers,
Quartzimodo

I have a SEIKO caliber 7813-8019 Serial # 992890 which I received as a gift in February 1980. Is there any more you can tell me about it?

[โ€ฆ] dial and I think thats how you find the year. Here is mine. And here is a link for finding the year How to tell when your Seiko watch was made (Part 1) Reply With [โ€ฆ]

Hi Q!, Thanks for this site. So full of useful knowledge reminds me of some classes I took in school. So Professor, when my Dad died I received his watch โ€“ broken band unfortunately. I was able to repair it but its still only 80%. Its a 7t32-7e49. 780457. I cant read the code for the band โ€“ 44ร—0-8.1? Im hopin you can tell me which band I need. I know its a generic 7t32 alarm/chrono made in 1997, but what does 7e49 mean. Also what would it be called after Seiko numbers changed. Thanks

Hi Rob,

Iโ€™m sorry to hear about your Dadโ€™s demise. ๐Ÿ™
You have either a Seiko model SDWC47P (black dial) or SDWC48P (white dial, gold toned) watch. This was manufactured on August 1997 by Seikoโ€™s overseas plant in Singapore and its bracelet type is the 44X0-JB. Although Seiko has long discontinued both the model and band, you could try placing an order with Coserv (Seiko USAโ€™s service center) in Mahwah, New Jersey. If Coserv doesnโ€™t have the 44X0-JB bracelet they will contact the Seiko parts warehouse in Japan. If youโ€™re lucky, Seiko Japan might just find the correct replacement bracelets in its storage. ๐Ÿ™‚

โ€œ7e49โ€ is the type code for this watch and this model was exclusively marketed in the U.S. Seiko sold only two variants based on the 7T32-7E49; the SDWC47P and the SDWC48P. Seikoโ€™s type code nomenclature appears to be randomly chosen and it so happens that 7E49 points to the design that your Dad purchased. If your watch has problems with the movement itself, you can always find a fully functional, donor 7T32 watch on eBay on the cheap and transplant its movement.

The 7T32 was a very popular alarm/chrono movement and was in the market for about 12 years before it was finally phased out. Its direct replacement is the 2-button, 1 crown layout 7T62 alarm/chrono which is still made to this day (look up on the โ€œSNAxxxPโ€ models). I have three 7T32s myself and prefer its iconic 3-button, two-crown layout to the cheaper 7T62โ€™s simpler looks.

All the best! ๐Ÿ™‚
Quartzimodo

I have a Seiko Lassale that was given to me in 1983. It was bought at a Seattle Jewelry store and I believe it was about $500.
I took it to a jeweler to have the band cut to size and it was cut too short and I was never able to wear it.
It has been sitting around since then and even picked up a little tarnish. The serial number is 301553. I am wondering if it would be worthwhile to send it somewhere to have the band replaced and made whole again.
I donโ€™t even know if itโ€™s solid gold or plated.

Hi Glen,

Iโ€™m not very knowledgeable in Seiko Lassale watches as there isnโ€™t a complete source of information on all the Lassale timepieces that I know of. Seiko used several quartz calibers throughout the range with many models being gold plated. However, I do know that Seiko acquired the Lassale brand from the Jean Lassale company in 1982 and introduced the Seiko Lassale sub-brand shortly thereafter. You have one of their earliest models since your watch (from the serial number) points to October 1983.

Finding out if your watch is made of solid gold is quite easy. Any solid gold Seiko watch will have the words โ€œ14Kโ€ or โ€œ24Kโ€ Gold etched on the watchโ€™s caseback. If you donโ€™t see the number of carats on the caseback, then itโ€™s a gold plated watch with a stainless steel base. In the case of a solid gold Seiko watch, those that are fitted with matching, solid gold bracelets are extremely rare โ€“ if they exist at all. AFAIK, Seiko usually issues gold plated bracelets or leather bands for their solid gold models.

Since the Lassale brand had disappeared well over a decade ago, finding a replacement band for your watch will be a long shot. You can try to contact Seiko Japan and hope that they might have a new old stock band stored somewhere in their parts warehouse. If they do have one, theyโ€™ll make arrangements with Seiko USA to ship the replacement band to you (or request that you send your watch over to Seiko USAโ€™s service center). As a policy, Seiko Japan does not sell parts directly to the public so youโ€™ll have to deal with your regional Seiko service center.

If the suggestion above is not feasible or comes to a dead end, youโ€™ll have to find a competent jeweler who is able to make a custom band for you โ€“ or resort to wearing a matching leather strap (assuming your watch uses regular lugs). Some watches look good (or even better) on leather straps compared to their original bracelets. Nearly all of the vintage Seiko watches that Iโ€™ve collected have had their original metal bands either in poor condition or replaced with cheap alternatives; therefore I wear them on leather bands. ๐Ÿ™‚

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

I inherited a mens Seiko watch belonging to my grandfatherโ€™s brother. Case/Caliber reads 7431 โ€“ 5049 [RO] What does [RO] stand for?

The serial# 4N0261 โ€“ That is fourth year in the decade, and it was 261st watch made in November. I think the year is 1984, am I correct? Sorry, I had to ask.

Hi Anita,

The characters [RO] is said to designate the case typing that Seiko uses. The company uses other letters too, to denote the case type. Unfortunately the exact meaning of these letters is unknown to the public at this time.
Your grand-uncleโ€™s Seiko watch appears to be from November 1984 from its styling. This watch was fully made in Japan at their Daini factory (the other being the Suwa plant). Itโ€™s not the 261st watch of this model that was made, but the 262nd piece. This is because the first one from the batch has a serial number 4N0000 and Seiko always starts the numbering from โ€œ0000โ€, not โ€œ0001โ€. Therefore the same model bearing the serial number 4N0001 will actually become the second piece and not the first.

best regards,
Quartzimodo

[โ€ฆ] this site How to tell when your Seiko watch was made (Part 1) ะตach Seiko watch has a unique number that shows when produced and number sequence.Lets upload [โ€ฆ]

My mother just passed away and I found a Seiko ladies watch in her things. Could you please date it for me. The back reads SEIKO 320313 Stainless Steel 11-7760 Japan-H
Regards, Chrissie

Hi Chrissie,

Iโ€™m sorry to hear about your motherโ€™s recent demise. ๐Ÿ™ I just got home from a traveling trip and finally got down to replying to my readersโ€™ comments.
Your mumโ€™s Seiko watch was manufactured on February 1973 by Seikoโ€™s Daini factory in Japan. This was an international export model that was marketed globally, except to the USA. Do note that this is a manual hand-winding watch and not an automatic. Youโ€™ll need to turn the crown repeatedly in order to wind the watch up, until you feel some resistance to the turning.

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

Just received a seiko sne o39 solar as a gift the sn on back is 332828 am I correct in assuming the watch was built in March of 2003 or was it built in march 2013, thank you

Hi Gary, Your Seiko Solar SNE039 was definitely made on March 2013. Ten years ago this model didnโ€™t exist yet although Seiko did have a few light powered analog models (they were mostly diverโ€™s watches for the Japan market) back then.

The relaunched Solar lineup that you see now is relatively recent and debuted in 2011. Seiko has introduced completely new solar powered calibers (including the chronograph V175) with a bevy of interestingly designed watches.

Hope this helps. ๐Ÿ™‚
Quartzimodo

Hi!
I have A SEIKO 5 watch with serial number 796231 and 7009-201J.
I just wunder in wich year its made.
I would become very happy if you can help me to find it

Hi Javad,

Are you able to post a clear photo of your watch (front and rear) and upload it to the free image hosting site Tinypic? Iโ€™m inclined to believe that your Seiko was made on Sept 1987
but without a picture of it, I cannot be 100% sure.

thanks,
Quartzimodo

Hi, I have a seiko 7f38-6030, with serial number 720275.

Is this Feb 2007 or Feb 1997 please?
Thank you ๐Ÿ™‚

Hi Mollysmum39,

The Seiko 7F38 was one of the companyโ€™s earliest moon phase dialed watches from the 1990s. As such, February 1997 would be the correct date of manufacture of your timepiece.

The whole moon phase watch trend died by the early 2000s although Seiko revived it through a few models recently.

Hope this helps,
Quartzimodo Admin

[โ€ฆ] The serial number is date coded. I would say your watch is a 1970's watch. How to tell when your Seiko watch was made (Part 1) [โ€ฆ]

Hello,
Ive got a Seiko 5 automatic watch with caliber7s36-8180 and serial no. 6D6216. Since its back cover is metal and not glass I do not know if itโ€™s from December 1996 or from December 1986.

Can you help me, please? ๐Ÿ™‚ Thanks anyway!

Hi Alex,

This is an easy question. The 7s26 and 7s36 movements were only introduced in 1996 therefore your Seiko watch cannot be made any earlier than that.

Therefore itโ€™s certainly manufactured on December 1996 and not in the 80s. ๐Ÿ™‚

Hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

Hello,ive got a Seiko BELL-MATIC 17 jewels 4006 6040 no.631013 when was this made? Thanks

Hi zigi,

Apologies for the belated reply. Seiko Bell-Matics are fairly easy to date as they ran a fairly short life from the early 1970s till approximately 1978. In your case, your 4006-6040 was manufactured on March 1976 without any doubt. This is assuming that the caseback thatโ€™s on your watch is original to your watch and has never been swapped with one from a different watch.

Seiko Bell-Matics are interesting and collectible pieces and I own two 4006s myself. Thereโ€™s an even rarer version- the 4005 caliber Bell-Matic which has just the date (no day calendar) which is highly prized by vintage Seiko collectors. ๐Ÿ™‚

cheers
Quartzimodo

I have a Seiko 5 with solid case back that shows 716034 under the work Seiko and Japan F under thatโ€ฆthen in a circular way along the edge it shows the numbers 6319-6000.
I had no luck using your calculator.
The face is black and the โ€œDAYโ€ window shows two modesโ€ฆmeaning it can show either Fri or a Roman Numeral insteadโ€ฆthe date numbers show normal.
Any thoughts on the production year for this watch??

Hi Swing,

Thanks for the interesting question. The 6319 caliber was one of the low cost automatic movements that Seiko used for their affordable gentsโ€™ watches in the 70s and some found their way into the Seiko 5 range. It is normal for Seiko 5 watches to display dual languages for the day-of-week, with English/Roman being the most popular version for the export market. Other sub-languages include French, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese (for Japan market models), German, Italian and even Farsi, according to some people.

The text โ€œJAPAN-Fโ€ shows that your watch was fully made in Japan, long before Seiko produced its low cost models in their first overseas factory in Hong Kong by the late 1980s. Therefore your 6319-6000 was very likely to have been assembled on January 1977.

BTW, the production date calculator is a link to an external site and I donโ€™t own it. The data that is programmed into the web based calculator is based on the authorโ€™s best knowledge and feedback from owners of old Seiko watches who can verify the exact starting year and month of a watch caliber. In most likelihood, the 6319 (not to be confused with the more popular, 6139 chronograph) isnโ€™t in the date calculatorโ€™s database.

hope this helps. ๐Ÿ™‚
Quartzimodo

I have a SEIKO with the following 5M62-0AP0 sn 460148 (June of 2004 or 1994)

Thanks,
Dan G

Hi Dan G,

Thanks for the question. Your Seiko 5M62-0AP0 is a Singapore assembled Kinetic watch dating to June 2004. There were five variants of this watch: the SKA221P (white dial), SKA223P (blue), SKA225P (blue with gold framed indices), SKA227P (black with a dark grey bezel) and the SKA229P (blue with gold accented center links on the bracelet).

Your watch happens to be one Seikoโ€™s generic Kinetic gentsโ€™ model which didnโ€™t fall under any particular sub-range, e.g. the Arctura or Sportura. Because Seiko designed far too many models of watches, their generic models donโ€™t usually appear in online product catalogs on their websites. Even if your model had been in Seikoโ€™s Arctura lineup, you wonโ€™t see it on their official website as Seiko only highlights their most recent models โ€“ not something that they sold a decade ago. ๐Ÿ™‚

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

Not sure what happened, OE probablyโ€ฆ.I have a SEIKO with the following 5M62-0AP0 sn 460148 (Built June of 2004 I believe). i have not been able to find anything on the Model. it is SS solid case and band, the band has gold on an inset in each link, the number on the band is 33j9-GI.

Thanks once again,
Dan G

i have a seiko chronograph date alarm with triple dials model number is 7t32-7c69 with a AO inside a square next to it and serial number 921401 everything works and very few scratches on face and they are small. can u tell me about what this watches value is and anything about it? i looked at the chart how to date them but cant figure it out thank u for any help. happy holidays

Hi Jamie Little,

Thanks for your question. You have a Seiko 7T32 alarm-chronograph watch thatโ€™s from February 1999. As you didnโ€™t specify its dial color it could be anything from the late SDWBxxP or the early SDWCxxP models. The 7T32 caliber watches were quite popular and Seiko made lots of variants based on this caliber roughly from 1991 to 2002. I have three 7T32s myself and all of them are ticking nicely to this day. ๐Ÿ™‚

As for the value of your watch, itโ€™s very difficult to nail the resale value of used 7T32s. The models that are stainless steel with a diverโ€™s watch look generally fetch higher prices while sedate, dressy and gold plated models arenโ€™t much in demand. Generally they donโ€™t fetch more than USD300, depending on the model and condition. Have a look at eBayโ€™s closing bids and Buy-It-Now offers to get some idea on used Seiko 7T32s here. ๐Ÿ™‚

Happy holidays to you too,
Quartzimodo

My husbands Seiko watch 6530-5650 the other numbers are 4D3252. Can you tell me about it?

Seiko 725533 Black with gold trim. Can u tell when it was made?

Thanks

Hi Brad,

Youโ€™ll need to furnish me with your Seiko watchโ€™s caliber and caseback numbers. Posting its serial numbers alone wonโ€™t help at all. A Seiko watch with the S/N: โ€œ725533โ€ could be just any Seiko model and there are hundreds of Seiko watches that happen to share the same serial numbers as yours.

Quartzimodo

Can u tell what yr my watch was made?
Black with gold trim
Seiko
Water Resistant
StSteel
7N39-OBDO R2
Movement Japan
725533
Thanks

Hi Brad,

By any chance does your Seiko watch look like this one? If so this is an export model for the US market. Itโ€™s not sold under the Coutura lineup but what it has in common with Seiko Coutura models is its cabochon crown (the artificial stone affixed to the crown).
Iโ€™m not really familiar with Seiko gentsโ€™ dress watches for the US market because generic Seiko models donโ€™t appear on Seikoโ€™s websites. If I have to take a guesstimate, the SKP294 looks like a contemporary design from post Millennium; which strongly suggests that itโ€™s from February 2007.

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

My wife bought a Rolex Oyster Date Manual Wind in Saudia Arabia in Nov 1977 for ยฃ90 the watch today is worth ยฃ3000 plus a service today is around ยฃ300 to ยฃ500.
In December 1986 I bought myself a Seiko Watch S5 calendar date change in Bradford ยฃ46 I still have both watches today and for cost effective purchase give me the Seiko any day

No, I wish I could send a pic. Watch is black with gold rim,numbers XII gold, SEIKO is gold, VI gold, hands gold, and has date window. Metal black band with gold strips going vertical. I purchased sometime in 1982-83?????

Hi Brad Hileman,

Very sorry for the belated response as my computer had some problems since my last reply to you. You can use the free photo uploading website, www.tinypic.com to upload photos for temporarily use, without needing to sign up for an account. After doing some digging around, I think Iโ€™ve found your watch model and if this is exactly like yours, itโ€™s the Seiko SKP310.
Iโ€™m afraid I donโ€™t know much about the history of this model, e.g. which year Seiko first introduced it. What I do know that back in 1982, all Seiko quartz watches were assembled in Japan and should have the dial printed โ€œJAPANโ€ and not โ€œMOVโ€™T JAPANโ€, which indicates that itโ€™s assembled in Singapore. I can attest to this as I still own an analog-digital Seiko alarm chronograph from 1987 and it was wholly Japan made.

Seiko started assembling most of its quartz watches at their overseas Singapore factory only from the early 1990s onwards and continues to do so to this day. Therefore in my opinion, your Seiko watch being made in 1982 or 1983 is kind of a long stretch really. Furthermore, Seiko dress watches that look like the SKP310 suggest that itโ€™s a typical 1990s design rather than from the early eighties. Personally I find it highly unusual for Seiko to continue making the same generic dress models for over two decades as they regularly discontinue old models and replace with newer ones.
There are however, notable exceptions โ€“ the hugely popular and bestselling Seiko SKX007K diverโ€™s watch for instance, was first released in 1996 and itโ€™s still sold to this very day and the design is about 16 years old! Historically speaking, Seiko hasnโ€™t been known to continue selling dress models for that long unless theyโ€™re very much in demand. Your model is definitely made for the US market but I have no idea how long the 7N35-0BD0 models have been on the market.
Having said that, my best guess is that your watch could have been made as far back as Feb 1997 with Feb 1987 being plausible. I will definitely rule out 1977, which puts it within your estimated purchase time line between 1982-83) because the watch design and country of manufacture (Japan) doesnโ€™t fit in.

best regards,
Quartzimodo

i m having awatch with sr no.7n43-8001,can you tell anything about it????
its year of manufacture,current price etc???

Hi Quartzimodo,

Do you happen to know when my watch was created? I received this watch from my Grandpa and wanted to learn a little more about its history.

Watch Face:
Indicator
Seiko
Kinetic
Water Resist
100m

Watch Rear:
Water Resistant 10Bar Seiko 5M42-OM39 A4 Movโ€™t Japan
St. Steel + Base Metal
990310

Watch Pictures:
i438.photobucket.com/albums/qq103/egmik3/photo2.jpg
i438.photobucket.com/albums/qq103/egmik3/photo1.jpg

Hi egmike,

Thanks for providing me the link to your watch pictures. You have one of Seikoโ€™s earlier โ€œKineticโ€ branded models and itโ€™s the SKH682P. Seiko made only one variation of the 5M42-0M39. This watch was assembled by Seikoโ€™s factory in Singapore and itโ€™s from September 1999. Itโ€™s quite likely that your timepiece was fitted with the original Seiko capacitor instead of the larger capacity, Maxell rechargeable lithium ion cell.
The 5M42 Kinetic movement has since been superseded by the improved 5M62 caliber, which Seiko still makes to this day.

Itโ€™s a nice looking sports/dress watch with an integrated bracelet. This means that should your watch band break, you have to replace it with the same bracelet type (#48Y8-XB) and cannot substitute with a leather strap, for example. Thereโ€™s not much else to tell about this watch. It was one of Seikoโ€™s numerous generic Kinetic dress watches in its day and is not part of any special range in the Seiko lineup, e.g. Arctura or Sportura.

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

Hi Quartzimodo ๐Ÿ™‚
Iยดm from Portugal and I have bought this Seiko for me, about 3 years ago. Iโ€™m very pleased with the โ€œmachineโ€.
can you tell me more about it?
SGG707 serial 071294 7N43-0ABO (in a square: A4)

www.amazon.co.uk/Seiko-SGG707-Silver-Titanium-Quartz/dp/B000WG1SZS/ref=sr_1_25?ie=UTF8&qid=1397256704&sr=8-25&keywords=seiko+titanium+mens+watches

last week, my son chose this one:
is very nice.
SNXS79 SNXS79K serial 331002 (not printed in the glass) 7s26-04B0
can you tell me more about it?
www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B000G12Y8O/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

best regards

Hi Luis,

Thereโ€™s not much to tell about either Seiko watch in terms of historical or product significance โ€“ theyโ€™re both two the countless, generic Seiko models. Neither are collectorโ€™s items. Your SGG707 titanium quartz was manufactured on July 2010, while the Seiko 5 SNXS79K is from March 2013.

best regards,
Quartzimodo

Hi Quartzimodo โ€“ I have been reading with interest your knowledgeable comments about Seiko. My wife inherited a watch from her mother a few years ago, and we would therefor not sell it, because itโ€™s from mum. Put a new battery in it today UK ยฃ19.95, was ยฃ10 until they noticed it was 18K gold. Iโ€™m trying to find out more, the manufacture year tools, were inconclusive. on the front it reads movโ€™t Japan then bits I canโ€™t make out, on the back 242915 (serial number?) 18K 750 7N00 S002 (Calbre?) then beneath that 5 point star and 96 CO I assume from reading other posts it is manufactured April 1982 or is it 1972? assume it is just worth its weight in gold? any other info would be interesting.

Hi Phil,

Thanks for the compliments. ๐Ÿ™‚ Unfortunately there are very few resources on the Internet on womenโ€™s watches made by Seiko and I cannot find an example based on the caliber and caseback numbers that youโ€™ve furnished. The 7N00A is most likely an early 1980s quartz movement that was made for ladiesโ€™ watches. It drives just the hour and minute hands with no date display and has zero jewels. There are two generations of the 7N00 caliber; the original 7N00A and the more updated 7N00C. For some reason, Seiko never made an โ€œ7N00Bโ€.
Iโ€™m inclined to believe that it was made on April 1992 from your description of the dial, which reads โ€œMovโ€™t Japanโ€ instead of โ€œJapanโ€, unless you have evidence that your mother-in-law had the watch much earlier than 1992. If itโ€™s from 1992 itโ€™s plausible that the more modern, 7N00C caliber was used.
The year 1972 would be a chronological error because in the early 70s, Seiko made only mechanical watches for women, not quartz. If it were from 1982, the dial would mention โ€œJapanโ€ โ€“ indicating the watch was fully Japan assembled, rather than โ€œMovโ€™t Japanโ€, where the watch was assembled in Singapore.

18K refers to the purity of the gold material used for the watch case and is the most common gold content found in Seikoโ€™s true gold watches. Seiko ladiesโ€™ quartz watches are not considered as collectorsโ€™ items and in this case, its value is based on the gold content itself. Therefore if you were to have it appraised at a pawn shop, it would be valued based on its gold metal. Sorry, but thatโ€™s the way it is with ladiesโ€™ Seiko watches.

cheers,
Quartzimodo.

how to open back of my Seiko 5 automatic 21 jewels 1980 so that i can remove vaporous of its glass 10x

Hi Basil,

Youโ€™ll obviously need a watch caseback opener to remove your watchโ€™s caseback first. In order to access the inner glass, the movement also has to be removed. Depending on the design of the watch, you may also have to loosen the watchโ€™s crown to release the movement. Once you have the movement detached, youโ€™re left with the watchโ€™s case and the glass. Use an opticianโ€™s cloth to clean the inner side of the glass of moisture.
It is highly recommended that this be performed in a dry, air conditioned environment with as little moisture in the air as possible.
I have seen this done before to a few of my watches, but I left the job to my watchmaker. Sorry if I canโ€™t be of further help. ๐Ÿ™

Quartzimodo

Hi Mr.Quartzimodo,

I found your blog informative and very helpful in order to learn about Seikoโ€™s watches. Iโ€™ve got a Seiko, but as I googled, could only find the ads to sell instead of the histories. Would you please analyse on my watch?

Front-face: 7N33-6020 R1
Back-case: 391200
Physicals: quartz;day-date adjustable; gold coated needle and body.

Another one, I would like to buy a pre-owned SNT005 for own usage. Would you advice me on that please?

Thanks Mr Quartzimodo!

Hi Pidot,

Iโ€™m afraid not much is known about the Seiko 7N33-6020. Seiko made a lot of generic quartz watches in the 1980s and the 7N33 caliber happens to be one of them. Iโ€™m inclined to say that yours was manufactured in Japan on Sept 1983. If you could upload clear photos of your watch to the free photo hosting site, www.tinypic.com and reply this post with the URL of your watch picture, it would make identification easier for me. ๐Ÿ™‚

The Seiko SNT005 appears to be a relatively new quartz dress model. Itโ€™s not really a collectorโ€™s item and I havenโ€™t seen pre-owned pieces of this model for sale on eBay. At around US$160 on Amazon, new ones are pretty affordable in my opinion. I would suggest that you buy a new one as youโ€™ll receive a yearโ€™s warranty from the seller and maybe a 7-day return policy (depending on the merchant).

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

Wow, Quartzi, much good info. Keeping me reading for hoursโ€ฆThanks. I recently purchased a used Seiko,and using your info I was able to ascertain date of mfr, but now Iโ€™m curious about this watch โ€˜cuz it seems to be rather unique (at least, I havenโ€™t been able to find out much about it). On the Face: Seiko 5 Superior, Titanium, Water Resistant 50 M, Automatic, 23 Jewel, On the case back: 7S36-5020 AO(in a square), serial no. 792201. From what Iโ€™ve learned from you, that would indicate that it was mfrโ€™d September of 1997, watch # 2201. Hereโ€™s the unique part(s). The watch is shaped (Dial, Face and Bezel) like a very slightly elongated, @ 30mm wide by 32mm long, slightly curved, octagon. It has day and date, date is Arabic numerals, Day is in English and subset of Red Roman Numerals; i.e. FRI and then Red Roman Numeral V, SUN and a Red Square.
Iโ€™m curious as to just how unique this baby is? Can you provide me with any further insight?
Thanks, Mike

P.S., band is too small, Iโ€™ve written to Seiko USA to see if they might have another or links for Titanium 4647-BI

Hi Michael LeBrun,

Congratulations, you got the date of manufacture correct! ๐Ÿ™‚ However, your watch is actually the 2,202nd piece that was produced (for the same caliber/caseback type) because the first piece that was made in that particular month would have the serial number 790000 (not 790001). Seiko always starts with the number zero for the first piece for the month and ending with โ€œ9999โ€. Therefore the maximum number of timepieces Seiko would have assembled (for the 7s36-5020) for the month of September 1997 would be 10,000 pieces.

Seiko 5 Superiors were marketed as flagship models under the Seiko 5 family and they are usually dressy in design. The Seiko 5 Superior (not to be confused with the โ€œSeiko Superiorโ€) line was discontinued by the year 2007 or 2008, leaving the basic Seiko 5 and the sporty, Seiko 5 Sports. Seiko 5 Superiors were fitted with the 7s36 caliber, with the exception of the extremely rare, date-only 7s55 with a decoratively striped, oscillating weight. While yours is an international model, Seiko also made a โ€œMade in Japanโ€ marked variant for the Middle East market with English/Arabic day languages.

I would say that your watch is quite good looking with its softly beveled, octagonal edges. Iโ€™m not sure if Seiko continues to make octagonal shaped models today and if the company no longer does, you are in the possession of a Seiko design thatโ€™s rarely seen today. ๐Ÿ™‚ AFAIK, Seiko never sells bracelet links separately. Youโ€™ll have to order a new watch band from Seiko, assuming they still have remaining stocks of the 4647-JB titanium bracelet (itโ€™s already discontinued). All is not lost though โ€“ since the 7s36-5020 uses regular watch lugs you can also opt for an aftermarket watch strap that goes well with your watch dial color! ๐Ÿ˜‰

Quartzimodo

Hi Quartzimodo,

I had as a gift a seiko chronograph sport 100
7A48 7009
serial number : 304 388

i m not sure but is that mean Oct 1983 ?

Thanks a lot for your help !

Best Regards from Morrocco ๐Ÿ˜‰

Hello Nakmuay,

You have one of the Seiko โ€œMoonphaseโ€ quartz chronographs from the early 1990s. The โ€œMoonphaseโ€ window styling only became a global watch trend towards the very end of the 1980s and from the serial number which you gave me, I would say it was from October 1993. Iโ€™m also certain that Seiko didnโ€™t come out with the 7A48 movement as early as 1983. Your model is very likely a Seiko watch meant for export to the United States, rather than an international model.

Take good care of this watch because I doubt that Seiko still carries all the spare parts for the 7A48 caliber to this day.

Hope this answers your questions. Wishing you Seasonโ€™s Greetings and a Happy New Year! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo.

I have a vintage Seiko 5 which I bought from a very old watchmaker which still operate at his small shop at Tawau, Sabah Malaysia (Borneo). The model I get from him is a Seiko 5, Cal 6319-3301 17 Jewels (As I aware cal 6319 is 21 Jewels โ€“ havenโ€™t open the cal yet) which according to him was selling in the mid 1965 or more. The serial no is 555688.

Hi Ronald,

I donโ€™t think your watchmaker dated the 6319-3391 watch correctly. Seiko watches that were made before the year 1968 would have had a 7-digit serial number and not six (555688). Assuming the caseback is original to this watch, i.e., it had not been substituted with a different caseback, your Seiko 5 would have been made on May 1975. The 6319 based Seiko 5 automatics are hard to find these days, but they are not necessarily valuable.

Hope this helps and wishing you Seasonโ€™s Greetings and Happy New Year! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo.

My dad had a Seiko 5 Speed Timer 7017-6040 Serial Number 140561 and I canโ€™t find out much information on it like how many made or actually what it is! Can you help? thanks!
Cheryl

Hi Cheryl,

I donโ€™t know how many pieces of the Speed Timer 7017-xxxx chronographs that Seiko made in the early 1970s. I donโ€™t suppose Seiko Japan has the information either because there was an incident at one of the Seiko offices in Japan, in which a fire had destroyed their old documents. That is, assuming the employees did keep a track of how many pieces were made for every watch model that they had produced.

Your dadโ€™s 7017-6040 was made on April 1971 and I believe it should be marked โ€œWater Resistantโ€ rather than โ€œWater Proofโ€. This is a very simple chronograph watch without a separate, elapsed minute or hour counter. I have an old Seiko 5 Speedtimer 7017-6020 with a rotating E6 Flight Rule inner bezel. For the 7017-6040, its rotating inner bezel has minute markings from 5 to 55 minutes. To keep track of the elapsed time, youโ€™ll have to consciously rotate the inner bezel for every minute passed (yes, itโ€™s a pain to do this).

All Seiko 7017 watches were made by Seikoโ€™s Daini factory in Japan (the other being the Suwa plant). From my experience, the 7017 mechanism isnโ€™t as robust as Suwa-made movements. Decades of use (or neglect) can easily cause the โ€œflybackโ€ hand resetting mechanism to fail in precisely returning the second hand back to zero (or 12 oโ€™clock). The term โ€œflybackโ€ means that you can depress the second hand reset button (at the 4 oโ€™clock position) whilst the second hand is running โ€“ thereโ€™s no need to stop the second hand first, as with most automatic chronograph watches.

Keep the second hand running if youโ€™re wearing this watch, even if youโ€™re not actually measuring time.

Hope I have answered your questions. Seasonโ€™s Greetings and a Happy New Year! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo.

hello,
hepl me please with some information about my Seiko !!!
buna,
on his back is write:
7320 -5950 RO
JAPAN J
4D1787.

Hello oana-maria,

You have a Seiko quartz dress watch from December 1984. It requires a Seiko or Maxell TR-616SW silver oxide battery, with an approximate battery life of 3 years. It was manufactured in Japan by Seikoโ€™s Suwa factory and there are many other models based on the 7320 caliber that I have not seen.

It is not a water-resistant watch, therefore make sure you donโ€™t get this watch wet. Iโ€™m sorry but thatโ€™s all I know about the 7320 series watches.

Wishing you Seasonโ€™s Greetings and a Happy New Year. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Hi there Quartzimodo, you Seiko master

In the first place thanks for all the info you provided.
I guess Iโ€™m doing something wrong, no idea why. Item Nr.90 made in December, ok this was easy ๐Ÿ™‚ But the year? Could you please help me?

serial: 3D0090
6923-7080

Many thanks!

Peace
Gio

hi can u help im trying to date my dad Seiko,seiko quartz sport 150,serial 860080,5h237019,thx

Hi Dear Quartzmodo,

recently i have purchased SEIKO SPC131P1 model in India from their autorised dealer of Around 253 USD
Itโ€™s caliber is 7T86 & sr.no. 460136, 7T86-OACO [A4}
I am interested to know when my watch was manufactured & which factory.

Thanks & Regards,

Mohan.

Hello Mohan,

Your Seiko SPC131P Perpetual Chronograph was made in Singapore and was manufactured on June 2014. The 7T86 caliber did not exist in 2004, therefore it has to be from 2014.

Quartzimodo.

I have a 14K gold Basket Weave Bracelet Mens Seiko that is ringed with diamonds around the dial. It is from September 1970 and has 78-5469-A on the back and 090667 underneath the first set of digits. It is in excellent condition and we are looking for an approximate value of the watch.

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Hello Terrance,

Iโ€™m not a gold assayer therefore I wouldnโ€™t know what the value of your watch is. However I can tell you this: With the exception of the extremely rare and highly collectible, Seiko Astron all-solid gold quartz watch from December 1969 โ€“ Seiko dress watches do not possess the sort of value that youโ€™d expect from a vintage Rolex or Omega timepiece of the same era. In other words, if your Seiko were made from stainless steel instead of 14-karat solid gold, it would hardly fetch a reasonable value. Therefore the value of your watch will be highly dependent on todayโ€™s gold prices rather than the history or significance of the model behind it. I have never seen a diamond studded Seiko watch and in most likelihood, the ornamental โ€œdiamondsโ€ circling the watch dial are artificial diamonds or probably crystal glass.

Are you certain that your Seiko 78-5469 quartz dress watch is from 1970? AFAIK, Seiko only began producing their โ€œ4004โ€ analog quartz watches en masse in 1974, using an early 0903 caliber. Seiko watches that were fitted with the 0903 caliber had an external compartment for the watch button cell; and one needs to use the edge of a coin to access the battery compartment. There is no need to remove the rear caseback to change the battery.

If you ask me, September 1980 would more likely to be the correct manufacturing date for the Caliber 78A. Please consult a goldsmith to estimate the value of your watch because itโ€™s the gold metal case that makes it โ€œvaluableโ€ โ€“ not the watch itself.

Quartzimodo

Good day,
as my partner loves vintage watches and one of my friends has a Seiko for sale I would like to know a bit more about this one in specific.

The serial number is
780375
Water Resistant

Hope you can help
Best, Beatrice

Hi Beatrice,

Iโ€™m glad that your partner is into vintage Seiko watches. However, you didnโ€™t furnish the vital information โ€“ its caliber and caseback number (which is at the back of the watch) because only the serial numbers alone donโ€™t mean anything without the caliber/caseback codes.

Itโ€™s just like asking a classic car expert to tell you more about a particular old Mercedes Benz car by just giving him the carโ€™s chassis number. Even if you donโ€™t know its actual model or type, it makes things a lot easier by showing him an actual photo of the car.

Please upload clear pics of the Seiko watch (front and back) to Tinypic.com and reply to me with the link to image.

thanks,
Quartzimodo

I have been trying to date the watch I bought at Goodwill. It is beautiful. It is a bracelet watch. I believe the serial no. is y150-5n90 rd movement japan 090478? What is your opion

Hi there. My sister bought me a Seiko SRP599K1. I assume this is the movement and model number โ€œ4R36-03TOโ€ and the serial no. is 483470 based on what I am seeing at the back. Kindly confirm if this item is genuine Seiko product because I canโ€™t seem to find this model in Seiko official website although I see this model offered/sold in amazon, ebay and etc.

Thank you so much.

Hi Raymond,

Good question. The SRP599K is actually a genuine Seiko watch. There are actually many Seiko models that are never depicted on any official Seiko product website due to the following reasons:

1. There are just too many Seiko models to be portrayed on Seikoโ€™s official websites or their online catalogs.
2. Seiko introduces and phases out countless models (especially their low end ones) too frequently for their webmasters to update.
3. Only mid-ranged and high end Seiko (including Grand Seiko/Brightz/Ananta/Prospex/Arctura/Sportura/Velatura/Spirit) sub-ranges are displayed on their websites, depending on the country.
4. Mass produced models from the Seiko 5 family are too numerous to keep track of and generally are not listed.
5. Models that are not meant for a certain region (e.g. the U.S/Canada) are not listed on the Seiko USA product site.

Some current Seiko diverโ€™s watches and chronographs can be found as part of their online product catalog, but not all. Note that Seiko sells more models and variations than any other watch company (maybe except Casio) that itโ€™s just impractical for the company to put up every single model on their website. Thatโ€™s why youโ€™re unable to find the SRP599K on their online official product catalog.

AFAIK, only the Seiko Japan official site lists every model that they sell (in Japan), but does not include models that are meant for overseas markets. Just Google for the model number of any Seiko watch; and if the model comes up on many reputable Seiko watch resellerโ€™s websites you can be sure that it is a genuine model.

Quartzimodo.

Dear Quartzimodo,

My friend gave me a Seiko watch for women. Can you help me to determine her birthday? I only see 041959 and v782-770 R1 Movโ€™t Japan in the back case.
Thank you for your help. And this site is very useful! ^_^

Hi!

I canโ€™t post to part 2 so Iโ€™ll post here.

I have a Seiko Kinetic SKA657, movement number 5M62-0DF0, serial number 444245.

I know Kinetics were made from 1988 (although under a different name). I have read that it was renamed to Kinetic 1997, although only on one website. According to this my watch should be a 2004 or 2014 model. (I just bought it).

How do I know which year it was made?

Hi Christoffer,

Your new Seiko SKA657P is actually a recent model. Itโ€™s made on April 2014 and not a decade earlier.

I used to collect pictures of Seiko Kinetics (5M62 caliber) over ten years ago and the reference codes for 5M62 Kinetics during the time were still like โ€œSKA2xxPโ€ or earlier. In other words in 2004, there were no such models starting with โ€œ3โ€ or โ€œ4โ€ after the โ€œSKAโ€ prefix. Therefore, if it were a model from 2004, its reference number would be something like โ€œSKA1xxPโ€ or โ€œSKA2xxPโ€ and not SKA6xxP.

For some reason, Seiko made very few variants based on the 5M62 Kinetic caliber; including 200m diverโ€™s models, sports watches and dress models. This is unlike the more sellable and popular alarm-chronograph model like the 7T62 caliber (โ€œSNAโ€), which began sometime in 2002 with the SNA001P (from The Great Blue series). Seiko introduced so many 7T62 models since then that the company quickly ran out of model numbers that they had to add โ€œAโ€ to the SNA prefix, which became โ€œSNAAโ€. When the โ€œSNAAโ€ models also ran out of digits, the letter โ€œBโ€ was used and the reference number became โ€œSNABxxxPโ€.

I havenโ€™t been following Seikoโ€™s product line for some time, but it seems that today the latest 7T62 models are already using the prefix โ€œSNAFโ€ such as this model. While the movement is pretty much the same as the earliest 7T62 caliber watches, the stylistic designs of post 2010 models have certainly changed dramatically.

I think Seiko found it difficult to sell their Kinetic range of watches (particularly the 5M62 series), which is why in 2014 its reference code is still stuck at โ€œSKAโ€. Thereโ€™s a long way to go before youโ€™ll see Seiko 5M62 models beginning with the โ€œSKAAโ€ prefix. Furthermore, contemporary Seiko watches that are sold on Amazon and eBay are snapped up pretty quickly. Youโ€™ll be hard pressed to find new old stock (NOS), 2004 era 5M62 Kinetics for sale on Amazon today. The Amazon merchants will not hold on to their old stocks for too long and if theyโ€™re forced to, theyโ€™d let them go at heavily discounted prices. So itโ€™s not possible for your SKA657P to have been from 2004.

The only rare exceptions are certain Seiko watches that were very expensively priced due to their design, movement complexity and rarity status. One such Kinetic caliber is the very rare, hand-made 9T82 Kinetic chronograph which came out in the early 2000s, like this Sportura SLQ021 for instance. Yup, this piece is still unsold to this day until someone gives it a nice home. Only die hard Seiko collectors with plenty of money would go for something like that. ๐Ÿ™‚

If you havenโ€™t read my old article on Kinetics yet, you might want to check it out. ๐Ÿ™‚

Congratulations on your new SKA657P Kinetic!

Quartzimodo.

I clicked on your โ€œJayhawkโ€ links but none of them work. Are they still available? Thanks!

Hi Wendy,

Thanks for asking! Unfortunately I havenโ€™t been following Jayhawkโ€™s Production Date Calculator links for quite a while. His server side scripts were initially hosted at the university where he used to study at and when he had finished his degree, Jayhawk had to host his software from one server to another. Anyway, I have located the latest site of his Seiko Date Calculator which you can find here. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

I am looking for a movement for a gold Seiko Quarts Dou- Display Quarts Cal H461

Hi Kingsley,

That request is like asking for a replacement part for the original Sony Walkman tape player that was introduced way back in 1979, or transistor components for a Trinitron TV from the 80s. ๐Ÿ™‚

Anyway, browse eBay using the keywords โ€œSeiko H461โ€ until someone puts a used H461 watch in working condition up for sale. Seiko no longer makes the H461, therefore your only recourse is to buy a second hand H461 and cannibalize its movement for your existing watch. People do this all the time because itโ€™s very doubtful Seiko Japan has an unused H461 movement lying somewhere in its parts warehouse.

Sorry, but thatโ€™s the way it goes. ๐Ÿ™

Quartzimodo.

Help Iโ€™m trying to get a watch for my 50th birthday that was made the year I was born 1965. Seiko seems a good way to get as close as I can to the right years as many donโ€™t have an accurate dating. does this 7 digit serial make it 1965? 59O0604 .
great site
many thanks

Hi Nic,

Apologies for the belated reply as I only got to reply to my readersโ€™ questions today. ๐Ÿ™

To your question, a Seiko watch with a 7-digit number predates the year 1968. In other words, Seiko used 7 characters for its watches until 1967. After that the company switched to the standard 6-character serial number which it practices to this day.

The letter โ€œOโ€ is never used as part of the serial number to denote the month of October, but the number โ€œ0โ€ (zero). And yes, a Seiko watch bearing the S/N 5900604 means that it was manufactured in September 1965. Please note that it is assumed that the caseback is original to the watch in question and had never been swapped with another similar caseback. Unless the watch is guaranteed by its owner that the caseback has never been substituted with a different one, youโ€™ll have to take the sellerโ€™s word for it.

The problem is that from the beginning, Seiko (or formerly known as the K. Hattori Company) had never engraved the serial number of their watches both on the caseback and the inside of the case. They didnโ€™t feel that they had to but in the interest of authentication, only a double serial number verification system (internally and externally) can provide a better guarantee that this watch was indeed made in Sept 1965.

Hope youโ€™ll find what youโ€™re looking for! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Today 10-27-2015 I bought as new a Seiko silver watch with a black face with all white numbers( month and date included ). Front only has Seiko on it โ€“ no other writing. The back says water resistant. However the serial number is 644880. Can you tell me when it was made and if it is new? They also said the band was new, it is silver self adjusting streach band the back clasp has seiko emprinted in it. The clasp is very small and is not the fold over type. โ€œThanks for any information โ€œ

Hi Deborah,

Without the caliber and caseback numbers I cannot determine or even guess which Seiko model you have but itโ€™s most probably a quartz. However I can only tell you this: its month was April while the year of manufacture is probably 2006. This means your watch is at least 9 years old at the time you bought it. However with Seiko watches this not unusual as some do end up being unsold for many years.

Your watch is considered a new old stock piece. If it is indeed the quartz type and uses the silver oxide cell (instead of lithium), the watch had definitely been opened at one time and its battery replaced. With the exception of a lithium battery with a 10-year operational life, normal watches that use the silver oxide battery have a run time between 2-5 years, depending on the movement (caliber) type.

Therefore if your definition of โ€œnewโ€ is โ€œfactory freshโ€, it is not. For all intents and purposes you might consider the watch โ€œnewโ€ as not having a previous owner. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo.

Hi Quartzimodo,
i read your blog and it really helps me a lot but please can you help me to figure out the exact decade or year of the watches i got from my grandfatherโ€™s safe.
My Grandfather was i huge fan & collector of seiko watch and im really intriguing about this watch and maybe to continue his passion for this
The first serial no.is 226141 & the other one was 704040.
By the way, the watches are Seiko 5 automatic models.
Hoping for the fast response.
Thanks and godbless..
Derick

Hi Derick,

Thanks for writing in, but Iโ€™m afraid that the details on both watches is incomplete.
Now, you expect a fast response from me โ€“ yet the information you supplied is just 50% that is required. If you were to ask the Seiko experts in any watch forum, I guarantee you that youโ€™ll get the same reply from them.

Are you sure you have actually read through my blog article (Parts I & II) or did you just skim over them? Iโ€™ll give you a hint: pay attention on caliber and caseback codes. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo.

Dear Quartzimodo.
First, thanks a lot for your great help.
Second, Iโ€™ve bought the SGG711 today.
How can i know where it is made?
The number is 521307.
The caliber is 7N43-0AB0.

Thanks a lot.

Hi Bella Vo,

Congratulations on your purchase of your titanium Seiko SGG711! ๐Ÿ™‚

Seiko quartz watches (except for high end models like the Grand Seiko Quartz) are traditionally assembled in Singapore although there were rare exceptions of a few models that were assembled in Malaysia. Please note that I have not been up-to-date with my knowledge of Seiko timepieces; therefore if Seiko has moved the assembly process of its quartz (and Kinetic) models to Malaysia or China very recently, I wouldnโ€™t know. Therefore unless the company has changed its country of assembly, you can assume that your watch was made in Singapore. The internal components (the movement) are however still manufactured in Japan.

There used to be a period when all Seiko quartz watches were 100% Japan made; that was before the middle 1990s. Today, only the high end quartz Grand Seiko watches are wholly Japan made.

Hope this answers your question! ๐Ÿ™‚
Quartzimodo

Hi mate

Super resource by the way!

I have a Grand Seiko 6146-8000 with a serial no. 8N1427 which I understand means manufactured in November 1968. I have also seen the exact same watch with a serial no. 7001505. What would this date be and why the different format?

Thanks for your help

Regards

Gary

Hi Gary,

Thatโ€™s a great question and congratulations on owning a vintage Grand Seiko Hi-Beat! ๐Ÿ™‚

That other GS 6146-8000 that you saw (with the S/N 7001505) was made in October 1967 โ€“ about a year earlier than your watch. Seiko watches that were made prior to 1968 used 7-digits instead of the 6-digit standard that is adopted to this day. The pre-1968 date numbering system works in the same manner as the amended 6-digit serial number, except for an extra digit at the end. Even the Citizen Watch company once used 7 digits like Seiko did and for some reason followed Seikoโ€™s 6-digit numbering method. I have a 1964 era, Seiko Sealion hand-wind watch which was a gift from a friend in Germany. It bears a 7-digit serial number too. You may have also seen pics of Seikoโ€™s first diver โ€“ the โ€œ62 MASโ€ a.k.a the 6217-8001 150m โ€œWater Proofโ€. So far I have not come across photos of this highly collectible diver with a 6-digit number (they are all 7 digits) and the general consensus is that Seiko stopped making the 6217-8001 by 1968.

Unfortunately I do not know the origins of Seikoโ€™s decision to amend their serial numbering system (from 7 to 6 digits) but thatโ€™s how it is. Maybe someone has figured it out since I wrote this article but Iโ€™m not really into the watch scene these days. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Hi Quartzimodo

I have a Grand Seiko, calibre 6146-8000 no. 8N1427, which I believe to be November 1968. I have seen the exact same model with the no. 700150.

What date would that be and why the different format?

Thanks

Gary

Hi there, I have a vintage Sportsmatic week/dater
s/n 5201179 movement 6619 โ€“ 7000T ED

I think it was manufactured in 1965 (when I purchased it) but I canโ€™t work out when it ended.

Can anyone confirm what I already know and anything else about this watch?

Many thanks

Hi Richard,

Yes, you are correct in saying that your Sportsmatic Weekdater was made in 1965 โ€“ in February 1965 to be exact. ๐Ÿ™‚ Seiko watches made before 1968 had seven digit serial numbers (instead of six) and the fact that your watch bears a 7-digit S/N certainly is evidence that it was manufactured well before 1968.

The exact month and year when exact Sportsmatic models were discontinued is largely unknown. The K. Hattori Watch company that made Seiko watches was said to have lost a โ€œsignificantโ€ amount of archived records in a fire at one of their headquarter offices in the 70s or 80s. Perhaps one or more former Japanese designers/employees of the Sportsmatic models would remember โ€“ that is, if they are still alive today and participate in online watch forums (the latter activity being highly improbable). ๐Ÿ™‚

However, the general consensus is that the Sportsmatic watches (Seiko had several variations of the Sportsmatic line, which makes its history more complicated) is that none of the photos of real life examples showed one that had โ€œWater Resistantโ€ marked on the dial or caseback, but โ€œWater Proofโ€ instead. Seiko stopped using the โ€œWater Proofโ€ labeling circa April 1971 which is a clue that no Sportmatic watch was manufactured after 1971.

Furthermore, lots of examples of surviving Sportsmatic watches bore 7-digit serial numbers which further narrows them down to have been made up to the year 1967. However, scanned vintage Seiko catalogs indicate that the 6619 Sportsmatic was first introduced in 1964, beginning with the 21 jewel, 6619A caliber. I remember coming across a blog article, whose author mentioned that the actual number of โ€œfunctionalโ€ jewels in the 6619A is really 18, while the additional 3 jewels were added to pad the jewel count to 21. In those days, it was a norm for watch companies to exaggerate the jewel count in their watch movements โ€“ the more, the merrier. ๐Ÿ˜‰

The 661A movement itself debuted sometime in 1963 and is one of the earliest calibers to incorporate Seikoโ€™s innovative, โ€œMagic Leverโ€ winding design. This feature allows the main spring to be wound by the oscillating weight in either direction, which in turn improves its self-winding efficiency. Some competing automatic watch movements during the period only winds the main spring in one direction of the oscillating weight โ€“ therefore a bi-directional winding design is much better of the two.

Going back to your original question, it is quite likely that the Sportsmatic 6619 were sold from 1964 to 1966. The Sportsmatic were considered as low cost, โ€œeverydayโ€ watches by Seiko and the company could not have foreseen that half a century later, they would become exotic, collectibles. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Hi Quartzimodo,

I inherited a Seiko 5 Automatic from my grandpa with serials: 6309-866A A1 & 1N1569. Can you determine what series is this and when was it released?

Thanks

Hi Anthony,

Thatโ€™s a great question, Iโ€™m afraid I canโ€™t tell you anything more about your watch except that it was made in Japan and its manufacturing date is November 1981. The 6309 movement itself was introduced much earlier, sometime in 1977. Seiko made lots of Seiko 5 variations in those days and one needs to have a catalog or product booklet which shows the 6309-866A, which unfortunately I donโ€™t have.

All I can tell you is that your grandfatherโ€™s Seiko 5 is part of the โ€œSeiko 5 familyโ€ and thatโ€™s about it. I donโ€™t think your watch belonged to any โ€œseriesโ€, e.g. King Seiko, Lord Matic, LM, Advan, Speedtimer or Seikomatic which the Seiko company segregated in the 60s and early 70s. Today, you can find modern Seiko 5 watches that are marketed as โ€œSeiko 5โ€, โ€œSeiko 5 Sportsโ€ and very occasionally โ€“ the Seiko 5 Superior. If your watch just says โ€œSeiko 5โ€ on the dial, itโ€™s considered a generic Seiko 5. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo.

Hi there,

I have Seiko ,i want to know when it was manufactured and is it vingate or not,what will b its cost now? Details are as mentioned below โ€“

A)front dial its written
Seiko Automatic
17 jewel
japan 6118-7010

B)back cover its written
Seiko water resistant
535587 japan A
stainless steel 6118 7010

Great site !!
thanks for any help.

Hi Praful,

You have a seldomly seen and discussed, Seiko menโ€™s watch from March 1975. Although it has the same jewel count as the earlier 6119A caliber, Seiko watches that used the 6118 movement arenโ€™t as common. Any Seiko watch that is from the 1970s or earlier are classified as โ€œvintageโ€. The 6118-7010 was intended to be a low cost and affordable gentsโ€™ timepiece. It has neither hand-winding nor second hand hacking capabilities; therefore its movement is as simple as the older 6119A. It also runs at 21,600 beats per hour โ€“ the same as todayโ€™s 7s-series automatic movement.

As for its current value on the market, a 6118-7010 in great condition usually wonโ€™t fetch more than US$100 on eBay. It might be a rare bird, but rarity itself doesnโ€™t always mean itโ€™s also valuable. When it comes to vintage Seiko watches, itโ€™s usually the mechanical chronographs, rare divers and high beat King Seiko, Grand Seiko and Lordmatic range of watches that are both rare and valuable. Collectors actively hunt for such Seiko watches and the more desirable they are, the higher their resale value will be.

In a way, vintage watches are like vintage cars. If you happen to have a 1976 era, Toyota Corolla KE30 like this one โ€“ itโ€™s not considered that collectible even by vintage car collectors. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Hi Quartzimodo,

Thatโ€™s a really nice piece of information you got there. Really appreciated your response. Anyway, I also got another Seiko 5 this time from my dad.

It does have the serials: 516694, 6309-7320 A6. Any idea when was this released? Kinda look like a typical Seiko 5 to me but I dig vintage and old watches so itโ€™s still valuable for me though.

Thanks once again

Hi Quartzimodo,

Thatโ€™s a really nice piece of information you got there. Really appreciated your response. Anyway, I also got another Seiko 5 this time from my dad.

It does have the serials: 516694, 6309-7320 A6. Any idea when was this released? Kinda look like a typical Seiko 5 to me but I dig vintage and old watches so itโ€™s still valuable for me though.

Thanks!

Hi Quartzimodo,

Thatโ€™s a really nice piece of information you got there. Really appreciated your response. Anyway, I also got another Seiko 5 this time from my dad.

It does have the serials: 516694, 6309-7320 A6. Any idea when was this released? Kinda look like a typical Seiko 5 to me but I dig old watches and since it came from my dad I consider it as something with a value.

Thanks once again

Hi Quartzimodo,

Thatโ€™s a really nice piece of information you got there. Really appreciated your response. Anyway, I also got another Seiko 5 this time from my dad.

It does have the serials: 516694, 6309-7320 A6. Any idea when was this released? Kinda look like a typical Seiko 5 to me but I dig old watches and since it came from my dad I consider it as something with a value.

Thanks once again!!

Hi Anthony,

Youโ€™re off to a great start with those vintage Seiko 5s! ๐Ÿ™‚

The 6309-7320 in question was made in January 1985 by Seikoโ€™s Hong Kong factory. Its internal movement and parts were however made in Japan. The narrow and slim hand design was trendy from the 80s to the Millennium. This watch has regular lugs, which means youโ€™re able to wear the head (the watch) on a nice leather strap when you get tired of the original Jubilee styled, bracelet. ๐Ÿ™‚

I have no idea when exactly this particular model came out but many examples of the 6309-7320 seem to be from 1985. Seiko made countless generic Seiko 5 watches that itโ€™s virtually impossible to know all of the variants, let alone their production timelines. If youโ€™re keen on collecting vintage Seiko 5 watches, I would recommend that you look for Seiko 5 mechanical chronographs like the Seiko 5 Speedtimer 6138, 6139, 7015, 7016, 7017 and the late sixtiesโ€™ 6119 caliber Seiko 5 Sports models.

Theyโ€™re getting rarer each year with collectors around the world actively hunting for them on eBay and in the watch trading forums. Seiko 5 chronographs are highly sought after and prized. The Caliber 6139 was Seikoโ€™s final automatic chronograph which was discontinued between 1977 and 1978. Seiko stopped making mechanical chronograph watches until the late 1990s, when they reintroduced automatic chronographs which were sold under their Prospex, Credor and Brightz sub-brands.

Since then Seiko no longer offered affordable mechanical chronographs like the vintage Seiko 5 6138/6139 models of yesteryear. If youโ€™re looking at brand new Seiko chronographs, it had to be something like the delightful Credor Phoenix GCBP993 that sold for at least US$1,500 a piece back in 1997. Thereโ€™s also a black dialed version. Not many collectors and fans had that kind of funds to enjoy wearing a Seiko chronograph, therefore they were forced to settle for used Seiko 5 Speedtimer 6138s and 6139s. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Hi, Iโ€™m hoping you can help me. I have a vintage Seiko watch. the numbers on the back of the watch are:

7N29 6A29 and then the serial number 000011, does this mean that it was the 11th watch made in this series? does that make it more/less valuable? thank you 100 times for any help that you can give me.

regards,
Lana

Hi Lana,

Great question! It is quite uncommon to come across a Seiko watch with a low โ€œnumber countโ€, with a string of leading zeroes and ending with a pair of numbers like โ€œ11โ€, โ€œ22โ€, โ€œ33โ€ and so on. ๐Ÿ™‚

A Seiko watch with the serial number 000011 means that it was manufactured in the month of October with the year ending with a โ€œ0โ€ (zero). That could mean 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000 or 2010 โ€“ depending on the caliber itself. The production unit itself is actually the 12th piece that was made for that particular caliber and caseback code (not necessarily the actual series).

The reason that the number โ€œ0011โ€ denotes the twelfth piece assembled (for a particular month/year) is that the first Seiko that was made for that same calendar month would be โ€œ0000โ€. The second piece would be stamped โ€œ0001โ€, the third will carry โ€œ0002โ€ and so on. The 10,000th piece for that same Seiko model will be stamped โ€œ9999โ€. While thatโ€™s also a nice number (so is โ€œ8888โ€ โ€“ this is considered a lucky number by most Oriental communities), it really depends if the Seiko plant has the capacity to churn out 10,000 pieces per month, for that particular and exact watch model in the first place.

That said, employees such as the production plant managers would know exactly how many pieces they are to assemble each month for different models. Seiko watches that are perpetually high in demand worldwide (e.g. the SKX007K and SKX779K automatic diversโ€™ watches) are most probably made up to 10,000 pieces monthly during peak demand seasons. Models that are not as best selling are likely to be made in smaller numbers per month; therefore itโ€™s plausible that we wonโ€™t see one with a high number such as โ€œ9000โ€.

Now, a Seiko timepiece that so happens to have a serial number of ALL zeroes โ€“ โ€œ000000โ€, would certainly be very rare but not necessarily collectible! It all depends on how popular the watch model is in the first place. A good example would be the the quintessential, classic Seiko SKX007K diverโ€™s watch. It was introduced in 1996 and is still made to this day. Only two out of the innumerable pieces of this model will carry the โ€œmagicalโ€ serial number of โ€œ000000โ€ โ€“ the one that was made in October 2000 and the other, October 2010. The third piece would be made in October 2020 โ€“ assuming that 4 years from now, this model would be still in production. ๐Ÿ™‚

Assuming that you happen to own one of the two SKX007K diverโ€™s watches with the serial number โ€œ000000โ€, you have a watch that is both popular and having an extremely rare serial number. Will that all-zero number make it more valuable? Yes. How much more valuable? I wouldnโ€™t know. There will always be Seiko collectors with an eye for Seiko watches with all-zero serial numbers; but how far one is willing to offer for it is a moot point. Youโ€™ll have to put it up for bids on eBay (with the all-zero serial number as your unique selling point) and see what happens. ๐Ÿ™‚

Back to your Seiko 7N29-6A29, itโ€™s one of the millions of generic menโ€™s quartz watches that Seiko made. Unless itโ€™s crafted from 14 karat, solid gold and in pristine condition thereโ€™s really not much to go by, except that yours happen to bear the serial number โ€œ000011โ€. Even if your watch had the magical serial number โ€œ000000โ€, youโ€™ll have to ascertain whether its collectible status is purely based on the serial number alone or because the 7N29-6A29 itself is a very sought after model, which is in my best opinion โ€“ unlikely. ๐Ÿ™

    Putting it in simple terms:

1. You get a lot of points if the watch model itself is highly collectible in the first place (regardless of the serial number). Collectors arenโ€™t that choosy with serial numbers โ€“ theyโ€™re more than happy to get whatever they can.
2. Add plus points if the watch condition is almost flawless and in working condition.
3. You wonโ€™t score as much if the watchโ€™s sole attraction is simply its serial number (e.g. โ€œ123456โ€, โ€œ888888โ€, โ€œ000000โ€, โ€œ333333โ€, โ€œ654321โ€, etc).
4. You will however, hit the jackpot if your watch has all three attributes above. ๐Ÿ™‚

I havenโ€™t seen an example of a 7N29-6A29, but its reference code is SGL034J. This is a U.S. export market model and your watch was assembled on October 1990. It is actually Watch #12 for the 7N29-6A29 made for that particular calendar date.

best regards,
Quartzimodo

Hi Quartzimodo.

Thanks for providing this wonderful service.

I have 3 watches, which I would like to verify:

1. 6145-8000, 929242
2. 6139-8040, 717950
3. 7006-7159, 361083

Cheers,
VJ

Hi VJ,

1. 6145-8000: This is wonderful vintage Grand Seiko dating to February 1969. Congrats, that is a rare find! ๐Ÿ™‚
2. 6139-8040: One of Seikoโ€™s attractive 6139 caliber chronographs. Yours is from January 1977.
3. 7006-7159: This sports watch was made for the U.S. market and came from the Daini factory in Japan. June 1973 was its birthdate.

These production dates assume that your watches are fitted with their original casebacks. If they had been switched at some point in time, the production year and month of your watches will be different. ๐Ÿ™‚

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

hi , would you mind help me with this seiko

550003

7t92-ojso

I dont really understand how to do this , but im trying. thx

Hi Crille,

Your watchโ€™s production date is either May 2005 or 2015. I cannot say which decade is the correct one, because I think you read the caseback code incorrectly. ๐Ÿ™‚

You could take photos (front and back) of your Seiko watch and upload them to www.tinypic.com. Next, reply to this comment with the link to your watch pics at Tinypic.

Quartzimodo.

Hi Mate, great site!

A904-5009 Digital

Serial 573228

Iโ€™m guessing July 1975?

Thanks for your help

Hi Gaz,

Iโ€™m more inclined to say that your Seiko digital watch was made in July 1985, rather than 1975 for three reasons. ๐Ÿ™‚

1. The A904 module has a chronograph function with split second timing and an alarm. Back in 1975, digital Seiko watches only offered the basic time and date display. Citizen was the first to manufacture a multi-function digital watch with its first Multi-Alarm model, circa 1978. As I recall it, Seiko made available multi-function digital watches only after 1979. I had one very nice multi-function Seiko digital watch (a newly arrived model with a different caliber) only in 1981.
2. The styling of the A904-5009 (yours is a U.S. export model) is more of a digital watch that was designed in the mid 1980s although the A904 module may have appeared a few years earlier.
3. The A904 module uses a single 3-volt, CR2016 lithium battery which powers your watch up to 7 years. Digital watches from 1975 would have used either disposable 1.55 volt silver oxide or alkaline button cells rather than the long life, lithium type.

A good thing about the CR2016 button battery is that itโ€™s still made to this day by battery manufacturers! You can find the CR2016 in various brands: Energizer, Panasonic, Maxell, Varta etc, even in convenience stores. Itโ€™s generally used in car remote fobs.

Wear your watch in good health! ๐Ÿ™‚
Quartzimodo.

Thanks for your help. Excellent reply as usual.

Gaz

Hello Quartzimodo,

Well-written article; you clearly know your stuff!

A question for you โ€“ I recently purchased two watches, a 7T32-6E40 and a 7T92-0CA0. Their serial numbers are, respectively, 354767 and 352435. I think the 7T32 was made in May 1993, but Iโ€™m not sure about the 7T92. Could you help me out with that? Any details about these models that may be of particular interest?

Cheers,
Robert

Hi Robert Nicks,

Thanks for the compliments, appreciate it! ๐Ÿ™‚

1. 7T32-6E40: You have an early 7T32 alarm-chronograph Seiko quartz watch dating to May 1993 and your calculation is spot on. Seiko made a several variations of this model with varying dial colors โ€“ grey, blue and black. This is a fully Japan made model for the Japanese domestic market and its reference code beginning with โ€œSBBPโ€ plus โ€œ10 BARโ€ (instead of โ€œ100Mโ€) are dead giveaways. Click here to see the entire Seiko SBBP family. Note that the first 4 models are most likely to be related to your exact model and they were likely to be released in the same period. The rest of the Seiko models were of later designs, judging from their broader hands. The last model in the family โ€“ the SBBP075 would have been sold in the early 2000s and this exact design was found in the early, Seiko Sportura lineup.

What makes the 7T32 caliber interesting is that the alarm subdial is a โ€œclockโ€ on its own and can operate independently from the main hour/minute dial. You can set it to a different time zone if you like. I set my 7T32 alarm subdials to GMT. Note that since the 6 oโ€™clock alarm indicator runs on its own, it can be very tricky to synchronize the minute hand precisely to the main dialโ€™s minute hand. If you manage to get the subdialโ€™s minute hand to sync with the main dial, both minute hands will advance in unison with one another. ๐Ÿ™‚

Sadly Seiko felt that the 7T32 movement was rather costly to manufacture, so they replaced it with the lower cost 7T62 caliber โ€“ which I think is still made to this day. The 7T62 dispenses with the mechanical second crown to set the alarm subdial hands and also the two left pushers. I think the 7T32 looks cool as it has three pushers and two crowns while the 7T62 conforms to the โ€œstandardโ€ 2 pusher + 1 main crown configuration that you see in many analog quartz chronograph timepieces.

2. 7T92-0CA0: Seiko made quite a few models from the 0CA0 caseback code as you can see. I wouldnโ€™t know which exact model that you own but I can tell you that yours is one of the earlier 7T92 models with an โ€œSNDโ€ prefix. The 7T92 became one of Seikoโ€™s very popular chronograph models โ€“ the company made so many variants that later models had the โ€œSNDGโ€ prefix plus a very odd โ€œSNDZโ€ prefix. Strangely, Seiko didnโ€™t use the fourth letter from โ€œHโ€ to โ€œYโ€ and I have no idea why they jumped from โ€œSNDGโ€ to โ€œSNDZโ€.

Do note that Seiko also made 7T92 caliber watches that donโ€™t use the prefix โ€œSNDโ€. The SBDQ series is just one of them that had different prefixes and there are many more 7T92 based JDM models that Iโ€™m not aware of. In all probability, yours is an early 7T92 model which means it was from May 2003. The 7T92 caliber came out circa 2002 or 2003 and replaced the legacy V657 caliber.
Compared to the V657, the 7T92 is much more superior and uses less power. In addition, itโ€™s able to time events up to 12 hours compared to only 60 minutes with the V657. The latter caliber uses a mechanical gear train to drive the elapsed minute counter and itโ€™s a pain having to reset the chronograph back to zero. The 7T92โ€™s elapsed hour and minute stopwatch has its own stepping motor and resets the chronograph very quickly. I have one old V657 chronograph and two 7T92s, so I know. ๐Ÿ™‚

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

Hi mate

SEIKO DIVER 4205-0150

SN: 250897

1992?

Thank you sir.

Regards

Gaz

Hi Gaz,

Your Seiko 4205-0150 is from May 1992 and was made by Seikoโ€™s Daini factory. The rectangular hour markers are reminiscent of those on the 2nd generation 6309-729x ad the 7002-700x divers. The 4205 caliber was designed for ladiesโ€™ watches and due to its small mass, balance wheel it was designed with an auxiliary hand-winding mechanism. It doesnโ€™t hack though but can be hand wound if needed.

Its predecessor is the 2205-0760/69 ladiesโ€™ diver that uses a more accurate, high beat 2205 movement. The 4205/4206 (with day/date display) are obsolete movements and have been replaced with the 4207 and the 4208 (date only). FWIW, the 4205-0150 is a collectible watch. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo.

Hi Quartzimodo,

Excellent website!

I was wondering if you could date my two Seiko watches for me. One is a 7T32-6E40 with serial number 354767 and the other is a 7T92-0CA0 with a serial number starting with 35. Any other information you have about these watches would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
Robert

Hi!

How do I know which letters are on the date?

Im watching this two models to buy one, but im not sure if they are going to bring the letters from date in english.

www.amazon.es/gp/product/B0012VR752/sr=8-3/qid=1457911123/ref=olp_product_details?ie=UTF8&me=&qid=1457911123&sr=8-3

and

www.amazon.es/gp/product/B00EVPMFUS/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza

Because in the first, the letters are โ€œSABโ€ instead of โ€œSATโ€.

And in the sencond, the letters are in english in the picture, but on a vรญdeo from youtube, in this โ€œK1โ€.. they arenโ€™t..

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZ8gVEKl5gw

Couldnโ€™t found a conclusion on internet, but found this site! Whyle im waiting sellers reply.. if they are honest.

Best regards,

Hi Rui,

I cannot verify whether Seiko has made some changes to the dual language format for its Seiko 5 watches, but Iโ€™ll tell you what I know. Before the year 2004, Seiko used to fit English/Spanish language calendar discs to its 7s26 range of watches. This includes the earlier batches of the SKX779K and SKX781K Black and Orange Monster divers as well as the Seiko 5 family (Seiko 5, Seiko 5 Sports and Seiko 5 Superior). At the time, some Seiko 5 automatics were available in English/Spanish and English/Roman numeral languages.

From 2004 onwards, Seiko stopped issuing the English/Spanish language format and switched to English/Roman numerals for the international market. It was cheaper for them to make only one version of the dual language instead of two; so they decided to stick to English/Roman. Itโ€™s possible that due to demand from the Spanish market (after all, the eBay seller is from Spain) that Seiko reintroduced the old English/Spanish calendar format. If you were to browse the sellerโ€™s other Seiko models, theyโ€™re showing the day-of-the-week in English instead of Spanish. ๐Ÿ™‚

Now, I have no idea if Seiko now makes a Spanish/Roman weekday version and if the company does, that is certainly news to me. In most likelihood, the watch in the picture has the English/Spanish version and is showing the Spanish weekday instead of English. In this case, watch owner has a choice whether to display the weekday in English or in Spanish.

Dual language weekday formats are also available in English/Japanese for the Japanese market and English/Arabic for the Middle East market. If you were to buy a Seiko 5 watch in Dubai, Jeddah or Abu Dhabi for example, itโ€™s likely to come with the English/Arabic dual language format. The reason is very simple: people in Arab countries converse and read Arabic rather than English. ๐Ÿ™‚

The reason that you canโ€™t find โ€œa conclusionโ€ on the Internet is because nobody thinks that having a Seiko watch with Spanish/Roman calendar format would be an issue. I have Seiko watches with English/Roman, English/Spanish and English/Japanese weekday languages, plus a very rare Seiko 7T59-6A0A 1/100sec chronograph that displays the weekday only in German language. That watch was a gift from a good friend who lives in Germany, therefore it was fitted with a German-only weekday calendar disc.

It wouldnโ€™t hurt for you to receive a confirmation from the seller but if you ask my opinion, I think the watch that youโ€™re looking at actually has the English/Spanish weekday format. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Hello.
I am looking around for any information about my Seiko I have. It say Seiko AGS on it and have a serialnumber 604440.
I hopa you can light some up for me.
Regards

Robert from Sweden

Hi Robert,

I also need to know the caliber and caseback number for your watch. It should be stamped at the back of your watch with the format XXXX-YYYY, e.g. 3M62-A60A. Since you have a vintage Seiko AGS watch, you might be interested in reading up on Kinetic watches. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo.

Hi!

Thanks a lot for quickly reply! I loved your explanations.

Im from Portugal, but I prefer English to Spanish. Iโ€™ll wait to see if sellerโ€™s reply to me.

I guess I would prefer English/Roman to Spanish if I could choose, but always with English there. Im weak in Spanish language.

Best regards from Portugal to you! ๐Ÿ™‚

Hi Rui,

Obrigado for the compliments, appreciate it! ๐Ÿ™‚

Just to add that for the European market, historically Seiko used to ship their watches with single weekday languages in French, Italian, German and Spanish โ€“ but none in Portuguese. For the pre Islamic revolution, Iranian market, the company also printed calendar discs in Farsi language. Iโ€™ve also read that Mandarin language was once printed for the China market but no one in the watch forums have shown pictures of actual Seiko watches with the Mandarin weekday calendar.

Seiko would print calendar discs in certain languages only if the company feels the regional market justifies their cost. For example, they never made available English/Indian language versions as there are various written languages in India but almost everyone there can read basic English. Therefore for the Indian/Pakistani markets, English/Roman would be the most cost effective language presentation. ๐Ÿ™‚

In any case, Spanish is also a widely spoken language in many countries (like Mexico and Latin American nations) so it makes sense for Seiko to bring back the English/Spanish format. They could print in Spanish/Roman instead but it would be easier to sell watches in English/Spanish I guess. ๐Ÿ™‚

Whatever you do, never change the dual language to English (or adjust the date) when the watchโ€™s time is from 9 pm to 2 a.m. If youโ€™re not sure whether the watch time is between 9pm-2am or 9am-2pm, change the time to 6 oโ€™clock (am or pm doesnโ€™t matter) and change the calendar first. After that you can synchronize the hands to the actual time. The reason for this is that watches with mechanical calendars start to change the calendar from 9pm-2am. Forcing the calendar to change during this period may damage the date changing mechanism.

Com os melhores cumprimentos da Malรกsia ๐Ÿ™‚
Quartzimodo

Hi again and thanks for quick reply.
The number on caseback is 5M42-0E00 but I am little concerned about the watch because on bottom of the dial it say 5M42 on left side of 6oclock and OG7o on the right side, shouldnt it be same as caseback.
I know its a kinetic but havent opened it up yet.

Regards
/Robert

Hi Robert,

Thank you for the information, that helps a lot. Itโ€™s the caliber/caseback number that identifies the watch family, while the dial will have the caliber/dial code to identify the actual color and design of the dial. The caseback and dial codes are always different from one another because in many instances, Seiko makes several variations from a certain caliber/caseback code. Furthermore in Seiko watch forums, members refer to watches by either the reference code or the caliber/caseback code. They donโ€™t use the dial code as itโ€™s never been a practice and makes identification confusing. ๐Ÿ™‚

Anyway, your watchโ€™s reference code is SCZD021. This is a Japan domestic market model and is one of Seikoโ€™s early โ€œSpiritโ€ models. The movement and the model itself has been long discontinued and your serial number puts this watchโ€™s production date at October 1996. There is a good probability that your watch is fitted with the Matsushita capacitor instead of the Maxell lithium ion rechargeable cell as early 5M42 AGS/Kinetic watches came with the lower capacity, capacitor.

Itโ€™s a very nice looking watch and quite rare, btw. Wear it in good health! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Thanks, it was a bargain so it makes me happy. It is very nice looking, I love the colour on the dial. And you are right, it say also Spirit on the dial.
I think the capacitor is changed though because it has been layibg for about 2 monthe and still not down to zero, still have charge.
I have another Seiko, sn: 851962 and 5M42-0G70, that watch I think have the old capacitor because it lasts only maybe 1 week before stops when not in use.

Regards
/Robert

Hi Robert,

If your Seiko AGS has a reserve power of two months in the drawer, then it is fitted with the Maxell TC-920S lithium cell. The first generation Kinetic Energy Supply Units (KESU) were capacitors and they were good for up to 2 weeks without recharging. There was an old article about Seiko recalling some 5M42 watches that were already shipped with the capacitors and replacing them with the high capacity, lithium ion cells but the specifics were not disclosed. By the time the 5M6x series Kinetic models came out in the early 2000s, they were already fitted with lithium ion cells.

Do note that the Maxell lithium ion cells have a finite lifespan and should be treated like just any device that use rechargeable lithium ion batteries. As the cells age, they begin to lose their ability to hold a sufficient energy charge. Ensuring that your watch is fully charged at all times will help to prolong the battery lifespan, while frequently allowing the watch to go completely dead will shorten its operational life. ๐Ÿ™‚

You really scored on that vintage Seiko Spirit SCZD021! I didnโ€™t know that Seiko sold this line as early as 1996. Most of the Seiko Spirit watches that are discussed in various watch forums are the later released models in automatic guise, rather than AGS/Kinetic. Anyway, the other Kinetic watch (5M42-0G70) that you own is from May 1998.

cheers,
Quartzimodo

Hi!!

Surprised for you to write so well in my language!! ๐Ÿ™‚

Thanks to your explanations about finding the origin of Seiko models, and to FULL HD videos from youtube, I manage to know that Seiko SNK607 is a 7S26 model! And the KDL45K1 is also 7S something.

So, this is the instructions manual from Seiko site, and seems to have dual language!!!

www.seikowatches.com/support/ib/pdf/SEIKO_4R15_16_35_36_7S26_35_36.pdf

About Portugal, we never have language in anything.. too much football, very little cultureโ€ฆ its sad, but I have to leave with it.

Terima kasih! (is it? โ€“ power of Google translator! eheheh)

hi there

i hope you may be able to help me identify the following watch 090098 H601-0010

it is stainless steel with a light coloured face and is also engraved Japan.

I was planning on giving it to charity if it has any value.

Thank you

Hi Vix,

The Seiko H601-0010 is a rare analog-digital sports watch. It is somewhat collectible but because itโ€™s not the Seiko watch that appeared in Arnold Schwarzeneggerโ€™s action flicks in the mid 80s, itโ€™s just another analog-digital Seiko timepiece. Depending on the dial color and overall condition, a H601-0010 averages about US$150 on eBay.

This watch was likely to have been made on September 1990.

regards,
Quartimodo.

Thank you for your prompt response.

Is there anything else you can tell me about the watch face colour please?

Best wishes

Vix

Hi Vix,

Sorry I donโ€™t really comprehend your question. Seiko made the H601-0010 with a variety of dial colors and without a scanned catalog of this actual model, I have no idea how many variations there really are. This is a long discontinued model and whatever you see from the โ€˜net is what you get.

Just Google for โ€œH601-0010โ€ and youโ€™ll see what I mean.

Quartzimodo

Thank you โ€“ I had no idea that there was a variety of dial colours made.

Once again thank you for your kindness and time.

Vix

Hello.
Thank you for your earlier answers about my watches.
I have a question about another watch now. Its also an AGS but have a broken movement inside. I have a spare 7M22 movement so I hope I can get a working watch.
Its a 7M22-6B09 and serial: 030150.
I hope you can give me some more info about this watch.

Regards
Robert from Sweden

Hi Robert,

The 7M22-6B09 Kinetic is also known as the SDM100J model. The 7M22 caliber is seldomly seen compared to its more common, sibling calibers like the 3M22 and 5M22 based Kinetics. Since the 7M22 is one of Seikoโ€™s earliest Kinetics, watches with this movement are branded as the โ€œAGSโ€ range. The movement takes the old Matsushita EEWCW 2R4E-334 capacitor (not a rechargeable battery) with a rather short charge lasting up to 72 hours.

I donโ€™t know if this capacitor is interchangeable with the Panasonic ML-920 rechargeable lithium ion cell, as the ML-920 outputs 3 volts at full charge, while the original capacitor has max potential difference of a mere 2.3 Volts. The ML-920 may still drive the movement but I donโ€™t know whether applying the over-voltage will cause any long term ill effects to the watch.

The SDM100J isnโ€™t one of those watches that would pique the average vintage Seiko watch collectorโ€™s interest to hunt down for one. Having said that, this model doesnโ€™t have any historical significance or value to it either. There are many other early AGS/Kinetic models that have become largely forgotten, unless itโ€™s a true diverโ€™s watch.

I found as sample case on eBay and maybe youโ€™d be interested in taking a look at this. ๐Ÿ™‚

BTW, the 7M22-6B09 is unreservedly from March 1990.

Skรฅl,
Quartzimodo

Hi,
Iโ€™ve came across a Seiko SGF719 Serial#: 040925
Movement 7N43
Case/model 9070

It has a non-functioning day/date. Otherwise very sweet condition.
Can you tell me if this was an older, better made version than the newer ones seen on Amazon etc. under $100?

Also Iโ€™m assuming it was made april 2000?

Do you think it would be worth having repaired and any idea of itโ€™s value and approx. cost of repair in general?

Thanks in advance.

Hi Mark,

Iโ€™m inclined to say that your Seiko SFG719 was made on April 2010, because you can find this watch still being sold by some Amazon merchants. I highly doubt that it dates all the way back to the beginning of the Millennium. Since this is a model that was introduced โ€œfairly recentlyโ€ (when it comes to watches, six years is considered as recent), I am of the opinion that your watch is more or less the same as the latest 7N43 quartz gentsโ€™ models.

I cannot say how much it will cost you in repairs as it depends on the following factors:

1. The country that you live in. Seiko service centers in Southeast Asia generally charge lower than those in the U.S., Australia/New Zealand, South America and Europe.
2. The parts that need to be replaced.
3. Whether you plan to send the watch to a third party watch repair store or to the official Seiko service center in your region.

Is it worth getting repaired? Hereโ€™s the rub: you can get a brand new, shiny SGF719 from Amazon for US$99.99 with a one yearโ€™s warranty to boot. The only reason you should repair this watch if it carries some sentimental value to you. As for this watchโ€™s value, it shouldnโ€™t get any higher than what you can get it for brand new. Therefore youโ€™re probably looking at fifty bucks thereabouts. ๐Ÿ™‚

There are pretty nice looking, newer SGG-series (your watch is the SGF-series) Seiko watches with varying designs too. Check โ€™em out. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Good morning. Iโ€™m looking for a bit of info on a watch my wife gave me on our wedding dayโ€ฆ45 years ago. Itโ€™s a chronometer, and the serial number (which just befuddles the serial number calculators) is 0n5178. Itโ€™s a real Seiko, I had it into the factory once. But I havenโ€™t worn it in decades. Any idea of the value would be wonderful too.
Larry Laatsch
[email protected]

Hi Larry,

I need more information than just your description that your Seiko watch is a โ€œchronometerโ€ and the watch serial numbers. Take a clear photo of it (front and back) and upload to free image upload sites like Tinypic.com. The caliber and caseback codes must be visible and legible in your photos.

thanks.
Quartzimodo

I just asked you (copy of my email) โ€ Good morning. Iโ€™m looking for a bit of info on a watch my wife gave me on our wedding dayโ€ฆ45 years ago. Itโ€™s a chronometer, and the serial number (which just befuddles the serial number calculators) is 0n5178. Itโ€™s a real Seiko, I had it into the factory once. But I havenโ€™t worn it in decades. Any idea of the value would be wonderful too.
Larry Laatsch
[email protected]
and you replied (wow!) rather quickly the following โ€œHi Larry,
I need more information than just your description that your Seiko watch is a โ€œchronometer" and the watch serial numbers. Take a clear photo of it (front and back) and upload to free image upload sites like Tinypic.com. The caliber and caseback codes must be visible and legible in your photos.
thanks.
Quartzimodo

Iโ€™ve made 8 really decent photos of the front and back of the watch, but I donโ€™t see where to send them, as you requested. Iโ€™ll see if this message que gives me any option. I did try your website, but OMG, how confusing.

Nope. Canโ€™t attach to this. EXACTLY where do you want them sent or forwarded?

I received a Seiko micky mouse watch as gift years ago. When was it made? The numbers on the back are 433303 and 7T32-6E90. Thanking you in advance. Arthur Bennett

Hi Arthur,

Thanks for the A2A question! Your Seiko 7T32-6E90 was manufactured in March 1994. It was likely to have been fully assembled by the Seiko factory in Japan, if the dial text shows โ€œJAPANโ€ instead of โ€œMOVโ€™T JAPANโ€.

Wear that Mickey 7T32 in good health! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Hi,
I have a Seiko watch that belonged to my late husband, who passed 16 years ago. The watch has not been worn for at least 20 years or more. The metal band is missing 2 pieces of the 3 piece snap together part. I donโ€™t know if it can be repaired or if the band should be replaced. Otherwise the watch is in excellent condition. It has been boxed up for more than 10 years and it started working after a few minutes of handling. I found this site yesterday and have been reading some of the comments looking for my watch but didnโ€™t see any. The watch is a 6117-8000, SN 873109. Iโ€™ve read enough that I think it was made in July 1968. It has a navigation timer. Is there anything else you can tell me about the watch and what it might be worth, as I want to sell it? And also, could you direct me to a place that might be interested in buying it (if itโ€™s worth anything)? Thanks for the site and all the info. Amazing. Forever grateful.

Kat

Hi Kathy,

Thank you for asking. Iโ€™m sorry to learn that your husband is no longer around and that one of his items which he had left is a Seiko 6117-8000 โ€œNavigator Timerโ€. You are indeed correct with the date of production; it was manufactured back in July 1968 from the serial number. ๐Ÿ™‚

Actually two of the most popular Seiko 6117 models are the 6117-8000 โ€œNavigator Timerโ€ and the 6117-6400 โ€œWorld Timeโ€. Both watches are based on the same 6117 movement and have a third 24-hour indicator hand, with a total of 4 moving hands including the ticking second hand. The 6117-6400 appears to be easier to find on eBay compared to the 6117-8000 which makes the Navigator Timer slightly more valuable than the World Time model.

To complicate matters a little further, Seiko also made another variation of the 6117-8000, which is the 6117-6410 with an inner rotating 24-hour bezel (manipulated by the main crown) while the 6117-8000 has an externally rotating 24-hour bezel. The 6117-8000 came out earlier than the 6117-6410 and comes in a slim case, while the 6117-6400/6410 models have a wider โ€œcushion shapedโ€ caseback.

A quick check on eBay shows a bevy of 6117 type vintage watches for sale, with asking (Buy-It-Now) prices ranging from US$245 to US$993, depending on the condition of the watch. A mint condition 6117-8000 in its original form, almost no scratches and the caseback details crisp and readable (no modifications or after market parts) may conservatively, fetch at least US$500.

Do note that a mint condition 6117-8000 with a BIN price of US$993 (thereโ€™s an ongoing eBay listing as I write this) may not necessarily end with a buyer paying that much for it. If the seller manages to find a buyer who has the money and desperately wants that watch, the buyer will be very fortunate indeed -considering that his piece doesnโ€™t come with the original stainless steel bracelet.

Finding original replacement bands for vintage Seiko watches is like looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack. Most would have been sold by Seiko dealers worldwide and I very much doubt that Seiko Japan has any left that they can spare. Watch bands are one of the outer components of a watch that are often replaced (due to wear-and-tear or missing links); and Seiko itself does not produce spare parts for models that have been out of production after a period of 7-8 years.

It is however, remotely possible that some watch collector somewhere in the world may have unused, original bracelets for the 6117-800 for keepsakes. The problem is whether that collector is willing to part with it in the first place. ๐Ÿ™

Regardless, the 6117-8000 can also be worn on a lovely leather strap since the watch has โ€œregularโ€ lugs. I have an old brown dialed, 6117-6400 myself that I bought on eBay a decade ago and it came with a dinky, cheap aftermarket bracelet. I donโ€™t like aftermarket bracelets therefore I replaced it with a matching leather band.

You can have a look at 6117-8000 Navigator Timers up for auction or Buy-It-Now listing on eBay to get an idea what your husbandโ€™s watch may fetch on the second hand market. Alternatively, you could browse the โ€œFSโ€ (For Sale) listings for this watch here. If that doesnโ€™t work, you may need to register as a member of the SCWF forum first.

BTW, if youโ€™ve decided to sell the watch itโ€™s preferable that you donโ€™t do anything to it (like sending it for a service) if the watch works fine. Itโ€™s better to sell it โ€œas isโ€ and let the buyer decide if he would undertake the servicing or accuracy regulating job. Some collectors are finicky and if they are experts at servicing vintage watches, theyโ€™d rather do it themselves.

best of luck,
Quartzimodo

I got a Seiko ladies bracelet watch. It has on the back
Seiko
base metal top
st. steel back
980736
11-3949
the front of the face on top says Seiko and on the bottom JapanII 282OR
Is this a real Kinetic Seiko?? if yes what year approx.
Thank you.

Hi Hanneke,

You have a vintage hand-wind Cal 11A Seiko ladiesโ€™ watch. It was manufactured by Seikoโ€™s Daini factory back in August 1969 and is very likely to be a U.S. export market model.

Please note that this watch is neither a Kinetic nor an automatic watch. A Kinetic watch is basically a quartz controlled timepiece with electronics that is powered by a capacitor or a rechargeable battery, which in turn is charged via wrist movement. Seiko did not invent the kinetic powered technology until the very late 1980s and it was originally called โ€œAuto Quartzโ€ and later, โ€œAGSโ€ before changing to the patented trade name, โ€œKineticโ€.

Your Seiko is a pure mechanical watch that requires daily winding of its main spring via the crown. Hand-wind only watches have no self-winding (automatic) mechanism and the only way to get it running is to make sure to wind the crown repeatedly (in its locked position) until it feels a little tight. Take care not to over-wind the crown lest you break its main spring.

Automatic watches are called โ€œautomaticโ€ as they have a oscillating balance weight inside the watch. As you wear it and move around, the weight spins and automatically winds the main spring. Some automatic watches have an auxiliary hand-winding capability to quickly wind the main spring but most low cost Seiko watches (whether new or vintage) do not. As such they can only be wound through swirling the watch in your hand or by wearing it daily.

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo.

I have been wearing my Step-fatherโ€™s Seiko almost daily ever since my Mother gave it to me after he passed away in December, 1981.

As far as I can remember, I have only had a new battery installed a few times. The last time, a few years ago, I ask the jeweler if he would give it a thorough cleaning and he refused, saying that he couldnโ€™t clean a quartz watch.

Questions:

Is it true what he says about cleaning a quartz watch?

Can you tell me the approximate age of the watch?

Here is the information from the back:

823958

TL

7646-8049

Water Resistant

Stainless Steel

Thank You.

Hi Ron in Ohio,

I have no record of a caliber called โ€œ7646โ€ but Seiko did manufacture quartz watches with the โ€œ7546โ€ caliber. I assume that you may have made a typographical error and your fatherโ€™s old watch is actually the 7546-8049. The 7546 was one of Seikoโ€™s earliest analog quartz movements that came about in the mid 1970s.

I should think the majority of 7546 movements were fitted to gentsโ€™ dress watches while a few were made into the old SQ 100 Sports โ€œdiver styleโ€ timepieces. Your Seiko was manufactured in Feb 1978 by the Seiko Suwa factory in Japan, making it 38 years old this year. ๐Ÿ™‚

Can quartz watches be cleaned? Well, it depends on your definition of โ€œwatch cleaningโ€. Mechanical watch movements can be stripped apart right down to the smallest pinion and gear cog, with each removable component given a batch in an ultrasonic cleaning bath. They are then dried carefully and with moving parts re-lubricated and the individual parts reassembled.

When it comes to quartz watches, you have an electronic printed circuit board (PCB), an induction coil and electronic stepping motors that drive the watch hands. The PCB itself consists of micro soldered transistors, a quartz crystal, resistors, capacitors and integrated circuit (IC) chips. You donโ€™t want to dip a quartz watch module into an ultrasonic cleaning bath and thereโ€™s no way to repair stepping motors (they are replaced in whole).

At best, the moving parts of a quartz watch module would be the stepper motors which can be slightly lubricated to eliminate unwanted friction and any dirt and grime found on the PCB board cleaned with an electronic contact cleaner spray and dust gently blown away with compressed air. I think the reason your jeweler doesnโ€™t want to โ€œcleanโ€ the watch module is because the watch itself is almost four decades old.

Should anything untoward happen to your watch module, there is no way that he is able to rectify mistakes. A simple short circuit can render the entire quartz module useless; and the micro soldered electronic components cannot be individually replaced. In fact, the general practice is to replace the entire watch module; and Seiko no longer carries replacement quartz modules for a watch of that vintage. Furthermore, itโ€™s unlikely that he has a copy of the technical manual for the 7546 quartz movement with instructions detailing the internal movement assembly.

Probably the most your jeweler can do is to use compressed air to rid of any dust thatโ€™s accumulated on the watch module and lubricate the stepping motors, but thatโ€™s about as safe as it gets. He should be able to clean the inside of the watch crystal and the watch dial, plus the mechanical gears that rotate the calendar disc.

Even Seiko service centers today generally donโ€™t repair faulty quartz modules but replace the entire movement. I can relate to this, as recently I had a late model Seiko 8F56 Perpetual Calendar GMT watch that went dead for some unknown reason. The movement is not serviceable therefore I had to pay for an entirely brand new 8F56 quartz module. Forty years from now, I doubt if Seiko Japan will still carry replacement 8F56 movements.

So there you go. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

hi Quartzmodo,

I recently purchased a vintage Seiko 5 6309-5140 tv dial. the SN is 050919.
what does the โ€œFโ€ IN Japan F stand for? and is it a rare watch.

thanks,

Matt

Hi Matthew,

My sincerest apologies for not being able to reply to your post in time. ๐Ÿ™

The โ€œFโ€ letter (or โ€œAโ€, โ€œGโ€, etc) followed by the โ€œJAPANโ€ inscription is believed to denote the case type. Itโ€™s one of those cryptic letters that only certain Seiko service center staff may know. So far I have not come across any information that explains what the different letters really stand for, sorry. If I knew what they meant, I would have written a comprehensive post on the caseback symbols long ago. ๐Ÿ™‚

Anyway, the 6309-5140 and just about any vintage Seiko watch that resembles a TV screen is a rare find. Not everyone likes the styling though, which is why modern day Seiko watches no longer look like that. Your watch was manufactured by Seikoโ€™s Suwa factory in Japan, circa May 1980.

Wear that rare 6309 in good health. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Hey mate

Iโ€™ve got this Seiko watch that was given to me by my Aunt and i canโ€™t find any information on it. The watch is gold and has a stainless steel back. 7NO1-6061 and the serial number is 280008

Can you help me to find correct battery for my fathers Seiko watch?
Serial 461261
Movement 6923 7099
Thanks for all your efforts in helping others.

Hi Grant,

Thanks for the compliment. ๐Ÿ™‚

Your dadโ€™s Seiko SQ 6923-7099 takes a Seiko/Maxell SR926SW or an Energizer 395/399 1.55 volt, silver oxide cell. Iโ€™m not familiar with this caliber and all I can tell is that it was a North American market model and was manufactured by Seikoโ€™s Daini factory. Date of manufacture is most probably June 1984.

From what Iโ€™ve gathered, this model is rather unique as it has a faceted crystal โ€“ a trend with some Seiko automatic watches back in the 1970s. I donโ€™t recall seeing quartz Seiko dress watches with a faceted glass from the 1980s; but itโ€™s always a pleasant surprise learning about the models that Iโ€™ve not seen before. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo.

hi I have a Seiko automatic 17 jewel number is : 831461 stainless steel 7009-8289-P. can you tell me what year and what month. is run very good. thanks

Hi Quinn,

Your Seiko 7009-8289 is likely to have been made on March 1988.

Quartzimodo

HI GOT A OLD โ€œSEIKO QUARTZโ€ WATCH THAT IS BROKEN, I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE YEAR OF PRODUCTION AND TRY TO SHIP IT TO SOMEONE WHO COULD RESTORE IT. THE SERIAL NUMBER OF THIS WATCH IS 1606110478. COULD YOU TELL ME WHEN SHE WAS PRODUCED?
THANKS
JEAN-FRANCOIS CISSELL
[email protected]

Hi Jean-Francois,

Iโ€™ll need to see a photo of your actual watch, as the serial number that you gave me doesnโ€™t make any sense actually. You can upload clear photos of your watch to a free image hosting site, like TinyPic and give me the direct links to your images in your follow up reply.

Quartzimodo

i have a seiko 7009 automatic and dont know if it is from either 1990 or 1980. 7009-3179. and serial: 080227. your help will be very much appreciated! greetings

Hi Stefan,

Your Seiko 5 7009-3179 would have been made on August 1990 if youโ€™re able to see the text โ€œMovโ€™t Singaporeโ€ at the bottom of the dial. If your dial shows just โ€œJAPAN 7009โ€ then it would have been made 10 years earlier (Aug 1980) in Japan. Iโ€™m not sure when this model first came out although the 7009 movement originally came out sometime in the 1970s.

This particular watch is also a U.S. export model, designated by the number โ€œ9โ€ at the end of your caseback code.

hope this helps!
Quartzimodo

Hello.

I was wondering if you could help me find out more about my vintage Seiko Lassale. ON the back of the watch etched:

BASE METAL
ST STEEL BACK
6730-5599 (RO)
2D0103

I have done many searches for my watch and have never seen one like the one I own. According to your serial number information I guess it must be from 1982.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Gary

Hi Gary,

Thanks for commenting. I donโ€™t have much information on the short lived Seiko Lassale series but it was a sub-brand which the Seiko company introduced in the early 1980s. The 6730A quartz movement that powers your timepiece has to be a pretty slim module, since Lassale watches tended to be of the wafer thin design.

This 14 jeweled 6730A module was used only for certain models from the Lassale range and was never fitted to other Seiko branded watches. It uses a Seiko or Maxell TR712 silver oxide cell, with an estimated 2 year battery change interval. The 6730A is a very simple complication with just the hour and minute hands and it moves the minute hand every twenty seconds. I presume this is a battery saving feature since the watchโ€™s stepping motor doesnโ€™t have to increment the minute hand precisely every second.

From the serial number which you have furnished, December 1982 has to be the correct manufacturing date as I donโ€™t think the Lassale series survived into well into the 1990s. ๐Ÿ™‚

best regards,
Quartzimodo

Hi admin, i just bought seiko5 watch without checking its originality

tinypic.com/r/iwlqnd/9

it says Ref.SNK892K1
there is no sign of where this watch has been made.
there is serial number 565459 on the side of the back near adjustment button(not in the glass)
and case number 7S26-04F0
there is number 501S1 on guarantee card.
for more info, on the store there is couple of this watch for men (larger strap and case)
i hardly found this watch on google thats why i`m affraid. Can u tell me any information about this model please?

Hi Teja,

Iโ€™ve never seen this particular model (the SNK892K) before, but rest assured itโ€™s a genuine Seiko 5 watch. ๐Ÿ™‚

Itโ€™s also a fairly recent model, as indicated by โ€œ7S26Cโ€ text engraved on the oscillating weight. That means your watch also has to be from June 2015. If this model were from the year 2005, it would have been fitted with the first generation 7S26A movement. Furthermore, back in 2005 Seiko did not mark the see-thru caseback of their Seiko 5 automatics with โ€œ5 Barsโ€, which is equivalent to 50 metersโ€™ water resistance rating.

Your watch, including other Seiko 5 automatics that came out since the mid 1980s is assembled in China. The 7S26C movement is likely to have been produced by Seikoโ€™s factory in Malaysia. However Iโ€™m not sure if by the year 2015 the Seiko company had shifted mechanical movement production from Malaysia to China.

When it comes to Seiko 5 watches, only the popular and collectible models are discussed on watch forums โ€“ most especially certain vintage Seiko 5 watches. Seiko makes countless models for their Seiko 5 range every year, so itโ€™s difficult to keep track of every single watch model the company has ever produced. If you follow the various Internet watch forums on the Seiko brand, youโ€™ll notice that itโ€™s the Seiko diverโ€™s models, automatic chronographs and mid-range/high end mechanical Seiko watches that are usually discussed. Itโ€™s even worse with Seiko/Citizen/Orient wall and table clocks; almost nobody talks about them โ€“ so you get no additional information on specific wall and table clocks, let alone reviews. ๐Ÿ™‚

Itโ€™s the same with Casio timepieces. You can find blogs and sites dedicated to Casioโ€™s popular G-Shock, Pro-Trek and Frogman digital watches, but probably none on Casioโ€™s contemporary Edifice and non-G Shock models.

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo Admin.

Hi there

I bought a wind up Seiko from a man in Canada.
On the dial it says Seiko Super
There is no date window on the face.
the case looks to be about a 30mm
The back case number is: 527792
Above that is: 13025
Itโ€™s got a lot of patina on the face. It seems to run fine.
Can you tell me anything about this watch?

Hi John,

Youโ€™ve scored a really old Seiko watch there. I had to look it up and found one or two great looking examples on eBay with relatively clean dials, selling for a little more than US$200. Iโ€™m afraid I donโ€™t know anything about the history of this particular model but it was designed in the 1950s.

Assuming that back then the old Seikosha company used serial numbers with the first two digits designating the year and month, your watch would have been made in February 1955! The fact that itโ€™s running fine to this day is a great testament to Seikoโ€™s watchmaking technology. Pretty amazing for a 61 year old timepiece. ๐Ÿ™‚

As for the patina on the dial, you may want to consider having it professionally cleaned by a watch restorer and the movement regulated for the best time keeping accuracy.

Enjoy your Seiko Super in good health! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Hi,
My grandfather left me his Sekio5 watch recently and although itโ€™s in need of some serious repairs Iโ€™d like to know a bit more about it.I have no idea about any history of the watch or when it was made. The back of the case reads:
Sekio
Water resistant
091162
Japan-KY
Stainless Steel 7009-8040

The text on the bottom of the watch face reads:
Japan 7009-850L D

I hope this helps. Any information is greatly appreciated.

Hi Dylan,

You happen to have one of the many variations of the Seiko 5 automatic which Seiko sold since the late 1960s. The 7009A caliber is a fully automatic (non hacking, no auxiliary manual winding) 17 jeweled mechanism. It is an inexpensive Daini manufactured movement and has been fitted to many Seiko and Seiko 5 gentsโ€™ watches in its day. The 7009 was finally replaced by the 21 jeweled, 7s26A caliber in 1996.

There is no historical significance attached to this model and it was one of the countless, simple Seiko 5 automatics that were sold back then. Seiko also made many variants based on the -8040 caseback designation and they all have the classic 38mm diameter polished case with 19mm lugs. Only the watch hands and dials differ from one model to another.

You didnโ€™t state what components need to be repaired. If the mechanical innards need to be repaired, it might be much cheaper to find a used Seiko 7009 in good running condition on eBay and have the whole movement from the donor watch transplanted, rather than repaired. ๐Ÿ™‚ It doesnโ€™t have to be a specific 7009 Seiko; any 7009 will do fine.

From the serial numbers which you have provided, I would put this watchโ€™s manufacturing date at September 1980.

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

What info could you provide me concerning my Seiko Lassale ladies watch #8420 5489 RO? I am also looking for a replacement band.
Thanks,

Hi Freddia,

Your Seiko Lassale is an ultra-thin dress quartz watch with just a basic hour and minute hands. The Lassale sub-brand was introduced in 1982 when the Seiko Time Corporation bought over the ailing Swiss based, Jean Lassale Watch company. Seiko kept the Lassale name as to add the โ€œSwiss influenceโ€ to this range of watches. Your particular model was meant for export to North America.

Its gold plated band (P/N: ALL76G) is very unique and integral to this watch, which means alternative bracelets may not look good on the watch head. You can wear it on a leather strap, but unfortunately the watch lug design is so narrow that youโ€™ll have to make cut-away modifications to the leather straps in order to fit into the lugs. I wouldnโ€™t recommend modifying the leather band as it is likely to snap off from the watch spring bar.

If itโ€™s not possible to source for a new old stock bracelet from the Seiko service center, you could consider buying this same watch on eBay and transplanting the bracelet onto your watch though.

good luck! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo.

my Seiko 5 is with 7s26c movement โ€“ serial number 272162 โ€“ what year of production is..

Hi Tom5,

A 7s26C movement puts your Seiko 5โ€™s date of production at July 2012.

Quartzimodo.

Hello,
apologize if I spell something wrong,my English is still not the best:)

Iโ€™ve got really nice looking-oldskool
Seiko hand winded 17 jewels,

Japan 7625-1910R (says at the front)
7625-1990, 5603959 (at the back)

Can you tell me production date and whatever you may know about?

Thank You very much from Poland ๐Ÿ™‚

Hello Adrian,

Your Seiko 7625-1990 is actually an automatic (self-winding) watch, and not the manual hand winding type. This 17 jeweled movement was also used for some Seiko watches such as the Seiko Sea Horse and Seiko Sportsmatic from the 1960s. The 7625 is a simple, low cost mechanism and itโ€™s a low beat movement, rated at 18,000 beats per hour or 5 ticks per second. It is also fitted with Seikoโ€™s patented, anti-shock feature which the company called โ€œDiaShockโ€.

Seiko no longer made low beat movements after the 7625 and replaced it with calibers like the 6119 (also discontinued), which has the โ€œstandardโ€ beat rate of 21,600 bph (6 ticks per second). A higher beat rate equates to improved timekeeping accuracy but at the cost of increased internal wear and tear of the moving components.

Your watch was manufactured in June 1965, making it more than fifty one years old today. ๐Ÿ™‚

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

just got back from a company and we had a present. a seiko but on our way how we were wundering if it was fake or real. serial 491474 type 7t92-oedo. can you see with that if were Llucky or dubble crossed

Hi freek,

A Seiko 7T92-0ED0 would be something like the SND451P, SND449P or SND419P model and it should be an original Seiko watch. If you really want me to โ€œseeโ€ whether itโ€™s really genuine, upload clear photos of your watch to TinyPic and reply to this comment with the links to your pics.

Quartzimodo.

thatโ€™s the answer what was looking for.

Thank you

๐Ÿ™‚

Hi Quartzimodo,

I was trying to find more information on a Seiko from my late grandfather. It has the production number 9N7921 and model number 5Y23-7050. What would be the production date of this watch and can you tell me anything else about it?

Hi Daryl,

The 5Y23 is a basic quartz movement from the late 80s and was fitted to various gentsโ€™ watch models under Seikoโ€™s โ€œSQโ€ line. Itโ€™s been long discontinued and itโ€™s likely arenโ€™t any replacement parts available from Seiko Japan. 5Y23 caliber watches are not a collectorโ€™s item; they were just one of those basic Seiko quartz watches that were commonly sold at the time. As such, there is no historical significance to this particular watch model.

The 1-jeweled 5Y23 module takes the widely available, Seiko/Maxell SR920SW or Energizer #371 silver oxide button cell. Its nominal operational life is 3 years between battery changes. From a few examples of images of the 5Y23-7050 that I looked at, I would say that your watch was from November 1989.

Quartzimodo Admin.

I have recently purchased SEIKO 5 automatic 21 jewels 7s26 03ร—0, serial no. is 330609 glass back cover

Please tell me which made is this & year of mfg.?

Hi Ketan,

Could you kindly check your movement version? Youโ€™ll need to read this off the oscillating weight (the half moon shaped metal plate that spins around) which you should be able to see via the glass back cover. Does it say โ€œ7S26Aโ€, โ€œ7S26Bโ€ or โ€œ7S26Cโ€?

thanks,
Quartzimodo

Hi Quartzimodo, thanks for checking!

I am trying to find out information about my seiko watch , Iโ€™ve checked it out online but I am not able to get any info on it . The info on the back case is like this 2a32-5140 R0, Japan B with a small lightning like symbol beside it and below that there is a serial number 461879.

It is in amazing condition though I guess it is from the 80โ€™s although the bottom part of the buckle has blackened a bit. Also whatโ€™s the small symbol.

Thanks !

Hi Hisham,

You have a Seiko quartz dress watch that was made in June 1984.

The lightning symbol that you see on the watch caseback means that the 2A32 quartz movement was manufactured by Seikoโ€™s Daini (later renamed Seiko Instruments Inc) factory, instead of their Suwa plant in Japan. The 2-jeweled 2A32 module has long been discontinued; and as with many Seiko quartz movements from the early 80s, has an adjustable trimmer condenser (or capacitor) to fine tune the watchโ€™s accuracy. Modern Seiko quartz movements no longer have the trimmer condenser adjustment.

The 2A32 uses a Seiko or Maxell TR621SW silver oxide button cell or its equivalent.

That trident-like symbol at the 12 oโ€™clock position refers to the early Seiko Galaxy line of quartz watches from the 80s. This symbol is somewhat confusing as it resembles the trident that is printed on Seikoโ€™s high end, Seiko Credor models. The company no longer uses that symbol for its Galaxy line in the 1990s; and the Galaxy range itself has since disappeared from the market.

Hope this answers your question and wishing you a Happy New Year! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo

Hey again sorry I missed one detail , hereโ€™s the url for the watch , whatโ€™s the small symbol at the place of 12 thanks again ?

s23.postimg.org/7b8k1dyfv/20161229_103229.jpg

Hi!
I have a Seiko 5y23 โ€“ 6069 Sports 150 and its serial code is 862278. How can i know if itโ€™s from late 80โ€™s or 90โ€™s? Who knows when Seiko stopped this watch production? Look at the pictures of this model. Cheers from Italy!

c2.staticflickr.com/4/3682/19531515235_cf946d2b42_b.jpg

Ciao Tony,

You have a very nice and rare Seiko 5Y23-6069 and I believe this model was sold in North America. Itโ€™s not a diverโ€™s watch but a sporty watch that looks like a diverโ€™s model. ๐Ÿ™‚

This is a 1980s model and from its serial number, it was manufactured in June 1988. Not much is known about this particular model and itโ€™s possible that Seiko discontinued it by the mid 1990s. Although itโ€™s a nice looking watch, itโ€™s not really sitting high on most Seiko collectorsโ€™ hit lists. This watch was fully assembled in Japan by the Seiko Suwa factory.

I migliori saluti,
Quartzimodo

Hi!

I have a Seiko 5y23 โ€“ 6069 sports 150 and the serial code is 862278. How can i know if itโ€™s from late 80โ€™s or 90โ€™s? When did Seiko stopped this watch production? Thanks in advance and cheers from Italy!

c2.staticflickr.com/4/3682/19531515235_cf946d2b42_b.jpg

Hi I have been left a Seiko Automatic watch with date numeral, and would like to know when it was made .The number on the back is 393348 / 7005-2000. Thanks in advance

Hi Denis,

The 7005 is the date-only version of the 7006 caliber (with day display), and both movements came out sometime towards the late 1960s. I am not sure when Seiko discontinued the 7005/7006 series but your particular watch was manufactured on Sept 1973. This watch was made by Seikoโ€™s Daini plant in Japan.

hope that helps,
Quartzimodo

Hi Quartzimodo
Can you tell me anything about a tiny ladies watch left to me by my mother? it is a very small rounded-square gold watch with a yellow face and two gold hands. It has SEIKO above the hands and a tiny lightning bolt symbol below the hands. the glass has tiny bevels all around its edge. it has JAPAN at the bottom of the face.Numbers 8400238 on the back.
the leather band has gold lettering MADE IN CANADA at one end and ??SUEDE/ MMR on the other end. Thank You

Hi Greg,

Youโ€™ll need to furnish me with the caliber and caseback numbers which you should be able to find at the back of the watch. Without this information there is no way I will know what model it is. Reply to this post when you have the info.

best regards,
Quartzimodo

Goodmorning Quartzimodo,

I have a stanless steel seiko watch (i donโ€™t know the type) with golden digits and hands. I got for my birthday over 20 years ago and when i got it, i thought it was already an older model. The wristband is broken and i am thinking about having it refurbished.
What i would like to know is how old it is. I think it is at least 30 years old but i am not sure.
The plate says: 7009-449RR
The backcasing says:
135019
stainless steel
water resistant KF > 7009-876A and the letter F inside a square.
Thank you very much in advance.
Greetings fom the Netherlands.

Goedemorgen Mark,

Your Seiko 5 7009-876A was likely to have been manufactured in March, 1991. The 7009 is a 17-jewel, low cost automatic movement that Seiko introduced in the mid 1970s and had a fairly long production run until it was finally replaced with the 7s26A in 1996.

Seiko made lots of 7009 models, especially the -3110 and -867A caseback designs. Models based on these cases were quite popular that even when the company stopped making the 7009 movement, Seiko continued manufacturing Seiko 5 automatics of these designs using the replacement 7s26 caliber.

The Seiko 5 7009-3110 is an example of a best selling Seiko 5 design as its bezel bears a resemblance to the classic Rolex Perpetual Datejust automatic. The -3110 model was quite popular in Asia that Seiko retained this model with the 7s26-3110 for many years. Same looks except for the newer caliber.

The letter โ€œFโ€ inside the square is said to represent the case size but no one has been able to confirm this.

hope this answers your question!
Quartzimodo Admin

Hi
Wonder if you can help me. I have just bought a Yema Paris ladies watch. Itโ€™s gold coloured, with a square face with cut-off corners (rather art deco) and lizard skin strap. The numbers on the stainless steel back read R1 CO6 3. I think this may be from during Yemaโ€™s period of being owned by Seiko. I donโ€™t know its age.
Sadly it has no battery in it and I canโ€™t find out which size or type to use.
Any information gratefully received!
Kind regards
Anne

Hi Anne,

I found photos of at least one Yema Paris ladiesโ€™ watch that uses the old Seiko 7A38 movement. The 7A38 is a quartz chronograph and has two push buttons on the left side of the watch. Since you didnโ€™t mention these stopwatch buttons I guess that your particular watch isnโ€™t a chronograph type watch, and if this watch has only one main crown itโ€™s a โ€œsimpleโ€ quartz watch.

Now, Seiko made various simple quartz movements when it briefly owned the Yema watch company. The problem is that Seiko did not etch the movement or caliber type on the caseback of your watch and neither did the company use the โ€œstandard Seikoโ€ six-digit serial number for Yema timepieces. Finding the production date for your watch would be out of the question as I donโ€™t know what โ€œR1 CO6 3โ€ stands for.

However, if your watch does use a Seiko quartz movement youโ€™ll need to open the caseback and inspect the movementโ€™s circuit board. You should be able to locate the word โ€œJapanโ€ in fine print on the circuit board and just above it would be the movement code. The code may be something like โ€œY150Aโ€, โ€œ2N20Aโ€, โ€œ7N22โ€, etc. If you can furnish me with the exact movement code, thereโ€™s a good chance that I can identify its battery type.

You can also take the Yema watch to a watch dealer store that provides battery change services, but most store assistants will need to see the old battery thatโ€™s inside the watch for reference. In the mean time, you should also contact the Yema watch company for assistance โ€“ in case your watch is fitted with a non-Seiko quartz module.

Iโ€™ll be waiting for your response. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo Admin.

Hi again

Thanks so much for your quick response.

The watch is a simple quartz movement with one crown.

I have opened the case back. Part of the mechanism is marked โ€˜YMA R1โ€™, I cannot see anything saying โ€˜Japanโ€™, and the circuit board seems to have โ€˜two jewelsโ€™ and โ€˜unadjustedโ€™ on it โ€“ thatโ€™s all. So it probably isnโ€™t a Seiko. It looks to be genuine in terms of wear (and dirt!). I found a picture of one which is outwardly the same at

www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/retro-yema-paris-ladies-quartz-watch-305752363

But it doesnโ€™t tell you much.

I live in the UK so finding a Yema dealer might be tough. I could just take it into a good jeweller and see if they can identify it.

And I will follow the link to the Yema watch company and ask them โ€“ thanks for that.

Iโ€™m assuming that this lack of information means you cannot help further, but thank you anyway. Iโ€™ve learnt a lot.

Kind regards
Anne

Hi Anne,

I didnโ€™t realize you followed up with a response that quickly and Iโ€™m glad that you managed to open the caseback up. ๐Ÿ™‚

My knowledge on Yema watches is unfortunately limited to specific models that use Seiko movements and it looks like your watch has one thatโ€™s made by some other manufacturer. Therefore itโ€™s quite possible that your Yema Paris was made after the Seiko company sold its share back to Yema. In fact, not many Seiko enthusiasts are aware of Seikoโ€™s brief involvement with the Yema brand.

Even then, the only interesting Yema watch was the discontinued Yema Seaspider 200m automatic diverโ€™s watch. Itโ€™s not that pretty looking compared to Seiko diversโ€™ models but the Seaspider happens to use the much coveted Seiko 4s15 caliber, which itself has also been out of production for decades. Seiko timepieces that use the 4s15 are collectorsโ€™ items and theyโ€™re extremely scarce to find. In my opinion, the only thing that draws certain Seiko collectors to the Yema Seaspider is only because it has the 4s15 automatic movement.

The โ€œYMA R1โ€ inscription on your watch circuit board doesnโ€™t refer to any of Seikoโ€™s quartz movements that I know of. โ€œTwo jewelsโ€ refers to the the number of artificial rubies the movement uses as a solid lubricating medium and itโ€™s likely to be located where the moving parts are. Seiko did produce simple quartz movements that had jewels but these were old movements from the 70s and the 80s. From the 1990s onwards, Seiko quartz movements generally have zero jewels (there was no need for jewels, except for mechanical watches since they have lots of moving parts).

Itโ€™s likely that your Yema Paris is using a 1.55 volt silver oxide battery, which is a very common type of disposable watch battery that is used to this day. The problem is not its voltage (all silver oxide cells are rated at 1.55 volts each) but these batteries come in various thickness and sizes. Youโ€™ll need the right model so that it fits into the battery compartment properly.

An undersized battery will still get your watch running but thereโ€™s a risk of it coming loose if the battery clamp canโ€™t hold it in place properly. An oversized battery on the other hand may be too thick for the clamp and if itโ€™s too tall, you canโ€™t close the caseback without touching the battery (possible short circuiting).

However, some jewelers may fit a battery โ€œshimโ€ or adapter into the compartment to ensure a tight fit in case of having to use undersized batteries. If your jeweler says that he canโ€™t find a battery small enough for your Yema Paris, ask if he can pad the battery with a shim.

BTW, some watch manufacturers may print the battery type on the inside of the caseback. If you can find some kind of code or three-digit number that might be the clue to the battery thatโ€™s needed for your watch.

wishing you good luck! ๐Ÿ™‚
Quartzimodo Admin.

I bought Seiko watch model NZB24 serial 570123. Shopkeeper told me it is latest. May I know which year it was manufactured

Hi Edwin,

I used to own a Seiko 5 Sports that has a similar design as your watch, but itโ€™s the SNZB67K. I bought that sometime back in 2004 and sold it as I grew to dislike the design.

Look at the rotating balance wheel at the back of your watch. It has a see-thru caseback and you should see these numbers: 7S36, followed by a letter. If it says โ€œ7S36Aโ€ on the balance wheel, then your watch is from July 2005. If it says โ€œ7S36Cโ€, then itโ€™s from July 2015.

I donโ€™t know how far Seiko has been making the SNZB24, but from Seiko 5 Sports models with a reference prefix โ€œSNZBโ€ originally came out in 2004 or 2005. If your movement is the 7S36A (a long discontinued caliber) then your shopkeeper doesnโ€™t know what he or sheโ€™s talking about. ๐Ÿ™‚

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo Admin.

Hello,
Thanks for such a great forum for people like me who need info about these awesome little watches.
I am trying to keep from making a dumb purchase. Would it be correct for a bellmatic (4006-6049)to be marked โ€œseiko time corpโ€ on the action and inside the back cover? I have not been able to find other watches marked this way.
Thanks,
Scott

Hi Scott,

Thank you for the compliments, much appreciated. ๐Ÿ™‚

I happen to own two vintage 4006 Bell-Matics, but to be frank Iโ€™ve never gotten into the nitty gritty details of the different markings on the oscillating rotor. There are several variations of the 4006A caliber; some come with 17 jewels while others have 27 jewels, depending on the watch model. Iโ€™ve seen movement photos that show โ€œSeiko Time Corpโ€, just โ€œSeikoโ€ and no visible inscription on the oscillating weight of various 4006s.

Assuming that the oscillating weights are mutually interchangeable, you can end up with a 4006 that bears โ€œSeiko Time Corpโ€ or โ€œSeikoโ€. Some of these watches may have undergone repairs and have had their oscillating rotors replaced. I also cannot find any connection between the number of jewels (17j vs 27j) and the factory issued oscillating weights.

However, based on your caseback code (4006-6049) your Bell-Matic is the North American version of the international model, 4006-6040.

You might want to look at this article and contact is blog author, Rich Askham. As a watch repairer and hobbyist, Rich would have a better and more intimate knowledge on the various Bell-Matics that he had come across.

good luck! ๐Ÿ™‚
Quartzimodo Admin.

I bought a SSB211P1. Seiko Quartz movement.
Caliber on back 8T68-OOAO, serial 660056.
When and where was it made if you can tell? White dial chrograph. Leather strap. Any other history/info would be awesome. I am early in my fall into watch knowledge and I am enjoying the plunge.
Thank you gor your time. Have a great day.
Joe

Hi Joe Young,

I havenโ€™t heard of the new 8T68 caliber until I read your comments. Itโ€™s one of Seikoโ€™s recent movements and the SSB-series watches are affordable, yet classy looking timepieces. It has the same 60 minute chronograph function and a 24-hour indicator subdial like the older SSC-series watches, except that the SSB series is battery operated quartz and not solar powered.

The 24-hour subdial is a feature which Seiko didnโ€™t have in an analog quartz watch for decades, while Citizen has made dozens of Eco Drive chronograph models with the 24-hour indicator. This 24-hour subdial is permanently tied to the watchโ€™s main hands and cannot be set to a different time zone. All it does is to let you know whether your local time is AM or PM.

However, knowing whether the indicated time is AM or PM can be important if youโ€™re changing the date. The date should never be changed between 9 PM to 1 AM because doing so can actually damage the date mechanism. You can change the date if itโ€™s 10 AM, but donโ€™t do this if the watch is showing 10 PM.

There isnโ€™t any significant history associated with your watch as the model and its movement is very new. Your watch is likely to be assembled in Singapore, along with its 8T68 quartz movement. Date of manufacture: June 2016.

Enjoy your watch in good health!
Quartzimodo

Hello!

I recently found my grandfatherโ€™s watch and I was hoping to date it. The markings on the watch face are Seiko 5 Automatix 21 jewels and then on the bottom in very small lettering is Japan 6119 8090 T AD.

The back of the watch says Stainless Steel 6119-8090 waterproof. On the bottom of the back it says 917249 Japan G.

Is there anything I need to know about how to maintain this watch? Itโ€™s a bit dirty near where the band and watch are connected and I donโ€™t want to damage it at all.

Hi Ben,

Your grandfatherโ€™s old Seiko watch was made by the Suwa factory in Japan and its birth month is Jan 1969. The 6119 is a low cost, fully automatic caliber with 21 jewels and was discontinued by Seiko by the year 1971, if not in early 1972. Most of the 6119 based Seiko 5 watches that Iโ€™ve seen are those from the tail end of the 1960s.

Mechanical watches accumulate wear and tear over the decades and your 6119-8090 is of no exception. It may gain or lose time excessively and you will notice this if you wear this watch for a week. Its main spring may have also rusted and/or have gotten magnetized over time.

If you wish to wear this watch on a daily basis and expect reasonable timekeeping accuracy, youโ€™ll have to send it to a competent watchmaker or watch repairer with experience in dismantling mechanical watches and overhauling its individual components. Generally if you were to send watches for overhauling, the watch repairer will also clean the timepiece, inside and out. The rubber case and crown gaskets will also be replaced to ensure good water resistance.
The next logical step is to have the watch regulated (usually with the use of a vibrograph calibrating machine) to get its accuracy back on track.

Anyway, if you prefer to keep the watch as it is and clean it yourself, you can soak the tip of a cotton bud or Q-tip with some isopropyl alcohol and gently rub away the deep ingrained dirt and dust from the tiny crevices, like between the watch lugs. For the rest of the watch, a little application of ammonia based glass cleaner (like Windex) will do wonders and can maintain the shiny parts of the stainless steel and the watch glass.

BTW, do you already know the proper way of setting a 6119โ€™s day and date? ๐Ÿ™‚

cheers,
Quartzimodo Admin.

I have a 2e20-0800, could be 2e20-0890 thatโ€™s what is listed on the front of the watch. I canโ€™t tell if itโ€™s a 0 or a 9 of the second to last digit. It also has a different number on the back, a couple actually, they are; 2e20-5600, canโ€™t tell if the second to last is a 9 or 0 as well, and 639889. It has a 14k solid yellow gold band, but I canโ€™t find any information on it, and the date guide up top doesnโ€™t really apply to a 8 digit code. If you have any more info Iโ€™d be grateful, I have pictures I could send as well if that would help.

Thank you very much

John

Hi John,

You have a ladiesโ€™ Seiko quartz watch thatโ€™s likely to have been made on March 1986 if it has the small text โ€œJAPAN 2E20โ€ on the dial face. There are also Seiko 2E20 watches that were produced in the early 1990s if the dial text reads โ€œMOVโ€™T JAPAN 2E20โ€ but the examples Iโ€™ve found on the โ€˜net are not the same model as yours.

I donโ€™t know much about Seiko ladiesโ€™ watches, except for those with a mechanically hand wound or automatic movement. The company made countless variants of womenโ€™s watches based on the 2E20 quartz movement; some in 14K solid gold, others were stainless steel, with or without gold plating.

The 2E20 quartz movement is a really simple one with only an hour and minute hand. There is no second hand, therefore the minute hand will advance one step every twenty seconds. It has a standard 32 kHz quartz oscillator and requires a Seiko TR521SW silver oxide cell, with an average batter life of 3 years. Most Seiko ladiesโ€™ watches of this era were designed with an integrated bracelet (or watch band) and they will only take the exact replacement bracelet.

If youโ€™re looking for information on how much itโ€™s worth, wellโ€ฆit really depends on the value of gold today. Generally Seiko dress watches for women carry very little residual value on the used market. This isnโ€™t some vintage ladiesโ€™ Omega automatic or Rolex with a history behind it; therefore itโ€™s not really a collectible timepiece. Your watch is only as valuable as the gold metal content in it and if it were gold plated (vs 14k solid gold), it wouldnโ€™t be worth much on eBay.

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo Admin.

I am thinking of buying a Seiko watch with S/N
7301874. Can you tell me about this watch and what you think it maight be worth? Thank you kindly!

Hi Rich,

The description of your Seiko watch is incomplete. What youโ€™ve provided me is only its serial number and it means absolutely nothing without knowing the watchโ€™s caliber and caseback code. Are you sure the watchโ€™s serial number is correct and that you didnโ€™t make a typo?

Quartzimodo Admin.

Hello, great site! I have just purchased a seiko that has a case number of 2e20-5690 RO (the RO is a square around it) on the back. The timepiece has Japan 2e20-0890 R with what appears to be a lightning bolt after it. I canโ€™t find out much on it, if you could provide me with any Iโ€™d be most grateful.

I have a Seiko sportsmatic calander 820 waterproof diashock 17 jewels Serial No. 58O0378 โ€“ on the back is has 7625-8070 also on the back the same serial number stamped. It has a dolphin stamped on the back. Can you tell anything about this seiko?

Hi Ruben M,

You have one of Seikoโ€™s affordable gentsโ€™ watches at the time. The 7625 was a low cost automatic movement which the the K. Hattori Watch Company (a.k.a Seiko) fitted to their Sportsmatic lineup. I think I have one of these (a gift from a watch collector friend from Germany) but it wasnโ€™t working and could not be repaired.

The Sportsmatic Calendar 820 is a collectible vintage Seiko gentsโ€™ watch, but itโ€™s not as sought after like the King Seiko, Laurel and Grand Seiko of its era. Or any of the late 60s Seiko 5 Sports chronographs from the same period for that matter. As with all pre 1968 Seiko watches, your Sportsmatic has a 7-digit serial number instead of six digits. It was made in Japan by Seikoโ€™s Daini factory on August 1965.

Keep that watch running! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo Admin.

I have a seiko quartz, day โ€“ date,
SQ100, silver dial,
On the back case I have the numbers
174039-
M
Stainless steel
Water resistant โ€“ 10 bar
7n43 8001 AA

Hi Lee Varden,

Your Seiko SQ100 (7N43-8001) is from July 1991. This model was assembled in Singapore but its movement and parts were made in Japan.

Quartzimodo Admin.

Thanks for your previous answer, any idea of a value plz

Hi Lee Varden,

Apologies for the late reply as I just noticed your follow up comment.

I donโ€™t keep track of the value of vintage Seiko watches, sorry. The reason for this is that the actual value will vary according to supply and demand as well as the condition of the watch.

To get a basic idea what your watch is worth today, visit eBay and search for your watch model using the exact caliber and caseback code. You may find a few eBay listings pertaining to your model (or one just like it) and note the winning or Buy It Now (BIN) offer prices.

Quartzimodo Admin.

hi? would you tell what year does my seiko 5 was manufactured? would appreciate it if you respond. thank you!

Seiko 5 automatic gold ladies watch
stainless steel
693132
water resistant
KY 7009-8764
F

Hi Danica,

As far as I know, the 7009 caliber watches were actually designed for men. Seiko has its own range of ladiesโ€™ automatic watches and they have different, smaller movements with auxiliary hand-winding capability. The 7009 is a fully automatic movement with no hand-winding feature whatsoever and were used mostly in the Seiko 5 lineup for menโ€™s models. Many Seiko 7009 models had case diameters no bigger than 40mm across and small sized menโ€™s watches could be easily mistaken for a ladiesโ€™ timepiece.

I believe your Seiko 7009-8764 was manufactured in September 1986.

thanks for asking,
Quartzimodo Admin.

Hi,

can someone help me determine date of my watch?

I have Seiko 5 Stainless still Automatic watch (water resistant).

Its silver with gold digits and arrows.

Case:380931
7009-876A

Also it has stamped in 2 diagonal corners (Z1481E) โ€“ what does that mean?

Thanks

Hi Ivan,

Your Seiko 5 (7009-876A) was manufactured in August 1993 by Seikoโ€™s factory in Hong Kong. The parts for the 7009 automatic movement was however, sourced by Seiko Japanโ€™s Daini factory. Seiko does have overseas factories that assembles their watches outside of Japan and their plant in Hong Kong was their first non-Japanese production facility.

The โ€œZ1481Eโ€ is the model number for the stainless steel bracelet that was fitted to your watch. Iโ€™m not sure if Seiko still makes this exact bracelet today, as this watch was discontinued many decades ago.

regards,
Quartzimodo Admin.

I have a seiko quartz, day โ€“ date, on the back case Seiko 946637 TL, water resistant stainless steel 7546-7139 A1. When itโ€™s made, thank you!

Hi Ana M,

You have a Seiko โ€œSQโ€ Quartz gentsโ€™ model that was manufactured in April 1979. The 7546 quartz movement is a rather good and robust design and was also fitted to several Seiko SQ โ€œSports 100โ€ models that resemble true ISO certified, diverโ€™s watches. Your watch was fully made in Japan.

Quartzimodo Admin.

Hello, Ivโ€™e had my seiko for many years bought it new..
serial No, 870264
Model 7548-700A
It has an orange face, I donโ€™t think that many were made, do you know how many were made?
Also it would be nice to know where it was made.
best regards, noddy.

Hi Noddy,

You have a rarely seen Seiko โ€œSQโ€ Sports 150m diverโ€™s watch. Itโ€™s a collectorโ€™s item amongst vintage Seiko diverโ€™s watch enthusiasts and there are very few of them today in good condition. I have no idea how many were made but your model was definitely assembled in Japan. Seiko made 7548 diverโ€™s models from the year 1978 to 1985.

Your watch is from July 1978. ๐Ÿ™‚

cheers,
Quartzimodo Admin.

Hello! Thank you for the informative blog! I have a seiko 5 racer with the ff details: 6319โ€”8070 841187 water resistant Japan A. gold dial with suwa logo. Would like to check if made 1978. Thanks!

I have a seiko quartz, day โ€“ date, on the back case Seiko 9D2561 japan j, water resistant stainless steel 6119-7160 waterproof. When itโ€™s made, thank you!

Hi itzchak,

If you have a Seiko 6119-7160 itโ€™s a mechanical, automatic watch and NOT a quartz one. Your Seiko was made in December 1969 and should be marked as โ€œWaterproofโ€, not โ€œWater Resistantโ€.

Quartzimodo Admin.

Hello, I remember buying my Sieko watch in the late 80s and its still in good working order Serial No 001337, it also has 5Y23-7080 on the back, anybody knows where this may have been made?

Hi Jim,

I donโ€™t know exactly when Seiko first introduced the quartz caliber 5Y23 โ€“ it could have been in the early 1980s. However, Seiko started producing their lower and mid end quartz watches at their overseas factory in Singapore only in the late 80s, most probably from 1988 onwards.

However it is easy to tell if your watch was assembled in Japan or Singapore: just look for the text โ€œMovโ€™t Japanโ€ on the front dial near the 6 oโ€™clock marker. If it says โ€œMovโ€™t Japanโ€ then your 5Y23-7080 was assembled in Singapore and the serial number points to October 1990 as its year of manufacture.

If it only says โ€œJapanโ€ on the front dial, then this watch was assembled in Japan in October 1980. In other words, if your watch was Japan made you would have bought a New Old Stock (NOS) Seiko watch many years after it was originally made at the factory.

On the other hand, if your watch has โ€œMovโ€™t Japanโ€ on the dial it would have been assembled in Singapore in October 1990, which means you couldnโ€™t have possibly gotten the watch in the late 80s, but in the early 90s. ๐Ÿ™‚

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo Admin.

Hey
I have a Seiko Sarb033 with the movement 6R15D and the serial code is 760698.

Can anyone tell me when it is from? itโ€™s either 2007 0r 2017.

Thanks

Hi William,

Your Seiko SARB033 was made in June 2017 for the reasons below:

1. This model was not introduced yet back in 2007.
2. Seiko was still using the early Caliber 6R15A ten years ago, with minor improvements of this movement โ€“ the 6R15B, 6R15C and 6R15D following suit years later.

So you have a Seiko SARB033 thatโ€™s just a few months old, fresh from the factory in Japan! ๐Ÿ™‚

cheers,
Quartzimodo Admin

Hello Quartzimodo: I have been reading your website on how to determine your Seikoโ€™s build date, plus the comments have been very instructive.

In my case, I have a two-tone Seiko Chronograph Water Resist 100M, black face, 7T32-6M49 A0 serial # 183558. Watch specifics are:
A- 3 chronograph dials are silver, and top to bottom, stopwatch minutes (0-30), watch seconds & alarm
B- Date window is black with white numbers
C- The 12 hour indicators are white rectangles with gold borders
D- Major clock hands are the hour, minute and large stopwatch hand
E- Band is two-tone; the throat links wrap around the horns(?). the band part # 48Z8-G-I stamped on each throat link. The locking clip on the band is stamped SEIKO
F- Watch back is engraved: WATER RESISTANT 10BAR SEIKO 7T32-6M49 A0 MOV*T JAPAN; second row: ST.STEEL + BASE METAL; serial number: 183558

Interpreting the comments, I have determined the following:

1- built in Singapore with a Japan made movement
2- build date = August 1991, watch number 3559; could be 2001, but I doubt it

Interestingly the watch face shows 100M while the watch back is engraved 10 bars.

I donโ€™t know what the 6M49 A0 means. Can you help me?

Thank you

Hi Anthony,

You have an early generation 7T32 which very likely points to August 1991 from the serial number and the overall design of the watch. The 48Z8-GI bracelet is the integrated kind, which means that you canโ€™t substitute the original bracelet with a third party kind or fit a leather strap on it. Not without extensive modification to the bracelet or strap anyway. ๐Ÿ™‚

Iโ€™m not sure if Seiko introduced wholly Japan assembled watches with its earliest batches of the 7T32, but if you see โ€œMovโ€™t Japan below the 7 oโ€™clock index marker then itโ€™s a Singapore assembled watch. 100% Japan made Seiko watches would mention just โ€œJAPANโ€ at the bottom of the dial. As for the usage of the โ€œ10 BARโ€ indication on the caseback, itโ€™s an inconsistent practice on Seikoโ€™s part. Depending on the model, some Seiko watches (including certain diverโ€™s models) indicate the water resistance only on the front dial. To make matters complicated, Seiko has also has been using 10 BAR instead of 100m on the dial โ€“ again, depending on the model.

You are correct that #3558 signifies that you have the 3559th piece for that particular model and for that particular month and year. The very first piece made on the same calendar month would have four trailing zeroes, i.e., 180000.

6M49 is your watch design code (or caseback code) and the last digit โ€“ โ€œ9โ€ signifies that your watch is a North American market model that was not sold elsewhere in the world. In some cases, Seiko would make several variations of a model, with different dial colors or case/bracelet accents. The company also has been known to manufacture one and only watch model with no dial color variations. Popular designs usually come in many (sometimes a dozen or more) dial variations.

The characters โ€œA0โ€ is an internal Seiko code. It has been said to be the watch case type or the case diameter, but so far no one (outside the Seiko factory) has deciphered the entire list of watch case codes.

Given proper care your 7T32 should last for a long time (three or four decades) but some internal parts, e.g. the date changing mechanism may fail to function properly due to aging and wear-and-tear. One of my beloved 7T32โ€™s date display wonโ€™t change properly after 1 a.m. and I havenโ€™t gotten it repaired yet. ๐Ÿ™

best regards,
Quartzimodo Admin.

Hi Quartzimodo, interesting site!

My late grandfather brought me here. He led trade missions to Japan in the 70s and, on one visit, was presented with an alarm clock, which came into my possession after he died.

It bears the code QP-701 on a label on the base and it seems there is one on a plinth in the Seiko museum. The Seiko Web site indicates it was the worldโ€™s first quartz alarm clock! My grandad told me his was a prototype but Iโ€™m not sure how that would even be evident from a mass produced model? It looks identical to the one at Seiko from the pictures, however his has lost a lot of its lacquer from use and, unfortunately the battery compartment cover is missing, presumably it broke at some point. The mechanism is still silky smooth and the alarm works just fine, clearly a quality build!

Iโ€™ve emailed Seiko for any more information they can provide but you seem knowledgeable about Seiko products so any observations or knowledge would be great. It struck me as strange that the first quartz alarm clock only debuted in โ€™76 when quartz wristwatches had been around for a while? Also I wondered how many of these clocks would have been produced?

Cheers, Oli

Hi Quartzimodo, interesting site!

My late grandfather brought me here. He led trade missions to Japan in the 70s and, on one visit, was presented with an alarm clock, which came into my possession after he died.

It bears the code QP-701 on a label on the base and it seems there is one on a plinth in the Seiko museum. The Seiko Web site indicates it was the worldโ€™s first quartz alarm clock! My grandad told me his was a prototype but Iโ€™m not sure how that would even be evident from a mass produced model? It looks identical to the one at Seiko from the pictures, however his has lost a lot of its lacquer from use and, unfortunately the battery compartment cover is missing, presumably it broke at some point. The mechanism is still silky smooth and the alarm works just fine, clearly a quality build!

Iโ€™ve emailed Seiko for any more information they can provide but you seem knowledgeable about Seiko products so any observations or knowledge would be great. It struck me as strange that the first quartz alarm clock only debuted in โ€™76 when quartz wristwatches had been around for a while? Also I wondered how many of these clocks would have been produced?

Cheers, Oli

Hi Oli,

Thank you for sharing your personal experience with your vintage Seiko alarm clock. ๐Ÿ™‚

Iโ€™m afraid I donโ€™t know much about Seikoโ€™s non-wristwatch products like table or wall clocks. All those years Iโ€™ve spent on the Seiko & Citizen Watch Forum with other forum members were about wristwatches rather than clocks.
The problem is that there has been very little information and history on table clocks, whether itโ€™s from Seiko, Casio or Citizen. Iโ€™ve not seen scanned or printed vintage product catalogs of Seikoโ€™s clocks either. When was the last time you saw a print ad for a Seiko table or wall clock? ๐Ÿ˜‰

As far as I know, there are fewer Seiko clock collectors worldwide than there are Seiko wristwatch collectors. Table clocks were regarded as disposable timekeeping devices and whatever was โ€œthe flavor of the dayโ€ was popular. People donโ€™t take their alarm clocks to be repaired โ€“ if theyโ€™re broken under warranty they are simply replaced by the manufacturer.

If my memory serves me well, between 1976 and 1977 Seiko made more digital quartz watches than they made analog quartz watches. Automatic watches were still commonplace back then and discounting the high end, King Seiko and Grand Seiko line, automatic wristwatches were still cheaper than Seikoโ€™s LCD digital timepieces. I think in 1976 most people were still using the mechanical hand-wound table alarm clock, the battery operated electronic clock or the AC powered LED display clock with the AM/FM radio.

I hope youโ€™ll get the information that youโ€™ve been looking for from Seiko itself! ๐Ÿ™‚

cheers,
Quartzimodo.

I have an old watch my father got overseas it is a Seiko with 33 jewels it is motion winded It has day of week and date on face serial number on back is 960407 and also has 5106-7000 on the back. the band has engraving on the back of each link. I know he wore it in the early 70โ€™s and probably before that. can you help.

Hi John,

Sorry for the late reply as your comment was somehow marked as spam and went into the spam folder for some reason. ๐Ÿ™

Your dadโ€™s watch is a Seiko โ€œSeikomaticโ€ and itโ€™s one of the very collectible vintage models. Itโ€™s from June 1969 and should have โ€œWater Proofโ€ markings on its caseback. The fact that your father used to wear it in the early seventies is about right. If you plan to wear this as a daily watch, have the movement inspected and cleaned, lubricated and regulated for best results.

cheers,
Quartzimodo.

looking into a seiko 5 but canโ€™t figure out the model or the date manufactured. please help.

serial number: 732260

Mvmt-Case: 7S26-3040

Hi Tom,

You have one of the very popularly produced, Seiko 5 automatic. Seiko actually made several models based on the 7s26-3040 โ€“ the SKX447K, SKX525K, SKX527K..and the list goes on until the SKXG53K. An identifying photo of your watch will certainly help. Itโ€™s possible that your watch was made in March 1997 if itโ€™s an early 7s26-3040, and the oscillating weight will also be marked as โ€œ7S26Aโ€.

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

Hello. I have a mintish Seiko that I bought new in Thailand in 1975. 6309 8000 and looks like the serial number is 713001. I hardly wore it over the years and now itโ€™s back in service running very well. Itโ€™s self-wind. Can I assume the date of manufacture is January 1967? Many thanks and this is a wonderful webpage you have.

Hi Pat,

Thanks very much for the compliments, appreciate it. ๐Ÿ™‚

AFAIK, Seiko introduced the 6309 automatic movement only in 1976. Therefore it would be an anachronism if you said you had purchased the watch in 1975, one year before Seiko started selling 6309 based automatics. ๐Ÿ™‚

Furthermore, your serial number #713001 shows that it was made on January 1977. There were absolutely no 6309 watches back in 1967 and if there were, they would have seven digit serial numbers (instead of six), plus the caseback of the watch would have stated โ€œWaterproofโ€ instead of โ€œWater Resistantโ€.

QED:
A Seiko 6309-8000 cannot be from the year 1967, period. Nine years would have to come to pass before the earliest Seiko 6309 watches would hit the watch stores. Could you have bought the watch in 1985 instead? ๐Ÿ™‚

cheers,
Quartzimodo Admin.

Iโ€™m interested in a Seiko Quartz watch that seems to be a fairly early quartz by its general appearanceโ€ฆthe โ€œserial numberโ€ as far as I can tell is 7n89-5009-r1. Can you tell me if this is a modern watch or an early quartz? THANKS for any info you can supply from the scant detail I was able to provide you withโ€ฆAlan

Hi Alan Bly,

I would need the six digit serial number found at the back of the watch. I think you may have just read off the watchโ€™s movement and case code from the dial. The โ€œR1โ€ strongly suggests that this was from the watch dial, which can be different from the actual caseback code).

In any case, I am probably looking at the Seiko โ€œAge of Discoveryโ€ (AOD) line of dress watches. Without the 6 digit serial number, I can just offhand tell you that this watch is from the very early 1990s. As far as quartz technology is concerned, a watch from 1990 is NOT considered an โ€œearly quartzโ€. Seikoโ€™s analog quartz movements go way back to the mid-to-late 1970s, especially their 4004 quartz movement. ๐Ÿ™‚

regards,
Quartzimodo.

Hallo Quartzimodo ,
I am looking at buying a used Seiko Turtle with the following serial numbers :
730061 and 63097040.
Can you tell me when this watch was made so I can estimate what I should pay for it ?
Regards
Chris.

Hi Chris,

A Seiko 6309-7040 diverโ€™s watch with the S/N: 730061 points to March 1977 as the date of manufacture. As for how much is a fair amount to pay for one, it depends on several factors:

1. The authenticity of all of the parts.
2. The general appearance and condition of the watch.
3. Working condition of the automatic movement.

If youโ€™re buying from eBay, youโ€™ll find that people are selling 6309-7040/7049 watches anywhere between a reasonable US$200 to jaw dropping asking prices like US$1,100. A clean, all original and in mint condition 6309-7040 might fetch a thousand dollars on the collectorโ€™s market but only if the condition of the watch can be verified. Most 6309-7040s are in medium to heavily used condition (they used to be the ownerโ€™s daily wearer, rather than a closet queen) and some of them may come with non-original or aftermarket dials, hands and rotating bezels (including the bezel insert).

Itโ€™s difficult to assess what this watchโ€™s fair price is without seeing pictures of it. Iโ€™ll just pull up an example listing of a supposedly all-original 6309-7040 in โ€œfair conditionโ€ from the Seiko & Citizen Watch trading site. Of course, that is the offer price and most sellers are open to negotiation; so the final selling price may be 10-15 percent lower than what is advertised.

I donโ€™t remember 6309-7040s in fair condition going for US$300 back in 2006 (they were usually half the amount) but I guess stocks of the upper notch examples are drying up while demand for collectible Seiko diverโ€™s watches have increased since then. I have two 6309s myself (one was a gift, the other was purchased from eBay) and the one which I bought โ€“ in moderately good condition, was definitely less than US$200.

Good luck with the purchase!
Quartzimodo.

WOW! Thanks alot! Fascinating. I thought I had a cheap remake of this SEIKO but it turns out to appear real. All numbers checked out to about a year before my father died. Which made sense, since he bought the watch for my mother around that time.

Howie C., Indianapolis, IN

Hey Quartzimoto,
My mother bought my dad a Seiko 5Y23-8A69 (A4) serial number 038408 decades go. Can you tell me what the manufacture year (March of 19?0) and estimated MSRP was at the time? Is there anything else you may be able to tell me about that line of watch? Iโ€™m doing research for a gift. Thanks.

Hi Ryan,

I found some images of the Seiko 5Y23-8A69. It appears to be a late 70s or early 80s Seiko quartz watch and in your case, itโ€™s from March 1980 (definitely not as early as 1970). Itโ€™s fully manufactured in Japan by Seikoโ€™s Daini production factory (the other being the equally famous Seiko Suwa plant) and itโ€™s a generic gentโ€™s quartz watch that has a resemblance to the Rolex Perpetual Datejust model.

I donโ€™t think this particular model belonged to any Seikoโ€™s sub-line, if you were thinking of Seikoโ€™s ranges like Prospex, Coutura, Sportura, Premier, Arctura, etc. In those days Seiko didnโ€™t have prominent sub-classifications for their quartz line of watches and you could say their entire quartz models were lumped into the famous โ€œSQโ€ or Seiko Quartz line. ๐Ÿ™‚

Your dadโ€™s watch is also a North American market specific model (designated by the โ€œ8A69โ€) and thatโ€™s pretty much all I know about it. Sorry, I have no idea how much it originally retailed for back in 1980.

cheers,
Quarzimodo.

Hello, I want to buy watch with serial no. 542904. Itโ€™s diver 150m WR. 4205 โ€“ 0155 F0 A. Itโ€™s look like brand new watch but seller says itโ€™s from 1985. Dial itโ€™s super clear. Glass itโ€™s clear too. I know that itโ€™s rare. I have a few photos. If you have more time please wrote to me on my mail. I have doubts this watch itโ€™s refabricated. One more. There is a signature of Daini Seikosha. Meaby you can confirm these informations somehow.

I have a Seiko Automatic that I bought in Singapore in, IIRC, 1969. It has a black dial without numbers, & a date window (figs only). At bottom of dial its marked โ€˜Japan 6308-801L T. On the stainless steel back it has โ€˜Water-resistant SGP Back Stainless steel 6308 8010โ€™, and serial no 790076. I gave it to my stepfather, & got it back after his death in the 1980s. Am I correct about the year (1967)? It keeps good time, compared with a Seiko 5 Automatic bought a couple of years ago โ€“ which doesnโ€™t! Iโ€™ve been advised that repair of the newer watch would cost more than its worth. It has 7S26C engraved inside, & 7S26-0480 โ€˜Fโ€™ applied to the clear back. Is it true that this one is valueless? Rgds, Tony K.

Hi Tony,

While Iโ€™m not familiar with the Caliber 6308, upon further investigation I found out that Seiko only introduced this automatic movement only in 1976. Based on the serial number, your stepfatherโ€™s watch was manufactured on Sept 1977. There is a discussion on a German watch forum that supports my answer right here, therefore itโ€™s not possible you had bought it as early as 1969. ๐Ÿ™‚
Furthermore, Seiko watches that were made prior to the year 1969 had 7-digit serial numbers, not six.

The 7s26C was fitted to myriad Seiko watches โ€“ not just the basic and inexpensive Seiko 5. It was also fitted to Seikoโ€™s 200m diverโ€™s and sports watches which are more expensive than the entry level Seiko 5. Your 7s26-0480 is one of Seikoโ€™s many โ€œSeiko 5โ€ entry level models. It is generally cheaper to have the entire movement replaced than repaired, since a tear-down of the watch movement, troubleshooting and repair work is very labor intensive. If your newer Seiko 5 isnโ€™t too instrumental to you, you might want to consider replacing it with a new one, if the same model is still available.

In some cases, Seiko 5 watches are deemed inexpensive therefore it doesnโ€™t make sense to pay for repairs if it costs a bit more to get a new watch (of the same model). ๐Ÿ™‚

cheers,
Quartzimodo

I am looking to buy a seiko 5 automatic from his birth year (1969)for my husbands 50th birthday and have seen one in ebay. The seriel number is 469014 model 6319 517A.can you please assist with the year of production?

Hi Joanna,

Itโ€™s wonderful that you plan to get a vintage Seiko 5 for your husband, but a Seiko 6319-517A (or any 6319 caliber Seiko) would have been made in the 1980s. From the serial number it very much appears that this eBay watch was made on June 1984. If youโ€™re looking for any vintage Seiko watch from the year 1969, youโ€™ll have to look for the following (but not exhaustive) list of calibers:

1. Cal 6119
2. Cal 6105/6106
3. Cal 6117 (world time)
4. Cal 5126
5. Cal 6138 (chronograph)
6. Cal 6139 (chronograph)
7. Cal 6220, etc.

Make sure that the first digit of any of the watches with the caliber above starts with a โ€œ9โ€ in its serial number, for a piece thatโ€™s made in 1969. Except for the 6139 automatic chronograph, none of the other calibers made it to the year 1979 as they were discontinued earlier. For instance if you were to find a Seiko 6106 automatic with a serial number that starts with a โ€œ9โ€, you can be sure that that was could not have been made in 1979 (unlike the Cal 6139).

The Caliber 6319 did not exist back in 1969. When it comes to buying from eBay, sometimes you have to give the sellerโ€™s claims with a grain of salt. ๐Ÿ™‚

best regards,
Quartzimodo.

just purchased seiko automatic divers 200m
se no 612844 4r36-04yo AO. (USED). some confusion as to which model it is, please advise mod /year.
kind rgds.

Hi Martin

You have one of the popular and well loved โ€œnew Turtleโ€ series of divers. 4R36-04Y0 refers to one of the many models of the Prospex SRP/SRPC range. Please check here to confirm your exact model.

Production date would be January 2016 as the Turtle series was only introduced between 2014 and 2015.

Quartzimodo

Hi,
Can you decode my Seiko SKX007. The serial # is 011174 case code 7S26-0020.

Thanks in advance

Hi Aegis Legend,

Great question. Unfortunately the 7s26-0020 was first produced in 1996 therefore based on your serial number, it could have been made in January 2000 or 2010. If you are able to open up the caseback and look at the oscillating weight, if it says โ€œ7S26Aโ€ then itโ€™s from the year 2000. A 2010 production watch would already be using the slightly improved 7S26B or 7S26C. The 7S26C is the last version of this movement that Seiko made until it was finally discontinued a few years ago.

hope this answers your question,

Quartzimodo

Hello Quartzimodo! I hope you can help me find the origins of my watch. Iโ€™ve been researching and nothing came up! I wonder if it is a fake Seiko, either way, your professional judgement is best. I would like to contact you further through email during your spare time so you can further examine the pictures. For now, all I know is:
Engraved on the back of the watch from top to bottom :
SEIKO
WATER RESISTANT
ST.STEEL
+BASE METAL
V701-5000[R1]
MADE IN JAPAN
173732

On the box and case there are gold letters at the bottom right corner:
BXNML-1

The overall color is gold and has a black face. There are no numbers, just 3 rectangles representing 3,6,9 and a three spike fork looking symbol for 12. I had itโ€™s battery replaced recently and the watch repairer mentioned that the fork I was talking about is actually a crown? In vietnamese, it roughly translates to Queen Watch or Crown Watch. Iโ€™m not quite sure what to make of it.

Thank you so much!

Hi Sam,

I think I may have received a similar question to yours many years ago on this blog. ๐Ÿ™‚

What you have with you is a genuine Seiko watch. The three pronged emblem thatโ€™s located on your watchโ€™s 12 oโ€™clock position has been confused as a Seiko Credor logo (itโ€™s not) and the Credor is like what AMG is to Mercedes Benz and Lexus is to Toyota. Same parent company, but one sub-brand is more exclusive to the other.

That logo represents the little known โ€œGalaxyโ€ line of Seiko watches in the 1980s-90s. Some Galaxy models even had โ€œGALAXYโ€ inscribed on the bezel of the watch, like this example. Seiko Galaxy watches tend to be quartz (I have never come across an automatic version) and they are usually gold plated, thin line dress watches. The logo has been described to resemble a trident, a space ship and even a sail boat โ€“ but not a crown. I donโ€™t think Seiko intended the Galaxy to mean โ€œQueen Watchโ€ in any language.

I would estimate your V701-5000 to have been made in July 1991. Not much is known about the history of the Galaxy line as there is practically zero interest in this dress watch range in the watch forums. Thereโ€™s not much data to ascertain when Seiko started and ended their Galaxy series production run. I remember reading in one or two forums; people did ask about that logo and some repliers thought that it had something to do with the luxury Credor range.

Hope this helps! ๐Ÿ™‚
Quartzimodo

Hello Quartzimodo! I hope you can help me find the origins of my watch. Iโ€™ve been researching and nothing came up! I wonder if it is a fake Seiko, either way, your professional judgement is best. I would like to contact you further through email during your spare time so you can further examine the pictures. For now, all I know is:
Engraved on the back of the watch from top to bottom :
SEIKO
WATER RESISTANT
ST.STEEL
+BASE METAL
V701-5000[R1]
MADE IN JAPAN
173732

On the box and case there are gold letters at the bottom right corner:
BXNML-1

The overall color is gold and has a black face. There are no numbers, just 3 rectangles representing 3,6,9 and a three spike fork looking symbol for 12. I had itโ€™s battery replaced recently and the watch repairer mentioned that the fork I was talking about is actually a crown? In vietnamese, it roughly translates to Queen Watch or Crown Watch. Iโ€™m not quite sure what to make of it.

Hi
I have a seiko watch from 15 years ago. I searched for itโ€™s serial number but I couldnโ€™t find anything similar. Could you please tell me how much does it worth?
The things that are written at the back are:
Seiko
Water resistant
St.steel
7n01-0BN0 R1
Made in Japan
281800

Thank you

Hi Samine,

Seiko made countless 7N01 caliber menโ€™s watches since the 1990s that itโ€™s next to impossible to keep track all of them. I would say that the 7N01 caliber was fitted to mostly dress watches. Your modelโ€™s reference number starts with โ€œSFRโ€ and depending on the dial code, it could be an SFR781J, SFR783J, SFR789J, etc. Your watchโ€™s serial number dates the watch to Aug 2002.

Unless your particular model is a limited edition and collectible like this Disney themed Seiko or this brand new collectible, Iโ€™d say that asking prices on eBay for 7N01 watches start at US$18.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Seiko watches with the 7N01 caliber are usually of the generic, gentsโ€™ dress models โ€“ nothing really special about them.

cheers,
Quartzimodo Admin

I have a Seiko 5 Automatic 17 jewels whose serial no. Is 314409
And written Japan A ? 7009-3181 F (โ€˜Fโ€™ is in a square box)

Can you tell me when this watch was madeโ€ฆ And something about itโ€ฆ?
Thank you

Hi M Rehan,

Seikoโ€™s 7009 caliber was a long lived one, spanning 20 years or thereabouts. This watch was manufactured by Seikoโ€™s Daini plant (the other one being the Suwa factory) in Japan, in January 1983.
Itโ€™s one of the countless Seiko 5 gentsโ€™ watch which the company made and for this particular model, thereโ€™s nothing really outstanding about it. It is however, a reliable timepiece and treated nicely it should run virtually a lifetime.
If you wish to keep this watch for a long time, have the movement serviced at least once in every 10 years. ๐Ÿ™‚

wear the watch in good health!
Quartzimodo Admin.

hello. i could use some help please. I own a seiko 5 automatic with the numbers 254068 and 4206 0090 A4 at the back.could you please provide any info about it?thank you!

Hi Maz kat,

Itโ€™s a ladiesโ€™ or boyโ€™s sized Seiko 5 watch that you have. The 4206 is a very small movement and due to its oscillating rotorโ€™s light mass it doesnโ€™t wind by itself efficiently, therefore itโ€™s fitted with an auxiliary hand winding mechanism. Seiko made the 4205 and 4206 calibers in the 1980s, therefore I would guess your watch was manufactured in May 1992.

Thereโ€™s not much to tell about this watch, itโ€™s just one of the many ladiesโ€™ Seiko 5 models that was sold at the time. As with probably 95% of Seiko watches that were made, thereโ€™s nothing notably historic or special about the 4206-0090. ๐Ÿ™‚

best regards,
Quartzimodo

Hello! I need some help in locating the origins of my watch. It is a Seiko 5.
It has on the Dial written Automatic with 21 Jewels just above the 6 hour mark and below (in tiny letters) Made in Japan 7s26-0094R2.

On itโ€™s back:
Serial 760938
Water Resistant Japan A
7009-3041F (inside the box)

I searched the serial and movement number on the internet and it says the watch has 17 Jewels whereas mine has written 21 Jewels over its dial. Also I would be glad to know the meaning of F in 7009-3041F (inside the box).
Looking forward to your reply.
Regards,
Kiran

Hi Kiran,

Did you happen to buy your Seiko 5 from India, particularly on eBay? At least tell me how you got this watch. ๐Ÿ™‚

regards,
Quartzimodo.

Hi! First of all, congrats for your site, I love it!

I am just starting to turn my Seiko obsession from a dream to a reality, mainly by chance: a friend, upon hearing that I wanted to start a Seiko collection, gave me a simple Seiko he bought in a flea market. Itโ€™s identical to this one: i.ebayimg.com/images/g/4cQAAOSwzLhdU3Ty/s-l1600.jpg, i.ebayimg.com/images/g/uRsAAOSwoIFdU3T0/s-l1600.jpg, and i.ebayimg.com/images/g/CJcAAOSw5PJdU3UP/s-l1600.jpg but with a different bracelet.

Anyway, Iโ€™m having trouble with trying to date it. The movement/case code is 7009-5019, and the serial number is 010407. My issue is that I cannot find the exact date where the 7009 movement was being used, so Iโ€™m not sure if this is an October 1990, October 1980 or October 1970 Seiko.

Could you shed some light here? Thanks!

Hi! First of all, congrats for your site, I love it!

I am just starting to turn my Seiko obsession from a dream to a reality, mainly by chance: a friend, upon hearing that I wanted to start a Seiko collection, gave me a simple Seiko he bought in a flea market. Itโ€™s identical to this one: i.ebayimg.com/images/g/4cQAAOSwzLhdU3Ty/s-l1600.jpg, i.ebayimg.com/images/g/uRsAAOSwoIFdU3T0/s-l1600.jpg, and i.ebayimg.com/images/g/CJcAAOSw5PJdU3UP/s-l1600.jpg but with a different bracelet.

Anyway, Iโ€™m having trouble with trying to date it. The movement/case code is 7009-5019, and the serial number is 010407. My issue is that I cannot find the exact date where the 7009 movement was being used, so Iโ€™m not sure if this is an October 1990, October 1980 or October 1970 Seiko.

Could you shed some light here? Thanks!

Tito

Hi Tito,

Thank you for the compliments, appreciate them. ๐Ÿ™‚

Congratulations on your journey towards vintage Seiko WISdom! ๐Ÿ™‚

Your Seiko 7009-5019 is an export model for the North American market and assuming the caseback originally belongs to this watch, itโ€™s made in January 1980 at the Seiko Daini plant. This is a classic design as Seiko has not made โ€œTV shaped watchesโ€ for decades! The 7009A automatic movement was only introduced sometime in 1975 and I am doubtful if that watch model was still in production by the year 1990.

hope this helps! ๐Ÿ™‚
Quartzimodo

I didnโ€™t buy it from ebay. But yes, the seller was an Indian guy. I got this at a very cheap price. I read your other article about spotting fake seiko. The font and finish on the dial seems very well made and the backcase too. The watch came with a metal strap with Seiko engraved. I opened the backcase. It says 17J and 7009A inside. Thank you for your response.

Hi Kiran,

The reason I asked where you had purchased your watch from is that there are lots of โ€œFranken Seikosโ€ that have appeared on eBay and I noticed that nearly all of these cobbled-together watches originated from India.

Itโ€™s not a big secret that talented โ€œwatchmakersโ€ in India have been known to reassemble mostly junked Seiko watches from different parts. This has been going on since 2005 but I noticed a recent spate of listings for โ€œFranken Seikosโ€ on eBay. The problem is that many of the sellers make no effort to inform buyers that these are NOT original Seiko watches. They are hoping that their buyers would not notice as their asking prices are rock bottom cheap. Many of these watches come with โ€œre-dialsโ€, which are new dials that are designed and printed by the watchmakers. These dials are definitely not manufactured or sanctioned by the Seiko company.

What you have is unfortunately a โ€œFranken Seikoโ€. Without pictures I cannot tell what watch model yours originally is. When it comes to this kind of cottage counterfeit industry, casebacks, watch cases, movements and dials can be interchanged โ€“ as long as they happen to fit properly. Take note that Seiko has made Seiko 5 watches (including Sports and Superior versions) using many different calibers over time: 5126, 6119, 6106, 6309, 7009, 4206, 4207, 7s26, 7s36, 4R36, etc. That is not even including the automatic chronograph calibers.

Now letโ€™s go back to your watch.

I cannot say how many parts of your Seiko 5 are from the original watch. If you want me to give me the date based on the caseback of your watch, thatโ€™s easy: June 1987. The โ€œFโ€ symbol refers to the case โ€œtypeโ€, which tells the authorized Seiko service center technicians to refer the appropriate section in their service handbook on the correct procedures to remove the watch crystal.

The watch dial is definitely not original to this timepiece and that is even assuming it is using an original Seiko 7s26 dial, whose movement has 21 jewels.

Finding the TRUE origins of a Seiko watch is no longer relevant when:

1. The watch case (the metal shell) has been changed.
2. The watch movement has been replaced with one from the same or different caliber.
3. The caseback has been swapped with one from another Seiko watch.
4. The dial and hands have been replaced with a non-original model.

A vintage Seiko watchโ€™s authenticity is considered to be acceptable if only the original glass, rotating bezel or bracelet/band has been replaced as these parts are prone to cosmetic or physical damage, but once vital components like its movement, watch case, caseback and dial have been changed/swapped, that watch is no longer in its original โ€œfactoryโ€ condition.

I am sorry to be the bearer of the bad news, thatโ€™s how things are. ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo Admin.

Hi, I buy Seiko watch but I can see serial number just ref. SMX998K,cal.7S36โ€ฆmaybe I buy fake oneโ€ฆ

Hi Carlo,

Itโ€™s actually SNX998K and not SMX998K. The caliber should be 7s26, not 7s36. Seiko doesnโ€™t use 7s36 on its basic Seiko 5 models.

If your watch looks exactly like this, you did NOT buy a fake. Wear in confidence! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo.

Hello,
I have a seiko5 6119 8470
With ONO154 engraved on the back.
There is โ€œTLโ€ too.
Do you know what this โ€œTLโ€ means?

Thank you in advance

Hi Francisco,

Iโ€™m afraid I have no information as what to โ€œTLโ€ means. These letters seem to be specific on only certain Seiko 6119 models, like the 6119-8470. It might be related to the earlier Seiko repair guide book section on how to remove the crystal.

BTW, your serial number is actually 0N0154, which means it was made in Nov 1970 and should have โ€œWater Proofโ€ engraved on the caseback.
cheers,
Quartzimodo.

Hi we have a Seiko watch and trying to date it, it has on the back the following, 5P22-7A00 serial number is 792389. Also do you know what model it is. Thank you
Lee

Hi Lee,

I believe your Seiko 5P22-7A00 was from September 1987 and it was assembled in Japan. Its reference prefix starts with โ€œSCLโ€ and ends with a โ€œJโ€. Depending on the dial color/design, your watch could be an SCL002J, SCL004J, SCL006J, SCL008J or SCL010J.

hope this answers your question!
Quartzimodo Admin.

Hi, I have some Seiko Lord Matic. I have seen on the back of case has note that Japan-A, Japan-C, Japan-K, Japan-R. Please let me know the meaning of that. Thank you so much

Hi Cuong Lam Van,

The so-called A,C,K,R,etc that you see at the back of Seiko watches refer to official procedures on how to remove the watch glass or crystal. The codes are meant for the authorized Seiko repair center technicians to refer to the appropriate sections in their Repair Manual.

For example, if the repair technician receives a watch that says โ€œJAPAN-Kโ€ on the caseback and needs to remove the watch crystal, he would have to browse Section K in their repair documentation book. Section K will guide him how to remove the crystal from any watch sent it that is stamped โ€œJAPAN-Kโ€ on the caseback. Likewise, if the watch says โ€œJAPAN-Aโ€ the repairman will follow the procedures detailed under Section A in the repair manual.

Hope this helps,
Quartzimodo

Hi, I have a Seiko 6M25 6M25 Sgq070 and would like to date it. Can you help?

Serial #310097
Caseback #: A06M25-6069

Thank you,

Van

Hi Van Nguyen,

Apologies for the late reply as I thought I had answered your question. I turned out that I had replied to another reader with a Vietnamese name! ๐Ÿ™‚

You have a rare 6M25 multi-function quartz watch with the โ€œdancing handsโ€ display feature, plus a date magnifier on the crystal. Itโ€™s from January 1993 and if it says โ€œJAPAN 6M25โ€ beneath the 6 oโ€™clock index, itโ€™s fully made in Japan.

This was one of Seikoโ€™s โ€œSports 150โ€ series of watches with multiple features like alarm, timer, chronograph, and an intelligent calendar that adjusts for odd and even months automatically, except for February if it is a leap year. Only Seiko quartz watches that have the Perpetual Calendar feature can account for 29 days in February in leap years. ๐Ÿ™‚

Yours is an interesting watch but the quartz movement has a rather short battery life, especially if the chronograph and alarm is used frequently. Seiko rates the battery life to up to 2 years if the chrono, timer and alarm functions are used sparingly. It takes the SR927W silver oxide cell (or Energizer #399). The early 1990s was the beginning of the golden age of Seikoโ€™s quartz technology. Movements like the 6M25 were very complicated and expensive to produce. Sadly Seiko is no longer interested in developing multi-function analog quartz watches, preferring to sell simpler quartz movements.

The 6M25 was finally replaced with the 6M26 caliber with similar features by the late 1990s. I have one myself, a 6M26-6020 Seiko โ€œSUSโ€ but very rarely wear it.

hope this helps! ๐Ÿ™‚
Quartzimodo

My Bell-Matic has ser# 993392 along with โ€˜Water Proofโ€™ on the case back. If i understand correctly this would mean it was manufactured in Sept 1969. Can you tell me where it was manufactured other than Japan?
Thank you

Hi Mike,

The 4006 and 4005 (date only) Bell_matics were marketed from the late 60s till the (almost) late 70s โ€“ probably 1977. Yours was indeed, manufactured in September 1969 and was watch #3393 for that production month (of September). Note that the first watch that was made for that month would have been stamped โ€œ990000โ€. Nice set of numbers, eh? ๐Ÿ™‚

Back in the day, all Seiko watches were fully manufactured in Japan. For the 4006, Seikoโ€™s Suwa factory made it. The other movement factory was the Daini plant. It was not until the mid 1980s when Seiko outsourced the assembly of some of its watches (mostly affordable ones) to a Seiko factory in Hong Kong. The cost of production โ€“ especially wages were much cheaper in Hong Kong.

Hope this helps!
Quartzimodo

Hello,
i have a Seiko Watch:
5P22-601A
650001
from Baselworld 1986
I need more Information
Can anyone help me?
Thanks

At the back of my SEIKO watch mention Made in Japan wp

what is the meaning of wp

Hi, I have a Seiko Watch from my uncle and i dont know how to check the typeโ€ฆ

in the back there a Serial number 651145, and thereโ€™s a โ€œTitanium Eco Driveโ€ what is that?

also thereโ€™s other number GN-4W-UL, and 0355-ho113

Thank you,

Joseph

Hi, I have a SBGF021 with the SN of 1DN129, do you know why there is an N as the third character and not a number?

Thanks.

Hi Shane,

Thatโ€™s a solid mystery youโ€™ve got on your hands. ๐Ÿ™‚

The SBFG021 is a High End Quartz, Grand Seiko and I donโ€™t think Seiko would have misprinted your watchโ€™s serial number. Seiko follows only one convention when it comes to assigning serial numbers to their watches โ€“ the second character from the left will always denote the month (0-9,N & D) regardless of the watch model, range and price.

If you have a smartphone with macro capabilities or a digital camera, take a closeup of your caseback with the highest resolution possible and examine the serial number on a PC monitor. If the serial numbers are engraved poorly it can result in misreading the numbers.

You didnโ€™t mention if your watch was purchased new and if it was, check the accompanying Grand Seiko certificate of warranty for the serial number. If the first two characters are 1D (e.g., December 2011) the third engraved digit could have been malformed that it resembles an โ€œNโ€. ๐Ÿ™‚

If your serial number is indeed a misprint, it would be the first time Iโ€™ve come across such a case.

best regards,
Quartzimodo Admin.

Hello. I purchased a Seiko watch online at a store for my husband. Upon looking at the booklet it came with it lists the calibre # the watch should have on it. So I look at metal back of watch & it doesnt have any of the #s listed in book. Iโ€™m trying to see if this watch is real or fake basically. I purchased from a College University store which was then outsourced to another store & then had sports team logo imprinted inside on watch face.This is what my watch says on metal backโ€ฆ SEIKO Water Resistant 10 Bar Stainless Steel 490659 6N42-00A0. It then has A0 in square box followed by Movement Japan. If this watch is real, does having a 3rd party company inscribe a team logo on face under the glass void its warranty? I paid nearly $300 for this watch or I wouldnโ€™t be so obsessed or upset I think? Well besides that it is a Christmas gift for my husband. Would you be able to email me if you have the time please. [email protected] Thank you so much!!

Hello Quartzimodo Admin!
Please help me. I have 1 Seiko wristwatch (7009-208A). Serial number: 1N2068. Clock face: 7009-2524R. Please help with what year this Seiko wristwatch was made and in which country it was made. Thank you very much.

Hi Nguyen,

Itโ€™s very likely that your Seiko 7009-208A was manufactured in Nov 1991. Look at the dial text at 6 oโ€™clock carefully. It should say 7009 2624R with the Daini lightning symbol between 7009 and 2624R. There is no โ€œJAPANโ€ word imprinted on the dial therefore the country of assembly was Hong Kong, which is part of China today. The 7009 movement was however sourced from the Seiko Daini factory in Japan.

Hope this helps,
Quartzimodo.

Hello Quartzimodo Admin!
Please help me, a gain. I have 1 Seiko wristwatch back case water resistant A 7009-2080 (A1). Serial number: 401784. Clock face: 7009-2524R. Please help with what year this Seiko wristwatch was made and in which country it was made. Thank you very much.

Can you help me please
Serial number 087138
Caliber number
5Y22-6059
On the back it has a sail boat. Ive been looking having seen nothing like it

Ive got Quartz Watch I sure could use help with the numbers are
Serial number
08713caliber number
5Y22-6059 R1
On the back it also has a sailboat ingraved in it. Ivr been looking at all the watches I can
I cant find anything on it. Thank you

Hi Quartzimodo,

I have a Seiko 5 from my grandad and Iโ€™m wondering when it was manufactured. The movement and case code is 6309-8840 and the SN is 6D8954. The back of the case also says JAPAN and has a Suwa symbol below the SN.

Thanks.

Hi Rowan,

Your Seiko 5 (the 6309-8840) was made on December 1976. It was the 8955th piece to have rolled off the assembly line in that particular month and year. Amongst the vintage Seiko 5 automatics, you have a rare gem there as it is a fully Japan manufactured piece, from the Suwa factory. Wear it in good health! ๐Ÿ™‚

Quartzimodo Admin.

Hi Quartzimodo,

I have a Seiko 5 from my grandfather and Iโ€™m wondering when it was manufactured. The movement and case code is 6309-8840 and the SN is 6D8954. The back of the case also says JAPAN and has a Suwa symbol below the SN.

Thanks.

Hello Quartzimodo Admin, Iโ€™ve recently purchased a mechanical Seiko ladies watch (I believe it could be vintage). The back case has numbers 921205 11-5149. The front face has Japan 11 5370R. Are you able to help date this watch? Also can you advise how to troubleshoot the watch? It is currently not moving and when I try to wind it, its already maximumโ€ฆ I was thinking of opening it up myself but I am a novice at watch tinkering. Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks! Jess

Hi Jess,

Your ladiesโ€™ Seiko 11-5149 was made in February 1969. Caliber 11A was designed for a simple ladiesโ€™ watch with no complications (day/date) whatsoever and itโ€™s a hand-winding (non automatic) watch. My mother happens to own a Cal 11A Seiko in the early 70s and she still has it to this day.

I would highly recommend that you take your watch to a watch repair shop that has experience with mechanical watches. Itโ€™s a 52 year old timepiece, therefore it could be anything from a broken or stuck mainspring to a faulty escapement. If you can hear the watch tick softly when you place it against your ear after winding the watch, the main spring is probably working but it could be the hour and minutes hands arenโ€™t moving for some reason. If youโ€™re interested in watch tinkering, practice on cheap, pre-owned Seiko 5s that you can buy on eBay. Good luck! ๐Ÿ™‚

best regards,
Quartzimodo

Hi, I have a 1975 seiko 5 watch
The thing is itโ€™s gold or gold plated and is what I think a custom made watch i need help clearing this up. It had Arabic dates such as the days in the week but it also has English dates for the days in the week. The watch itself is my fathers but he has since passed so I canโ€™t really ask him for the information
It had a black band on the outside of the face that shows the hours in 24 hr format and another showing the 12 hr format it glows in the dark too but I just canโ€™t find this variation of the watch anywhere. Please email me personally as I would like to show you photos so you can be more familiar and see what I am talking about thanks, suhag

Hi Quartzimodo,

I recently purchased another SKX013 to replace my damaged one, but I realised there were some differences in the casebacks of both models.

There are a few differences:

Serial: 520002 vs 3N0255
Date of manufacture: Feb โ€™05/15 vs Nov โ€™03/13
Day/Date wheel: Spanish vs Roman
Caseback font: โ€œDeeperโ€, more depth vs less depth
The one I found strange: โ€œWP Stainless Steelโ€ vs โ€œA Stainless Steelโ€

Do you know anything about this? Thanks and take care.

Hi T,

Thanks for your fielding some questions on your SKX013K junior sized diver.

โ€œSerial: 520002 vs 3N0255
Date of manufacture: Feb โ€™05/15 vs Nov โ€™03/13โ€

As far as I know, the SKX013K model went out of production even before the year 2010. This model wasnโ€™t as hugely popular as the standard sized SKX007K and Seiko continues production of only their better selling watches. By 2015 the 7s26C movement itself had been discontinued and replaced by the ongoing and much improved, 4R36 movement.
I would date both watches at Feb 2005 and Nov 2003 respectively.

Day/Date wheel: Spanish vs Roman

Eng/Spanish calendar discs were widely used up to the year 2003. From 2004 onwards Seiko switched to English/Roman discs. The 2005 made SKX013K would have Eng/Roman, while the 2003 made one would be fitted with Eng/Spanish.

The one I found strange: โ€œWP Stainless Steel" vs โ€œA Stainless Steel"

The general consensus amongst the Seiko WIS community is that โ€œWPโ€ indicates that the case, including the caseback cover are manufactured in Malaysia. The ones that are marked โ€œAโ€, e.g. โ€œJAPAN Aโ€ were originally sourced in Japan. The SKX013Kโ€™s final assembly process took place in China. If the movement says โ€œ7S26Aโ€ on the oscillating rotor then the movement itself was assembled in Singapore, while later variants โ€“ the 7S26B and 7S26C were assembled in Malaysia. I think itโ€™s unlikely for anyone to find an original SKX013K with a 7S26B movement.

As for the depth of caseback engravings, itโ€™s likely that being made at the factory in Malaysia (WP) the stamping process resulted in a much deeper font than the casebacks that used to be stamped in Japan.

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo.

Hi Quartzimodo,

I recently purchased another SKX013 to replace my damaged one, but I realised there were some differences in the casebacks of both models.

There are a few differences:

Serial: 520002 vs 3N0255
Date of manufacture: Feb โ€™05/15 vs Nov โ€™03/13
Day/Date wheel: Spanish vs Roman
Caseback font: โ€œDeeperโ€ engraving, more depth vs less depth
The one I found strange: โ€œWP Stainless Steelโ€ vs โ€œA Stainless Steelโ€

Do you know anything about this? Thanks and take care.

hello
i have a 4206-00A0 A4 can you tell me abut it?
thx
james

Hi James,

A 4206-00A0 is a Seiko 5 ladiesโ€™ mechanical watch. There were several models based on the -00A0 caseback. The 4206 caliber movement with day/date complications doesnโ€™t hack but can be manually hand wound. These watches have been discontinued from the market. The last time they were sold it was probably before 2010.

Quartzimodo Admin

Hi Quartzimodo,

I have what appears as an older Seiko. It is round with applied even numerals and markers for odd with a S in gold color and the name Seiko painted under the S with Super painted above the 6. on the back it has a square with what looks like a pelican in it the words stainless steel back then 2 lines of numbers 12061 than under that 548764 then under that the letter S. Would love to know any info and date. Thanks, Steve

Hi Steve,

Iโ€™m sorry but the details you have furnished are sketchy at best. I donโ€™t think Seiko made any watch caliber like โ€œ12061โ€, unless you misread the caliber. Genuine Seiko watches are always described in this format: xxxx-yyyy, where xxxx denotes the caliber and yyyy the caseback code. There are no Seiko movements with five digits. The six-digit serial number becomes arbitrary if the movement/caseback code is incorrectly supplied. Fake and/or heavily modified Seiko watches are notorious for not following the Seiko numbering convention.

Sorry I canโ€™t be of any help. ๐Ÿ™

Quartzimodo.

Hello, Quartzimodo! My grandmother had given me a Seiko watch in the early 1980s, but it was stolen.
After Grandma died my girlfriend (now wife) bought me one to replace it. It had stopped working about 20 years ago but I had kept it in a dresser drawer. I just got it repaired and am proudly wearing it as a memento not only of my wifeโ€™s love, but my grandmotherโ€™s as well. I cannot determine the year of manufacture online. Can you help? The caliber (model?) number is 5Y23-6022, and the serial number is 771414. Hereโ€™s to your health, and thank you in advance.

Hi Vincent,

Iโ€™m not sure when Seiko first introduced the quartz 5Y23 module but if says โ€œSeiko Quartzโ€ and/or โ€œSQโ€ on the dial of your watch, I would estimate its production date to be July 1987. The 5Y23 caliber was one of Seikoโ€™s many simple day/date quartz movements of the era, nothing really special about it. Hope this answers your question. ๐Ÿ™‚

best regards,
Quartzimodo

hi,
I have an old seiko 5 watch, can you help me get information about it?

seiko 5 automatic
7009-3130 A2, 905946
On the case it has the marking seiko 5 automatic 7009 470R R
Thank you in advance for your help!!

Hi there. I have a womenโ€™s Seiko quartz watch that has a black face and full gold medal band. The serial number reads 130671 it says bad metal st. Steel back.
Water resistant 3y03-0169 with an A4 in a square surrounding it. The band has the inscribing Z5318(or 9 itโ€™s hard to tell then a dot and a capital I. It doesnโ€™t work so itโ€™s stuck on Lun 8. I donโ€™t know what Lun means if itโ€™s a date it just be another country. The two hands have hollow spots in them but not see through. Thereโ€™s also a designed SQ in gold just above the 6 position on the clock. All the numbers are just bars not numbers for the time. Please help me figure out when/where this watch is from and possibly what itโ€™s worth? Thank you so much for your time.

Hello Jamie,

Thank you for your question and please accept my apologies for having overlooked your post. ?

Your Seiko 3Y03-0169 is an export model for North America, since the caseback number ends with a โ€œ9โ€. โ€œSQโ€ means Seiko Quartz. LUN means โ€œLundiโ€ or Monday in French. It was likely to have been made in Japan in March 1981. โ€œZ5318โ€ refers to the โ€œrice beadsโ€ โ€œJubileeโ€ style band that Rolex fitted to its ladiesโ€™ watches of the era. Iโ€™m not going to sugarcoat my assessment, but generally if the Seiko is a pre-owned quartz ladiesโ€™ watch that is NOT made from solid gold itโ€™s not worth that much. You can see used Seiko 3Y03 watches on eBay going for US$40 and some rare exceptions, e.g. almost mint condition, attractive blue dial with gold plating going under the hammer for US$150.

Unlike pre-owned Swiss automatic ladiesโ€™ timepieces, used womenโ€™s watches from Seiko are not exactly in the collectible category. They are probably worth more in sentimental value.

hope this helps,
Quartzimodo.

Hi, my husband died a few years ago and among his belongings I found a Seiko Scuba Diverโ€™s (battery SB-AN/SR920SW) Watch. Stainless Steel+Plastics. The serial number is 170043 with another ref number 7N36-6AOB with an AO in square surrounding. It has a leather strap. I am wondering if you can help me date this watch and whether it is worth selling or not. I know he must have purchased it many years ago when scuba diving in Saudi Arabia. Many thanks for your help.

Hi Deborah,

Iโ€™m very sorry for your loss. I understand that you intended to do an estate sale which incidentally includes your late husbandโ€™s Seiko diving watch. The 7N36-6A0B is one of Seikoโ€™s rare quartz Diverโ€™s 200m models and I have not seen a real one except in pictures. I donโ€™t think itโ€™s one of Seikoโ€™s more popular โ€œcollectorโ€™s itemsโ€ although this model is considered uncommon. I did a quick research and it seems that this model was popular in the Middle East market, especially in Saudi Arabia/UAE/Oman. Does it come with an orange dial?

I would estimate the date of manufacture at July 1991 which sounds about right for a watch movement (the 7N36) which was designed in the late 1980s. Whatโ€™s it worth? Well, Iโ€™ve spotted an ad for the orange 7N36-6A0B asking for approximately US$129. Watches, in my opinion are personal possessions and in certain cases, you canโ€™t put a price to nostalgia. Some are worth more than they were originally sold for while others arenโ€™t worth even a fraction of the purchase price. Itโ€™s all about supply and demand, plus the general condition of the timepiece.

Seiko quartz watches that have resin or plastic parts are usually not much in demand as the plastic material tends to deteriorate over the years. Most collectors will go for all-stainless steel Seiko watches (excluding the strap). You didnโ€™t state the condition of the watch head โ€“ if it looks like new with little signs of wear and tear it might sell for US$100. I would suggest that you sell it only if none of your late husbandโ€™s kin are interested in preserving it in his memory.

best of luck,
Quartzimodo.

Leave a comment

(required)

(required)


{ezoic-ad-1}

ADDITIONAL INFO

{ez_footer_ads}