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Old 19 November 2020, 12:22 AM   #1
330ci
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How to properly restore a vintage Seiko?

Throughout the years I’ve accumulated a lot of spare watch parts and I remember almost listing this on eBay 5 or so years ago and deciding to keep it just because I thought it was cool and I believe it was worth maybe $50-100 back then.

Just stumbled upon it again, and I’m a much bigger fan of Seiko divers than I was back then, and it turns out I have a bit of a “grail” in the Seiko diver community.

I am now on a hunt for a 6217a movement, but I can’t figure out if any other references shared the same movement. I found an article that had references with the same hands listed so I will need to track that back down again. Seems like I will be stuck with an aftermarket dial for a while though. I spent a few hours searching through parts bins to see if I could track down the original movement and dial to no avail. Did find a Wakmann triple register movement though and a similar Seiko 5 dial and movement that I thought was it, but unfortunately not.

The crowns seem to be fairly available, but how do I know I’m not getting a fake one? Prices for parts are so all over the place I’m having a tough time figuring things out. Didn’t realize how many aftermarket Seiko parts there are.


Wish I would’ve tackled this project years ago when it looks like parts were much cheaper! But better late than never and the case is unpolished to boot!
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Old 19 November 2020, 08:08 AM   #2
Old Expat Beast
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The 6217-8001 (AKA the 62MAS, the first real Seiko dive watch) that you have there (made in June 1967 according to the serial number, which was I think the last month of production for this model) is one of the most collectible Seikos, and worth several thousand even in relatively poor condition, so you'll have a hard time finding parts at a price that make it a financially viable project.

https://www.ikigai-watches.com/colle...the-62mas/5020
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Old 19 November 2020, 08:21 AM   #3
330ci
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Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast View Post
The 6217-8001 (AKA the 62MAS, the first real Seiko dive watch) that you have there (made in June 1967 according to the serial number, which was I think the last month of production for this model) is one of the most collectible Seikos, and worth several thousand even in relatively poor condition, so you'll have a hard time finding parts at a price that make it a financially viable project.

https://www.ikigai-watches.com/colle...the-62mas/5020
There’s a destroyed dial, with original movement and hands for $1,000 on chrono 24, I offered significantly less as the movement would be nice to have if nothing else to start but im not holding my breath for him to accept my offer. I figured if I could end up $1,500 or so into it that it might be worthwhile, as the numbers people ask seem to be staggering.
Still holding out hope I have the rest of the parts lying around

I’ve since learned the 62 is the base movement as well so i might have some other options for parts to get it back as a functioning watch, even if it isn’t correct for the time being. I know how the parts market is though and it sounds like these weren’t the most robust watches made. I also found it interesting this was one of the only Seiko five watches with the crown at 3

I think I’m going to keep it regardless though. Seems like a very cool project to keep around should I ever come across the rest of it or source parts online.
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Old 19 November 2020, 08:53 AM   #4
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There are cheaper movements and dials that will fit.

https://www.thewatchsite.com/threads...vements.26359/
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Old 20 November 2020, 07:16 AM   #5
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One thing is the watch is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. There are a lot of people asking crazy money for 6139's, 6105's, 6217's but what it actually sells for is a different story.

Good luck on the parts search.
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Old 20 November 2020, 08:37 AM   #6
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There are a lot of people asking crazy money for 6139's, 6105's, 6217's but what it actually sells for is a different story.
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Old 20 November 2020, 09:41 AM   #7
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you know exactly what I mean.
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Old 20 November 2020, 10:08 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Old Expat Beast View Post
The 6217-8001 (AKA the 62MAS, the first real Seiko dive watch) that you have there (made in June 1967 according to the serial number, which was I think the last month of production for this model) is one of the most collectible Seikos, and worth several thousand even in relatively poor condition, so you'll have a hard time finding parts at a price that make it a financially viable project.

https://www.ikigai-watches.com/colle...the-62mas/5020
Perhaps I should have said "fetch" or "go for" rather than "worth"
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Old 20 November 2020, 10:32 AM   #9
330ci
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Thank you for the additional link, I had a 7005-7080 lying in my random watch bin so looks like I will have something to wear around with not too much invested, then I can keep an eye out for parts in the meantime. (Alledgedly this will fit, not sure if the stem and crown will work together, but I’ll jump that hurdle when I get there)

Can’t believe what some of this stuff is bringing. IIRC I got both of these in a box of junk watches for $50, might’ve been closer to 10 years at this point too but Looks like the 62mas case and bezel would bring around $1k on eBay judging from sold listings.

I’m not going to hold my breath for a clean dial, but I should be able to get some original hands, movement and crown relatively cheap. Just one of those things that will take some time to achieve



On a side note, maybe the thread title was a bit misleading as I feel like a bit of a hack right now lol
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Old 20 November 2020, 10:58 AM   #10
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Looks like the 62mas case and bezel would bring around $1k on eBay judging from sold listings.
Some sales on ebay are fraudulent. A seller will set up and account and sell a watch to a dummy account to pump up the prices. Then you will see the same watch for sell weeks later. You would be better off using something like watchrecon to judge what prices really are.

Good luck.
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Old 20 November 2020, 12:24 PM   #11
330ci
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Some sales on ebay are fraudulent. A seller will set up and account and sell a watch to a dummy account to pump up the prices. Then you will see the same watch for sell weeks later. You would be better off using something like watchrecon to judge what prices really are.

Good luck.
I’m aware this happens but in the case of the last bezel that sold for $335 there were 25 bids. There’s another bezel they’re asking ~$600 for BIN and from my experience selling parts, will likely get it since they’re the only person with one for sale at the moment and people seem to be holding pretty strong at $3-5k sale prices for fair complete examples.

There was a complete case with a really tattered insert that went for $770 with 60 bids and another case with no bezel or crown that went for $415

When movements can be had for ~2-300, a few hundred for a set of hands and lets just say 50% of the value is the original dial. It makes sense for the case to fetch close to a grand.


Appreciate it though, could take years to find all the parts but after seeing a few completed listings of dials, I’m fairly hopeful this might have a decent outcome
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