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| Joined: | Sun Feb 26th, 2006 |
| Location: | Oregon, USA |
| Posts: | 2897 |
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Seiko 7549-7010 Quartz from... OK admittedly I just don't care what day it was made late 70's early 80's ? Serial number 1N0004
Lots of age visible pitting in the lume on the hands, bleached paint on the hands 30 years of scratches dings and grime.
These will take a 6309 automatic movement if you are inclined to customize or just like the idea of changing it to an automatic!
first step wash off the watch!
When dry open it up and remove the crown and stem, visible in the photo above is the stem release button. Also visible is the movement ring and tension ring which is harder to see as it is attached to the movement ring.
Once the stem and crown are removed the movement ring is removed and the movement and dial are ready to be dropped out the back! In the above photo you can see the case back, gasket, movement ring, dial and movement in a movement holder, crown and stem, and assembled case.
To remove the bezel find a loose spot around the bezel to slip a knife under the bezel and twist the knife (like you would turn a key) between the bezel and case to separate it. Be careful not to mark the case or bezel when removing it. I have found twisting the sharp edge towards the case and back edge towards the bezel causes the least amount of damage for me, your results may vary!
Bezel and shroud removed, now you can see the crystal retaining ring which threads to the case and it's notched like a case back so it can be threaded on and off.
Another picture showing the crystal retaining ring.
Using a case back opener to turn off the crystal retaining ring, apply a little oil first it will help to clean out the threads as you remove the retaining ring. Also be sure the bits of the case back opener are sized close to the crystal you don't want the hard bits of the tool digging into the threads on the case as you turn out the retaining ring!
Here are all the parts disassembled from the front of the case, there is a metal retaining ring that goes around the chapter ring it has a flat side and a stepped side, the stepped side goes up and helps align the crystal gasket, it's probably not a good idea to put this in backwards! Also remember to remove the chapter ring before washing the case parts it is pretty easy to wash off the minute markers and lume from the chapter ring if you clean it with the watch parts! Notice the rust inside the case where the crystal sits? I will have to take a toothbrush and some comet to the rust on the inside of the case, it cleans off nicely with a toothbrush and comet and still has the matte finish like it originally did.
What is that Giant yellow machine with the Maytag label doing in my watch workshop? er...um... that's the laundry room and the laundry machine doubling as
the ultrasonic workbench
I'm washing the case parts in water with a couple of cap fulls of dishwasher detergent (no surfactant so no bubbles and it cleans just right for case parts) if you are going to be cleaning movement parts use watch cleaning solution, if you try to get creative you might end up dissolving or rusting small movement parts and that is embarrassing!
The pill bottle in the ultrasonic cleaner has water and armor all in it to clean and restore the rubber gaskets, yes it really works.
All the clean parts back on the workbench and the gaskets get a little spin in the silicone grease. I wipe the Seiko crystal gasket off after greasing it as the vintage crystal gaskets are L shaped and natural rubber they don't need much silicone and it's a bear to clean off the inside of a new AR crystal once you get something like silicone on it! I did not clean the case back in the ultrasonic cleaner because it has a stainless disk fit inside it and it would not have been possible to get it dry after soaking in the ultrasonic cleaner so I opted to clean it by hand with a microfiber cloth and toothbrush followed by a little oil in the threads of the case back.
OK I skipped a few steps
I assembled the movement and dial, movement ring and case back after making sure the dog ear at 2 o'clock on the dial was standing out instead of bent back as is so often the case after an amateur reassembles a 6309 era watch. The dog ear at 2 o'clock aligns with a notch in the chapter ring to align the minute markers with the dial. I apply a small amount of silicone to the outside of the crown tube so the crown gaskets will get some new grease after being cleaned in the ultrasonic cleaner. With the movement test fit the chapter ring can be aligned and installed correctly. Then the spacer around the chapter ring with the notch facing up and the crystal gasket followed by the crystal which I hand press into the gasket once I am sure it's in I like to run a jeweler screwdriver around the crystal to make sure the gasket hasn't rolled down with the crystal. When I am satisfied the crystal is OK I oil the crystal retaining ring threads and the inside of the ring too so it won't bite against the crystal when I tighten it. With the chapter ring and crystal fit properly I can return to the case back and grease and install the case back gasket for the last time and now the watch is sealed up again! I decided to keep the original dial and hands even though I did get a replacement hand set I decided the aged look was OK for the hands!
OK I skipped a few steps again
I get in a hurry to see the finished product, what can I say! The original bezel insert is pretty beat up, the original design has an insert with a spacer ring behind it. The after market inserts are thicker so you replace the original insert and spacer with the aftermarket insert. The quality aftermarket inserts are identical to the OEM inserts in appearance so no sleep lost over replacing it!
The new sapphire will last for years and now the case should age faster than the crystal instead of the other way around!