Anyone own a Seiko 5?

Yes, very reliable... Can take a surprising amount of abuse.

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Photo prior to strap adjustment (was 1 link too short - ouch!)

I gifted my dad one looking like that approx. 20years ago. It is his only watch, was never serviced and runs like a charm.


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@Luka you can get these movements for the 5 for about 40 quid. Probably cheaper than an overhaul. Buy one online and get a watchmaker to swap it over. If the case and glass has taken a battering.

@Eeyore68 and @tuxxdk that is 20-25 Euro on top of the VAT? That is outrageous. Some are helpful. When I bought a straight razor from Larry at Whipped Dog he undervalued the item and labelled it "tonsorial supplies" so it arrived without charge. A lot of US vendors get assy over this and often refuse international business anyway so I seldom buy from America.
Hi matteob thanks for the info but I think if I have to change so many parts it will end up like triggers brush.
 
Won't be buying another Citizen that's for sure. My Ecodrive is 15 years old but in nice nick bar a few scrapes (been around the world with me). I sent it to their service centre as it wouldn't hold a charge. They informed me that it is an obsolete model and they will be returning it untouched. Glad I bought the Seiko. Will stick to my 5 and a Lorus Quartz. Will definitely not touch another ecodrive. A sad indictment of today's throwaway society. I have an Eterna WW2 army and a Bulova watch of my grandfathers and both have been kept going by watchmakers. I also sent in my 20 year old Victorinox Climber to the UK suppliers asking them to fit new blades and offering to pay. They confirmed it is being sent to Switzerland for a full overhaul and I will not have to pay a penny. So can be cheered that at least one company likes to keep its old products going. For a £25 knife that is astonishing. Harder than ever to keep modern products long term so glad the 5 has a reputation for ruggedness.
 
Won't be buying another Citizen that's for sure. My Ecodrive is 15 years old but in nice nick bar a few scrapes (been around the world with me). I sent it to their service centre as it wouldn't hold a charge. They informed me that it is an obsolete model and they will be returning it untouched. Glad I bought the Seiko. Will stick to my 5 and a Lorus Quartz. Will definitely not touch another ecodrive. A sad indictment of today's throwaway society. I have an Eterna WW2 army and a Bulova watch of my grandfathers and both have been kept going by watchmakers. I also sent in my 20 year old Victorinox Climber to the UK suppliers asking them to fit new blades and offering to pay. They confirmed it is being sent to Switzerland for a full overhaul and I will not have to pay a penny. So can be cheered that at least one company likes to keep its old products going. For a £25 knife that is astonishing. Harder than ever to keep modern products long term so glad the 5 has a reputation for ruggedness.

Keep hold of the Citizen, you may be able to replace the capacitor yourself or find an independent that can do it. I had a look on YouTube and it doesn't look much different to doing a battery.
 
I just send in 3 mechanical watches for service, all of them from the 50-70's era. One is returned already freshly serviced and the price I paid is negligible compared to a new watch, but also compared to the heritage that I get to keep with the watches - all used by my Father and Grandfather. I know service from one of my new Seiko 5's will be more expensive than what I paid for the watch itself, but I figure years from now I'll appreciate the old watch for what it is and gladly pay more for service than a new, unavailable, model.

Try that with an old quartz :) Love mechanical watches, but I do appreciate the ruggedness a quartz can provide, hence I have a few for specific purposes.
 
@tuxxdk I agree with you. Watchmakers are thin on the ground and finding a good one is hard. Some here seem to cater just for the high end market and start quotes in three figures for any job. Others are just great all round craftsmen. When you find a good one it's great. That guy in Scotland is great: very reasonably priced and does a good job that is why he has a two month backlog.

I like normal quartz for dependability. My wallclock cost me a fiver, is 25 years old and is still ticking just an AA battery every few years. I like mechanical things though. As for fancy gimicky quartz stuff I won't go there after the ecodrive experience. They were a bit snotty saying tye watch was scratched and bumped up a bit but to me that is life patina as that watch has been around the world with me. The watch tells a story but they would rather I shell out on a new watch: modern corporate thinking at odds with their marketing bullshit. I will see if I can find a capacitor for that obsolete movement online and do the job myself. Aparently the Kinetic is even worse. If that fails Seiko try to get you to pay up a couple of hundred quid for a whole new movement. People are snotty about the 5 as it is made in Malaysia but it is a robitized production. Seiko design the movement and machines so who cares where the machines are installed. High end tech is made mostly in China after all. The 7s26 movement is very well engineered by all accounts. Here is a good teardown report.

http://17jewels.info/movements-en/movements-s-en/movements-s-seiko-en/1407-seiko-7s26a.html
 
People are snotty about the 5 as it is made in Malaysia but it is a robitized production. Seiko design the movement and machines so who cares where the machines are installed

Totally agree. My Seiko Monster has a 7s26 movement that was made in one of Seiko's overseas factories, but it was still made in a Seiko factory using the same machines and Seiko's levels of quality control. General thinking on Watchuseek is that the Seiko movements are equally good wherever they're made, most of the people over there regard the Seiko 5 as a solid watch and a great introduction to mechanicals. Almost everyone who knows watches regards the SKX007 / 009 as a classic watch and they use the same movement as the 5.
 
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