What to do...??
Hello fellow watchists; your advice/suggestions would be welcomed on this....
I bought this rather lovely Seiko 5 6119 recently. It's dated July 1970 which makes it pretty much as old as me. I'm going to service/refurb it but I have a dilemma. What do I do about the missing baton at 2 o'clock. I've scoured the interweb for a replacement to no avail. So what should I do?
a) Try and find a similar dial from another Seiko 5 (it may not be a 6119)
b) get something completely different.. like this...
With new hands maybe??
c) just leave it as is... it's part of it's character/story.
d) something else??
I could leave as is, replace the movement with a non-functioning pin-lever and sell it to @chronotriggered for £5 I suppose?
A self-confessed Seikophile who spends far too much time looking at bits of watches under a microscope. Probably the finest restorer of vintage Seikos in my house. https://www.ebay.co.uk/usr/gasworks
As I didn't even notice, I'd say C, leave as is.
Or the option you didn't mention: remove all the rest to match.
Certainly didn't think of that. I did wonder if I could make one but decided I lacked the tools and, more importantly, the talent to do so. 😊
It would drive me crazy to leave it. It would drive me crazy to put something there that did not match. A similar Seiko dial would seem like a franken cheat.
Short of your nuclear option that requires a defunct pin pallet movement, I might do something whimsical, perhaps a redial that bears no relationship to 6119 except the size and day/date window.
"Did you know that Gasworks uses Seiko movements in limited production models?" The modern incarnation of Welsbro uses vintage cases and movements and funky new dials. Make it a Gasworks original.
There are hundreds of Seiko dials on Aliexpress including old stock Seiko. I think they do dial contracts and make extra for their own market.
They airbrush the logo off in both
C. It adds to the character of this vintage piece. A battle scar of sorts.
The indices are beautiful and match the hands, while both nicely contrasting with the stunning sunburst textured dial. Keep it as is, IMHO, as that is part of its vintage charm. 😉 But to be sure, when you open up the watch, check and search if the index might have just fallen inside, and is stuck somewhere in the movement.
C and then sell it to chronotrigged for more than 5 pounds…🤣
Personally, I'd leave it. It's like the old one-eyed dog at the dog shelter, lovable just as it is.
How can you not love that face? 🥺
(I probably attribute more feelings to watches than they actually have)
Think I'll go with C...
buy a new Seiko.
I vote for option pin-lever
Thank you for the input folks. I'm sort of torn between B and C. I think C is the right and proper choice but, like Aurelian, I'm just not sure I could live with leaving it. I'd probably glue a googly eye on to deeperblue's dog. I'll probably go with B ... maybe... possibly 🤔😬
The indices are beautiful and match the hands, while both nicely contrasting with the stunning sunburst textured dial. Keep it as is, IMHO, as that is part of its vintage charm. 😉 But to be sure, when you open up the watch, check and search if the index might have just fallen inside, and is stuck somewhere in the movement.
It's already dismantled... no joy on the missing baton.
The other option is to find a donor dial with similar batons and take just the batons and replace them.... hmmmm 🤔
C and then sell it to chronotrigged for more than 5 pounds…🤣
Item no. 87492 - this giant bag of wasps
I’ll start with a tabled bid, £6…
Can you break the double marker at 12 and stick one of them at 2? 😂. Sorry, I don't have a more constructive answer for you...
Something else, just replace the dial, or take the others off, lol