What to do? An update.

I'd keep it like that. Having a marker or 2 missing builds character and reminds you that the watch has seen some sh*t before you got it. But if you're going to be wearing it and you know it'll bug you then do the dial swap

It's your watch. Do whatever you like. 

I feel like keeping it original is just for the resale value. If we were to do so with every watch, strap companies would be out of business. 

Looks like a Lucius Atelier textured dial. You know, the markers are only lightly attached to textured dial, right? Or to quote their disclaimer:

Note: Minute markers are gently applied onto the dial with adhesive and will come off if touched. Please ensure you take great care when working with this dial and avoid touching the minute markers. Due to difficulty working with this dial, this dial is ONLY recommended for professional watchmakers and highly skilled/experienced modders with great level of finesse.

I am absolutely right. Gorgeous as it is.

But @UnholiestJedi is right too. It's your watch and we all have the right to make our own wrong decisions 🤭

I personally would leave it, but not out of an obligation to maintain originality. I think the flaws add character. Regardless of my opinion, a Seiko 5 is a definitive workhorse watch. It’s meant to be worn, abused, repaired, repeat. It isn’t some piece of dainty horological history that demands strict preservation.

I suggest think of it less like a Ferrari and more like an F-150. Get it up on blocks, repair it, customize it to your heart’s content, and get it back in action in all those jobs that the diva watches wouldn’t dare attempt

I'm aware of how delicate they are. Thank you 

I would put a "2" there.  Just a "2".  It would be the Limited Reverse California Dial by Gasworks.

its vintage so look on ebay for a non working donor watch if you want original. mod it and its just another low end Seiko

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/112789871460?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=706-89093-2056-0&mkcid=2&itemid=112789871460&targetid=1661754831012&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9001252&poi=&campaignid=17297488730&mkgroupid=135567174686&rlsatarget=pla-1661754831012&abcId=9300872&merchantid=10252592&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1ZeUBhDyARIsAOzAqQKLZ8tk754QKHuOfQFq09lUP37tVziJtAvzMg9OcKmu692XvUMgfm8aAowsEALw_wcB

With a crayon.. like this... proper classy

...Or, rather than ending up with a 'low end seiko' when you mod it, you actually create something special, unique and full of your own personality and hard work (would be damn hard work for me any way 😆).

Don't you make your own watches from different parts? I would never refer to them as 'low end'. 

You mean a 2 in Roman numerals? Great idea!

Have to agree it adds characte. 

Character 

Generally I try to keep all the parts original. Sometimes I may replace a dial if it's awful but I do try to keep it in line with the movement. I did one before with a 7009 movement and a 7s26 dial and it looked OK. It's not something I make a habit of... it's too frankenwatch.

I just didn't want to put a 7009, 6309, etc Seiko 5 dial on it... its either the same/very similar 6119 dial to match the hands or something entirely different. 

Whatever I do won't be "low end"

as is your watch is vintage and period correct. modding is good and i love to do it but then its not original. upgrade to NH36 with nice dial and hands gives you a mostly new watch. The 26 movement is still low end classed as entry level.

I would try and source the missing marker, but I have no idea how hard that might be?

But I do like the alternative face and hands you have pictured. So you could do the replacement and then sell it to me!

More seriously though I have never thought of the movement being the watch rather than the piece as a whole? Food for thought!

You have stumbled on to the Gasworks marketing strategy.

Yep and we are local to one another. I believe I have been snared?

For me when I've worked on restoring a watch I'm more "attached" to the movement and case than I am the face and hands. 

Beautiful! The older Seikos are incredible finds and clean up so well.  Just found a working, 50 yr old 7006-8009 at a yard sale with a cracked crystal and can't wait top get it cleaned up!

https://www.ebay.ca/itm/363843028932?epid=3049804318&hash=item54b6bc07c4:g:nEwAAOSwt5dihNrq

check out this donor

Yep I get that. Almost like the exterior is cosmetics when compared to the actual engine beneath? Like the b58 engine in my previous bmw superior to the b48 in my current car. ( not that I'm a mechanic, I just like driving them!

Although having said that, for me as someone who doesn't take watches apart to work on them, the face and case is probably the dominant part.

The top marker on the sports 100 dial is the closest one I’ve got to yours you can have it if you want it DM me if you could use it or the other 2 dials I’ll send them up to you 

Keep it. Watches are time tellers, sure. But more than that, they are story tellers. 

It is your watch and your decision, but I would keep it as is, not for originality or resale, but because I like a watch with a bit of character. You know a watch that looks like it has survived all sorts of sh...stuff. A watch that looks at Timex and says "I laugh at your licking. Let me know when you can take a true beating."😜

That's really kind of you. But, I'll either leave it or replace it completely. I won't try and "repair" the original dial unless I  had exactly the same marker.

Just keep it the way it is and make the two-o-clock hour the time you take your daily nap. 

I'm superb at making wrong decisions 🙃