The tale of two old Seiko A159💪🏼
So I stumbled across a post from @CadeStingle and foolishly bought an old Seiko A159 from ebay. My first vintage watch refurbishment project, no clue how to do it. And boy did I make mistakes! I disassembled everything and cleaned the dirt out of it. But I soaked the case and dial in water and soap. What a mistake! Soap creeped in between the dial and the crystal and left some white marks. So I tried to remove the crystal, of course it broke. So I ordered another NOS crystal from ebay. Meanwile I achieved to polish the case and the old bracelet. Soon after that I found out that one pusher did not work because of a broken switch spring. Tried to build a brace, but the case was too narrow to fit the fixed module. A bit disappointed I ordered a switch spring, which is still on its way and another A159. Tried everything with the new one, of course I managed to bend the dial while removing and breaking the scratched crystal. Ordered another NOS crystal, lost and found some micro parts on the floor… Now, after getting a new bracelet the second watch is running strong and I love it! If the switch spring arrives I will have two lovely Seiko digital watches and I learned my lessons😂 What about your first baby steps fixing a watch?
Always had a watch, as far as I can remember. A full glow-in-the-dark Swatch Scuba was my gateway into clicky bezels as a 14 year old.
Mine was not necessary my fault. I was resizing a watch for my friend. Simple pin bracelet, no problem. Except the was a huge problem. I removed one pin no problem. I go to remove another one and without too much tapping of my hammer the pin was jammed half way through this jubilee style bracelet. The watchmaker, who I will not name put the pin in backwards at the factory. I had to use plyers and bending the pin to get it out. If your friend buys a fashion watch and asked you to resize it, just say take it to a jeweler to resize. Lol
Mine was not necessary my fault. I was resizing a watch for my friend. Simple pin bracelet, no problem. Except the was a huge problem. I removed one pin no problem. I go to remove another one and without too much tapping of my hammer the pin was jammed half way through this jubilee style bracelet. The watchmaker, who I will not name put the pin in backwards at the factory. I had to use plyers and bending the pin to get it out. If your friend buys a fashion watch and asked you to resize it, just say take it to a jeweler to resize. Lol
That sounds more like a total success! Great service and save!
That sounds more like a total success! Great service and save!
Never thought of it that way. Thanks. Good luck on your watch journey!
Sounds like that’s exactly how the process goes most of the time! You always think it’s gonna be a simple job then you end up running into some shit… 😂 great job the watch looks amazing, and hopefully you keep it up and keep the projects coming. It’s very rewarding!
Also, this one was my first project little 1977 Casiotron 76-CS. I got alcohol under the glass like you said and when it dried out, made the blue paint flake off like it was nothing. Kept polishing and sanding the metal bezel until it got to a raw bronze/copper look. Then I sprayed clear coat over it, cleaned out the rest of the watch and slapped it together. You’ll always improvise and overcome your mistakes!
Also, this one was my first project little 1977 Casiotron 76-CS. I got alcohol under the glass like you said and when it dried out, made the blue paint flake off like it was nothing. Kept polishing and sanding the metal bezel until it got to a raw bronze/copper look. Then I sprayed clear coat over it, cleaned out the rest of the watch and slapped it together. You’ll always improvise and overcome your mistakes!
It always feels so close to get the watch ready and then you do something stupid or a tiny little thing goes missing because it chooses to fly out of the tweasers across the room. Nerv-wreaking and exciting altogether. 😄
Also, this one was my first project little 1977 Casiotron 76-CS. I got alcohol under the glass like you said and when it dried out, made the blue paint flake off like it was nothing. Kept polishing and sanding the metal bezel until it got to a raw bronze/copper look. Then I sprayed clear coat over it, cleaned out the rest of the watch and slapped it together. You’ll always improvise and overcome your mistakes!
The biggest takeaway from my humble experience: DO NOT TOUCH THE DIAL AND CRYSTAL, if you don’t have to😜