Excuse me Seiko, there's a hair in my... Dial
I have a special place in my collection for this Seiko Pressage Zen Garden. It was my first venture into automatic mechanical watches and I've never looked back. I love the interaction between the wearer and the mechanism. To me it's a wonderfully romantic feat of engineering, which is ever lacking in our "smart" society.
But I have a problem! Recently I noticed something on the dial, and on close inspection it appears to be a small hair.
Firstly it's a bit annoying, it stands out like a sore thumb on this dial, which ironically is supposed to be "Zen"!
But I'm also concerned it could get itself into the movement and wreak havoc on the already questionable accuracy of the movement!
I'm quite a practical person, and I've watched plenty of episodes of wrist watch revival on YouTube! I was quite convinced I could take it apart and get the hair out. But I've since thought better of it!
Has anyone had anything like this themselves? It's probably a 30second job for someone who knows what they are doing. But I'm nervous that I'll get charged a fortune to get it removed.
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Its a very simple job. You just need to a caseback tool and puffer. Once you open the case back, the crown comes off with a small press of a lever and then you can take the whole dial with the movement out. Then use a rodico or a puffer to clean the dial and put everything back together. Just make sure you are in a clean environment.
I can't imagine it would cost a fortune, it literally would take about a minute to remove. Remove the case back, release the crown, drop the movement out, and use a blower or rodico to remove the hair. Then put it back together. No special tools other than a toothpick, a case back remover, and a blower required. You should be able to find a watchmaker who can do this for you fairly cheap.
I had a giant mystery hair appear in a cheap Soviet watch and I couldn't for the life of me get the snap case back off despite a long history of popping others off with ease. I had to pay a local jeweler $25 to do it and it looks like he had a hell of a time prying it off too. I'm assuming this would not present such issues.
I had this happen to my Aquis after Service. Still there, though not my problem.
I got a hair under my first Seiko automatic too! Mine was stuck to the rotor so it was even easier to remove... but it took me a few months to work up the nerve.
I recommend opening some cheap secondhand purchases first, I usually leave a big scratch on my first time with any caseback tool.
Its a very simple job. You just need to a caseback tool and puffer. Once you open the case back, the crown comes off with a small press of a lever and then you can take the whole dial with the movement out. Then use a rodico or a puffer to clean the dial and put everything back together. Just make sure you are in a clean environment.
Yeah I do have those bits of equipment, I plucked up the courage one day to give it a go but the case back was tight as hell, I gave up before I stated getting angry!
I might give it a go again one day. Thanks for the pep talk 😅
I got a hair under my first Seiko automatic too! Mine was stuck to the rotor so it was even easier to remove... but it took me a few months to work up the nerve.
I recommend opening some cheap secondhand purchases first, I usually leave a big scratch on my first time with any caseback tool.
I might give it another go, maybe do some deep breathing before I try again!
You guys are all way too casual about popping case backs and pulling movements. That way lies danger.
Yeah I do have those bits of equipment, I plucked up the courage one day to give it a go but the case back was tight as hell, I gave up before I stated getting angry!
I might give it a go again one day. Thanks for the pep talk 😅
Seiko case backs out of the factory tend to be super tight. Its a struggle with the three prong caseback openers. I ended up buying a tiny version of the stand caseback opener and it made the job much easier.
It's really not difficult once you've got the crown out.
I had to fix my Fossil using a donor watch. Quite a fiddly job, not helped by having to drill out two of the original screws on the caseback. I put it back together and then found a little white blob on the dial by the 12. No idea where it came from or even what it was. I'd had enough that day so I opened it up the following morning, it only took 15 mins but I know I'd have bodged it the previous evening.
Unfortunately I didn't keep a photo of the offending blob. But this fix helped me appreciate this watch again, after I'd grown bored of it. I don't think that would have happened if I'd just taken it to the watchmaker.
You guys are all way too casual about popping case backs and pulling movements. That way lies danger.
I mean, we're talking about a Seiko with a 4R35 movement, not a Patek. Wear gloves and be careful not to touch the dial or hands, and it should be all right.
Irony! Thy name is Seiko! 🤨
There’s a speck on my RB Seiko next to the 6 hour indices that drives me crazy lol
There’s a speck on my RB Seiko next to the 6 hour indices that drives me crazy lol
Aw mate! Fun watch though 😁
Irony! Thy name is Seiko! 🤨
Yea I know Seiko don't have the best quality control practices. The irony was more a nod to the name Zen. I'm not Zen when I see this hair!
Yea I know Seiko don't have the best quality control practices. The irony was more a nod to the name Zen. I'm not Zen when I see this hair!
I gotcha. 😎
I removed everything from my alpinist to swap the crystal out. It's not that bad especially if you can find a good video showing how to take the movement out and put it back in again. I got stuck for ages as the 6R had an extra tab compared to the 4R movements I could find a video on 😂