VK63 movement questions/opinions

So Ive finally gotten myself a new job, and Ive been lusting after a dan henry 1964 for years now. And this feels like the right time to pull the trigger, but there's still that last little bit of uncertainty i want to squish before I do it.. and it's on the movement.

Ive never experienced a vk63 and there doesnt seem to be too much info online about the reliability and life span. I also really prefer my quartz pieces to have a good low life indicator, such as ticking at 4 second intervals.

So for those in the know: is this a good long term movement with easy service capabilities? And does it have a low battery indicator?

Thanks in advance for helping me make my next purchase 😁

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🔥

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I have the 1964 and it’s a great watch. I’ve never had it serviced and don’t plan to given its budget roots. The VK63 is common so it shouldn’t be expensive to fix or replace if needed. It does not have a low battery indicator as far as I can tell.

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SpecKTator

I have the 1964 and it’s a great watch. I’ve never had it serviced and don’t plan to given its budget roots. The VK63 is common so it shouldn’t be expensive to fix or replace if needed. It does not have a low battery indicator as far as I can tell.

Thank you! It really looks like such a beautiful piece for the price. Which color do you have? Im torn between standard tricompax panda & the tri evil panda

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SpecKTator

I have the 1964 and it’s a great watch. I’ve never had it serviced and don’t plan to given its budget roots. The VK63 is common so it shouldn’t be expensive to fix or replace if needed. It does not have a low battery indicator as far as I can tell.

Same, I have the 1964, it's beautiful and Seiko has made so many of these movements for so many brands you'll be fine moving forward. No battery indicator, the 24 hour dial is basically useless except for design. Personally I regret not getting the 3-sub dial model because the 2 sub-dial version doesn't have a seconds counter and I'm constantly worrying that the watch has stopped (but that's my poor brain) I would also say the white dial version is probably more legible than the black, which has less contrast. Enjoy!

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therealledoge

Thank you! It really looks like such a beautiful piece for the price. Which color do you have? Im torn between standard tricompax panda & the tri evil panda

Panda Tricompax with date. The only downside is the 19mm lug width.

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88MilesPerHour

Same, I have the 1964, it's beautiful and Seiko has made so many of these movements for so many brands you'll be fine moving forward. No battery indicator, the 24 hour dial is basically useless except for design. Personally I regret not getting the 3-sub dial model because the 2 sub-dial version doesn't have a seconds counter and I'm constantly worrying that the watch has stopped (but that's my poor brain) I would also say the white dial version is probably more legible than the black, which has less contrast. Enjoy!

It’s a solid watch and I’m impressed that there are so many options available to fit different tastes

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It’s a good inexpensive accurate seiko quartz movement with a nice mechanical quartz chronograph. Battery life should be 2-3 years. It’s easily serviced by replacement. I have a vague recollection that a new vk63 movement is in the $20-$30 range.

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88MilesPerHour

Same, I have the 1964, it's beautiful and Seiko has made so many of these movements for so many brands you'll be fine moving forward. No battery indicator, the 24 hour dial is basically useless except for design. Personally I regret not getting the 3-sub dial model because the 2 sub-dial version doesn't have a seconds counter and I'm constantly worrying that the watch has stopped (but that's my poor brain) I would also say the white dial version is probably more legible than the black, which has less contrast. Enjoy!

Thank you!

I kind of want the 2 subdial because the date at 6 is so nice. Im not as big a fan of dates at 4:30 but i definitely prefer a date over no date. But the tricompax design is so classic and beautiful. I also would have that worry the watch stopped if I didnt have the running seconds lol

The white has a very classy look to it and maximum visibility. I am just a sucker for black dials. I need both 😤

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Not sure I can satisfactorily answer all your questions, but I have quite a few VK63s/VK64s (without date/with date) and have not had any issues with any of them. The battery seems to last quite a long time, provided you are not continually running the chronograph complication.

The Dan Henry is a solid watch...I have a few. I have heard some had problems with the homage to the "Top Gun" watch...I didn't purchase one of those so can't say anything about that. I think TGV did a YT segment on that one.

You might be interested in this article I posted previously...

https://www.watchcrunch.com/ChronoGuy/posts/how-many-variations-are-there-for-the-seiko-vk64-show-us-yours-15047

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ChronoGuy

Not sure I can satisfactorily answer all your questions, but I have quite a few VK63s/VK64s (without date/with date) and have not had any issues with any of them. The battery seems to last quite a long time, provided you are not continually running the chronograph complication.

The Dan Henry is a solid watch...I have a few. I have heard some had problems with the homage to the "Top Gun" watch...I didn't purchase one of those so can't say anything about that. I think TGV did a YT segment on that one.

You might be interested in this article I posted previously...

https://www.watchcrunch.com/ChronoGuy/posts/how-many-variations-are-there-for-the-seiko-vk64-show-us-yours-15047

I appreciate the input! Its comforting to see so much love for the mecha quartz on that thread you linked too. I think im convinced on buying the 1964 😁

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I Really like the movement, especially the smooth seconds hand and the 12 hour chronograph.

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Tfardy

I Really like the movement, especially the smooth seconds hand and the 12 hour chronograph.

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That's awesome! What watch is that? I'm unfamiliar with that reference.

The smooth chronograph sweep was definitely enticing. I ended up getting the Dan Henry. Its on its way now 😁

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therealledoge

That's awesome! What watch is that? I'm unfamiliar with that reference.

The smooth chronograph sweep was definitely enticing. I ended up getting the Dan Henry. Its on its way now 😁

Seiko ssb423p1

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I own two Dan Henry 1964, the first I bought summer 2020 and It just now ran out of juice. Love the watches, the design is very well executed, they are very comfortable and the dimensions are perfect, at least for me. I think best is to get thwm used. bought one for 150 Euro and for that money it's incredible!

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Monti_McFly

I own two Dan Henry 1964, the first I bought summer 2020 and It just now ran out of juice. Love the watches, the design is very well executed, they are very comfortable and the dimensions are perfect, at least for me. I think best is to get thwm used. bought one for 150 Euro and for that money it's incredible!

I ended up getting thr 1964. I did actually get it used as well, $210 barely used, i wouldnt even know it was used if not labled as such.. the bracelet is so damn hard to get off though. I ended up scraping the spring bar so bad where i grab it with the tool 🤣

Absolutely love the watch though

I have a tiny 6inch wrist and it fits me like a dream

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