Seiko & Citizen Watch Forum Message Archive

"End Of Summer (Seiko) Diver's Watch Maintenance"

Author: Ryan

Date: 2002-09-19 04:04:00

ID: 1032433486 | thread

"End Of Summer Diver's Watch Maintenance"
Information and scans in this post come from this article, entitled "End of Summer Diver's Watch Maintenance."
Most diver's watches sent to Seiko Japan's Service Center for maintenance simply need
a change of battery and waterproof seals, according to service center staff members.
In addition to that, there are several other common reasons why diver's watches come into the service center for work.
In the case of scuba diving watches, these include: bezel which isn't operating smoothly
or has frozen, crown which doesn't "lock" down, damage to crystal,
and sticky chrono buttons on digital diver watches.
Seiko Japan Service Center staff
In the case of professional diver's watches actually used by professional divers,
some of the most common reasons for servicing are: rusted protective case cover screws, problems with bands/bracelets,
and watches stopped due to contact with powerful magnetic fields during a salvage operations.
Although Seiko recommends diver watches have their seals changed every three years or so,
simple maintenance by the owner is also important, according to Ikuo Tokunaga,
Seiko Watch Specialist.
To all divers he recommends not only rinsing in fresh water after use in the ocean,
but leaving your diver's watch in fresh water overnight as one way to help protect your watch from corrosion,
and to keep pressure sensors on digital ones working long into the future.
He says professional divers have to be very careful to inspect their watches after they come into contact
with gasoline or strong chemicals, or are banged against something like a rock during use.
Tokunaga was instrumental in developing the 6159 caliber automatic 600m diver's watch in 1975.
Tokunaga is particularly proud of the Seiko titanium professional diver's watches,
which debuted in 1975 with the release of the 600m 6159 caliber automatic.
The ground breaking one piece case design was the first titanium cased watch in the world
and received more than 20 patents. It was also the first with a protective outer shroud
and "wave type" rubber strap. It also contained Seiko's "L packing" (gasket) technology,
which is a barrier to all but a very minute number of helium atoms during use in saturation
(SAT) diving. The number of helium atoms which can enter into the watch is so small that
a helium relief value is not necessary with Seiko professional diver's watches used during SAT dives.
1975's automatic 6159B caliber 600m case structure. The orange highlighted area near the crystal is the "L packing."
1978's 75 caliber quartz 600m case structure was slightly smaller, but otherwise almost identical to the auto version.
1986's 7C caliber quartz 1000m case structure is also nearly identical to the 600m quartz's, and has interchangeable case parts.
Tokunaga emphasizes that the case design of the first titanium version in 1975 was so good
that it needed almost no further development from the time of it's introduction
to its present use in the Prospex 1000m Professional Quartz.
Titanium one piece case from a vintage 1975 professional watch.
Titanium case from the current 1000m professional watch.
Watches which Seiko considers their "professional" diver's watches start with
the release of the 6217 caliber automatic in 1965. The scan below shows most of them,
although notable exceptions such as vintage 200m and 300m quartz versions, and the current 300m Prospex Professional Quartz
and 300m Automatic MaineMaster -- as well as digital dive computers -- are not included in this discussion.
(From the far right:)
1965 -- 6217 caliber 150m automatic. It was the "first true dive watch made in Japan." It's nickname was "the Tough Guy."
1967 -- 6215 caliber 300m automatic. First Japanese dive watch rated to that depth. Many innovations, such as screw down crown at 4 o'clock,
hardlex crystal, one piece stainless steel case.
1968 -- 6159A caliber 300m automatic. First "hi-beat," it was both an automatic but also hand winds. The first Japanese to travel to outer space,
Dr. Mori, wore one when he went along with the crew of the Space Shuttle "Endeavor."
Night launch of the NASA Space Shuttle "Endeavor."
1975 -- 6159B caliber 600m automatic. World's first titanium case watch, first use of "L packing," first use of "wave type strap," protective cover,
arrow hands and applied luminous indices. Auto which manual winds and hacks.
1978 -- 75 caliber 600m quartz. World's first professional quartz dive watch.
1986 -- 7C caliber 1000m quartz. Light weight but extremely strong, first to use ceramic outer protective case shroud.
Breaking down a 6159 600m diver for service (above).
The following photos show the Seiko Service Center and its technicians in action.
According to Japanese law, vintage watches which used radioactive materials for luminous dials must be serviced in a special laboratory
by technicians licensed to work on them.
Radioactive lab.
Technicians at work on diver's watches.
Breaking down a 1000m for a new battery and "L packing."
How many of us wouldn't like to be let loose in Seiko Japan's parts warehouse? Well, maybe a Japanese guide would help ...
140,000 Seiko watch parts are reportedly housed here.
After a watch is serviced, it is placed in an "environmental chamber" (below) to see if it can withstand the proper temperature range
without effecting normal operations.
Environmental chamber.
Waterproofing is tested to depth.
Waterproof testing equipment.
Then, the watches are taken out of the waterproof testing equipment and heated up to see if steam will appear inside the crystals.
Testing for water inside the crystals.
Finally, the watch gets a detailed report of service, and is checked a final time.
Certificate.
Final check.
From: September 2002 issue of "Watch@GOGO, No. 32"
(World Photo Press; Tokyo).
"Pika pika" (sparkling) 6309 diver.
I thought you'd enjoy being taken inside the Seiko Japan Service Center. It really demystifies things to see the actual technicians and equipment
used to service our Seiko professional diver's watches, doesn't it? After doing this article, I have gained more confidence about sending in one of
my Seiko diver watches to them in the future for work required.
(Sorry for the many large scans -- still haven't mastered
"the art of the image.")
Ryan

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