Seiko SKX007: Watch runs too fast...

[Barnaby'sDad]

Seiko is up front about the expected accuracy of watches with the 7S26 movement and your watch appears to be falling within expectations. Somehow it seems unlikely that Seiko is going to do a warranty repair on a watch that is performing to specification. If you want more accuracy and don’t want to spend much go buy a quartz watch. Or go get mechanical watch with a better movement like a Seiko 6R15 or Swiss diver with a ETA 2824 or Selita. The SKX007 is great watch at it’s price point. Spending time to set it once or twice a week is a feature and not a bug.

Some days it's a novelty. Other days it's a nuisance. I assumed that -20 to +40 accuracy would mean somewhere in the middle (or one extreme or the other over the course of time) based on how it's getting worn. Not gaining close to a minute every day consistently. I guess that's what I get for assuming.

 

[agilis]

These watches are easy to adjust. I have several automatic Seikos, some going back to the 70s. I still dive a 6309 every now and then. The hardest part in adjusting is removing the back. Simple stuff, a tiny adjustment as long as the error is reasonably consistent. I have all of mine keeping excellent time, no more than 3 or 4 seconds a day off.

 

[Saboteur]

No. I should have been more clear. I meant that I thought the blue degaussing gadget that plugs into a 110v outlet fixed it.

It’s still running fast and I still have to adjust the time every couple of days to make it a relevant timepiece.

The only watch shop in town appears to have closed down. I just swapped it out for the Citizen until I can get it to a shop to look at it.

I much prefer the Seiko (aesthetics wise), but in its current state...it’s pretty much useless as a timepiece (unless you enjoy syncing the time on pretty much a daily basis).

Agree with the aesthetics on the SKX007. If Seiko made the 007 and 173 in a quartz or solar movememt they'd have a fantastic watch. My next watch may well be a Glycine Combat Sub... great looks and maybe a bit more accurate movement.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

These watches are easy to adjust. I have several automatic Seikos, some going back to the 70s. I still dive a 6309 every now and then. The hardest part in adjusting is removing the back. Simple stuff, a tiny adjustment as long as the error is reasonably consistent. I have all of mine keeping excellent time, no more than 3 or 4 seconds a day off.

I dropped it off at a watch shop today. The guy seemed pretty confident that it wouldn’t be an issue regulating it to where it would be a good bit better than it is currently. That and pressure testing it.

It was cool...the guy said...”huh...that’s an older watch. How long have you had it?” When I mentioned that I’d just gotten it a year earlier, he said...”huh. It looks just like the ones they were selling when I got back from Vietnam.”

Anyways...nice/cool guy and that was my entertainment for the day.

 

[scrane]

Agree with the aesthetics on the SKX007. If Seiko made the 007 and 173 in a quartz or solar movememt they'd have a fantastic watch. My next watch may well be a Glycine Combat Sub... great looks and maybe a bit more accurate movement.

I think that wonderful watch already exists in the guise of the Citizen BN0000-04H. The case contours at the back of the watch are truly elegant.

 

[Mr Carcharodon]

I dropped it off at a watch shop today. The guy seemed pretty confident that it wouldn’t be an issue regulating it to where it would be a good bit better than it is currently.

Please do report back on how this turns out. I have an SKX that runs more accurately than you reported but it could be better. I've thought without actually asking a watch repair shop that regulating it would be more than half the cost of the watch. The comment above about orientation is a consistent with what I have heard as well. Apparently there are minute differences in friction due to the way the watch is oriented to gravity. So it may be possible to store the watch at night in an orientation that offsets what happens during the day.

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

Please do report back on how this turns out. I have an SKX that runs more accurately than you reported but it could be better. I've thought without actually asking a watch repair shop that regulating it would be more than half the cost of the watch. The comment above about orientation is a consistent with what I have heard as well. Apparently there are minute differences in friction due to the way the watch is oriented to gravity. So it may be possible to store the watch at night in an orientation that offsets what happens during the day.

I’ll provide a report after I get it back and have worn it for a few days.

I put off on taking it somewhere because I figured it would be expensive. It’s not (well...at least the quote wasn’t, lol). Looking around online...people seem to be paying $20-30 for this to be done at a local shop. I was quoted $20.

From what It sounded like from talking with the guy...setting the regulator is a VERY quick job and pressure testing...while not laborious...takes some time.

I’ve tried resting it at different angles when it’s not being worn. That doesn’t seem to impact how it keeps time. Heck...I hadn’t worn it in more than a day when I retrieved it this morning and it was still fast (I’d just reset it the last day I wore it).

 

[Outbound]

$20 seems very reasonable to me. Heck, my local watchmaker charges $70 just for pressure testing alone.

 

[tep]

Agree with the aesthetics on the SKX007. If Seiko made the 007 and 173 in a quartz or solar movememt they'd have a fantastic watch. My next watch may well be a Glycine Combat Sub... great looks and maybe a bit more accurate movement.

Check out the "best under $xxx" reviews here: Dive Watch News, Reviews, and Info | Dive Watches Blog

The Citizen Eco Drive mentioned here is probably the closest to a quartz 007 2018's Best Dive Watches Under $200 | Dive Watches Blog

 

[Barnaby'sDad]

I was going to give it a week to report back in, but 72 hours seems to be enough time to get an idea of where it’s at.

It’s a little over six minutes slow in just 72 hours. If the shop that adjusted it was convenient to get to, I’d just drop it off again and ask him to split the difference between where the regulator was and where it is at the moment.

I’m not going to do that because I ended up with another scuff or two on the watch face (that and the back of the case was filthy when I got it back).

I’ll just live with it until I can pick up a nicer looking solar watch to daily wear and leave this one to dive with (assuming the guy sealed it up correctly and it doesn’t flood the first time I take it on a dive).

My takeaway from this little experiment is “don’t bother.” If you’re not happy with the watch for the purpose you’ve been using it, repurpose it (in my case keep it only for a dive watch), or get rid of it.