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Davidt
·I like a lot of Seiko watches but I love the SKX. The robustness and proportions are excellent but it also just looks great, especially with a bit of wear and fading to the bezel. I’m really hoping for a SKX reissue to coincide with the 30th anniversary next year, with a better movement, case finishing etc.
In the meantime, I have 3 SKX’s but all are less than 10 years old and were bought either new or barely worn, with no patina or ageing and nothing has changed over the last few years in terms of fading to the bezels. I’m too impatient to wait any longer so decided to take matters into my own hands.
After watching a couple of videos this is the procedure I followed.
1. Removed the bezel from my SKX009 using a case knife and removed the gasket from the inside of the bezel.
I didn’t remove the insert from the steel bezel.
2. Filled a cup with neat household bleach.
3. Placed the bezel into the neat bleach and left it to soak for 20-30 seconds.
4. Then used a cotton bud to rub the bezel whilst submerged in the bleach. I did this continuously for 1-2 minutes.
5. Removed the bezel from the bleach and rinsed well under cold tap water.
6. Submerged in the bleach again and repeated step 4.
7. Finally gave the bezel a good rinse and dry. Inserted the bezel gasket and reinstalled the bezel to the watch. I just pushed the bezel back on using a flat surface and a cloth to protect it.
The main take away for me was that the bezel doesn’t seem to exhibit its true fade until you rinse it. So it’s important not to leave it in the bleach for too long as when you remove it and give it a rinse it will look much lighter than it did whilst submerged in the bleach.
Here’s the results. I wouldn’t artificially fade a bezel on an expensive or collectible watch but on a cheap SKX I think it looks great, the subdued and faded blue and red and perfect for me and really elevate the look of the watch from the standard, vibrant colours it has when new.
Before
After
In the meantime, I have 3 SKX’s but all are less than 10 years old and were bought either new or barely worn, with no patina or ageing and nothing has changed over the last few years in terms of fading to the bezels. I’m too impatient to wait any longer so decided to take matters into my own hands.
After watching a couple of videos this is the procedure I followed.
1. Removed the bezel from my SKX009 using a case knife and removed the gasket from the inside of the bezel.
I didn’t remove the insert from the steel bezel.
2. Filled a cup with neat household bleach.
3. Placed the bezel into the neat bleach and left it to soak for 20-30 seconds.
4. Then used a cotton bud to rub the bezel whilst submerged in the bleach. I did this continuously for 1-2 minutes.
5. Removed the bezel from the bleach and rinsed well under cold tap water.
6. Submerged in the bleach again and repeated step 4.
7. Finally gave the bezel a good rinse and dry. Inserted the bezel gasket and reinstalled the bezel to the watch. I just pushed the bezel back on using a flat surface and a cloth to protect it.
The main take away for me was that the bezel doesn’t seem to exhibit its true fade until you rinse it. So it’s important not to leave it in the bleach for too long as when you remove it and give it a rinse it will look much lighter than it did whilst submerged in the bleach.
Here’s the results. I wouldn’t artificially fade a bezel on an expensive or collectible watch but on a cheap SKX I think it looks great, the subdued and faded blue and red and perfect for me and really elevate the look of the watch from the standard, vibrant colours it has when new.
Before
After
Edited:
