Came across this one in the wild during my morning scan of all the places where one might scan for internet related bargains. This wasn't a bargain as much as it's a bit of a mystery. Something about the feel of this one leads me to think there's some originality to it. I own a regular normal turtle, but I am no expert. Let's start with what I don't like: - Bezel looks a little too perfect for me, compared to some wear/ polishing to the case. - I cannot find any images of anything similar on the web. What I like: - The lume is very well aged, and seems to match between the hands and the dial. - The dial is exceptionally well executed, and the hands seem to line up very well with the dial markers - The date window looks beveled. - It just doesn't feel like a modern mod or a fake dial to me. - That little yellow diver symbol on the dial looks so damned familiar, but I cannot place it. Any ideas? I feel like that might be the secret to cracking the code. - Case back looks good, is a Japan A and serials make total sense to me. I'm fully expecting that this either doesn't turn up, or it's trash when it arrives. That said, throwing this out there to see if anyone with any knowledge on this. Not going to be butthurt by "this is trash, throw it away". But feels like a fun little mystery for me.
Vostok ? Seriously though, this one is probably 80% trash... the case (not the bezel insert, it is a copy) and movement may be original, but the rest I doubt it very much. Lots of fake / mod parts in the vintage Seiko world.
Any time I see “funky” in a title I am drawn to read it- I love funky! I doubt it would have come like that from Seiko and am banking on a mod- but who cares!! It’s awesome! The dial lacks the Seiko codes at the bottom, hands are unlike any I have seen and the color combo....not polite enough for Japan- seems much more Italy. Orginal dials and hands for these are abundant on the used market if finding out it was a mod is totally offensive, but I don’t think you would have bought it if you didn’t think it was groovy as is. I would wear that thing with pride for the whole world to see....trust me, nobody could miss it.
I'm afraid that this is indeed a modified watch, Seiko didn't really have that many variations or "special editions" back in the day as they do today. All the cosmetic parts (dial, hands, bezel insert, chapter ring) seem aftermarket. Case is likely original, like the caseback that also matches the case. Modded Seikos have been around for a rather long time, so you can expect to see some "patina" on them as well, as they might not be completely waterproof (see below), or the parts were not very high quality to begin with. I don't see the bevel in the date window in those photos, however if there is one, it could also be a reprinted dial. If you like the look, why not wear it! Making it original wouldn't make much sense, as finding good original parts (especially dial & bezel insert) would be quite difficult, and probably not very cost-effective compared to just buying a complete original watch. In any case, I would check carefully that the movement is okay. For me personally, the biggest problem with some of these modded/"restored" Seikos is that many of the sellers are not very honest people - taking watches with water damage etc., and replacing the cosmetic bits w/ low-cost aftermarket parts, while the movement can be anything from completely dry but still original, to a mish-mash of parts from different watches. I'm not saying this is the case here, modding 6309's was quite popular among collectors until recently, so there are good ones out there, but just something to be aware of!
Usually the modders are quite open about their work. The sneaky ones of course, different story. That looks like someone trying to have fun and be creative a bit. Not someone trying to sell an original, or at least in its original creation