Opinions on the authenticity of this “SKX007J”

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Hi OF, hope you’re all well and thank you in advance for your help/opinions.

I recently came across this SKX007J for a steal of a price. I went ahead and bought it but now I’m having some doubts about the authenticity. I mostly am doubting the color of the text “DIVER’S 200M.” My other concerns have to do with the “feel” of the watch which is hard to convey through pictures, but is based on my knowledge of owning other SKX models. From what I understand, sometimes older SKX examples will have the red “DIVER’S” text fade to yellow when exposed to lots of light. No doubt this watch has lived a hard life, but if it’s the real deal I’m going to be treating it well to some mods.

Here are some pictures to help you out:



Thank you for your help!

Radiozoop

Edit: just noticed the potato-quality picture of the movement. Here’s a better one (hopefully):
 
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Hi Radiozoop,

Watch looks genuine to me except for the aftermarket bezel insert.

Looks to be some corrosion on the rotor so water may have entered the case. A service may be on the cards.

The dial looks like it may have some discoloration but its hard to tell from the pictures and it looks like some of the lettering in "JAPAN" at the bottom could be missing.

Depending on what type of modifications you are intending to do these things may or may not be an issue.
 
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I concur, looks like the real thing. That dial has a nicely beveled date window, although it has seen some wear.
 
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Hi Radiozoop,

Watch looks genuine to me except for the aftermarket bezel insert.

Looks to be some corrosion on the rotor so water may have entered the case. A service may be on the cards.

The dial looks like it may have some discoloration but its hard to tell from the pictures and it looks like some of the lettering in "JAPAN" at the bottom could be missing.

Depending on what type of modifications you are intending to do these things may or may not be an issue.
I concur, looks like the real thing. That dial has a nicely beveled date window, although it has seen some wear.

Thank you both. I’m happy to hear the opinions you two presented and I concur that the bezel is aftermarket. I plan on switching this to an SKX “style” ceramic bezel soon so I’m not too concerned about it.

@msm5, is the beveled date window something that is present on older SKX examples?
 
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I don't have an SKX at home to look at anymore, but the SKX007 and 009 for sure have beveled windows, just the the 6309-7040 and 7548-700b (both of which I do have, all original examples). One of the tells of the aftermarket dials is no bevel on the date window. I do recall an SKX173 I had with a less beveled appearance so I'm not sure how that evolved over the years.
 
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is the beveled date window something that is present on older SKX examples?

The beveled date window is a consistent feature on all the SKX007/009

The SKX 173 does not feature a bevel around date window.