While at the Midlands fair, a chap who is an ex Seiko collector, now turned dealer was picking his way through Jim W’s offerings of very nice condition, and reasonably priced Seiko’s. for a second time around.
We pointed out the 3 or 4 clean and original 7002’s that were in the case.
His reaction really surprised me.
He recoiled back as if he’d just spotted a tarantula crawling around inside the case, he gritted is teeth and sucked in, like a mechanic does when he’s about to tell you that the little rattle you can hear in your car is about to cost an arm and a leg to repair.
“7002’s, are hard to sell, because they’re full of plastic parts”, he said.
Ive heard this said on quite a few occasions and seen it on several forums, Seiko filled the 7002 with plastic parts to cut costs.
So its time to debunk this myth, Ive made a comparison of the 7002 with its predecessor the 6309 729x and its successor the SKX 007/ 7S26-002X.
Usual drill, click on the pic to enlarge
The 6309 has no plastic parts in the case construction, I.E the crystal gasket is rubber/neoprene, Im not sure exactly what its made from, but its not plastic.
The movement has a plastic dial spacer seen here.
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Day & date wheels and guard removed you can see the intermediate date driving wheel is plastic, and the day and date wheel fingers are also plastic.
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Not finished quite yet, remove the rotor and auto wind frame and theres a plastic shield under the lever pawls, IIRC this shield was metal on other 61xx calibers
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.
On the 6309 total of plastic parts used is 5.
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7S26/SKX
I don’t have a case to show, but the case construction uses a plastic crystal gasket.
The movement has a one-piece plastic dial spacer and movement spacer. Day and date wheels are also plastic. They are Aluminium on the 6309 and 7002.
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Day, date wheels and guards removed and you can see that the quickset wheel is plastic, the intermediate date driving wheel is plastic and also the day date fingers are plastic.
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On the 7s26 total of plastic parts is 7 (inc., crystal gasket not shown)
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7002.
Again I didn’t take a pic of a 7002 case, but the construction is the same as the SKX and uses a plastic crystal gasket.
Movement, the dial spacer ring and movement ring are plastic, in 2 parts unlike the one piece found in the SKX. Under the date wheel guard is a plastic intermediate date drive wheel.
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Total of plastic parts in a 7002 is 4 (inc, crystal gasket not shown)
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Conclusion.
So the 7002 has less plastic part than the 6309 and the SKX. The SKX is the clear looser, Now if you take the actual moving plastic parts, again the 7002 comes out on top as it only has 1.
The "7002 is crap because it is full of plastic parts" myth successfully debunked
We pointed out the 3 or 4 clean and original 7002’s that were in the case.
His reaction really surprised me.
He recoiled back as if he’d just spotted a tarantula crawling around inside the case, he gritted is teeth and sucked in, like a mechanic does when he’s about to tell you that the little rattle you can hear in your car is about to cost an arm and a leg to repair.
“7002’s, are hard to sell, because they’re full of plastic parts”, he said.
Ive heard this said on quite a few occasions and seen it on several forums, Seiko filled the 7002 with plastic parts to cut costs.
So its time to debunk this myth, Ive made a comparison of the 7002 with its predecessor the 6309 729x and its successor the SKX 007/ 7S26-002X.
Usual drill, click on the pic to enlarge
The 6309 has no plastic parts in the case construction, I.E the crystal gasket is rubber/neoprene, Im not sure exactly what its made from, but its not plastic.
The movement has a plastic dial spacer seen here.
Day & date wheels and guard removed you can see the intermediate date driving wheel is plastic, and the day and date wheel fingers are also plastic.
Not finished quite yet, remove the rotor and auto wind frame and theres a plastic shield under the lever pawls, IIRC this shield was metal on other 61xx calibers
.
On the 6309 total of plastic parts used is 5.
7S26/SKX
I don’t have a case to show, but the case construction uses a plastic crystal gasket.
The movement has a one-piece plastic dial spacer and movement spacer. Day and date wheels are also plastic. They are Aluminium on the 6309 and 7002.
Day, date wheels and guards removed and you can see that the quickset wheel is plastic, the intermediate date driving wheel is plastic and also the day date fingers are plastic.
On the 7s26 total of plastic parts is 7 (inc., crystal gasket not shown)
7002.
Again I didn’t take a pic of a 7002 case, but the construction is the same as the SKX and uses a plastic crystal gasket.
Movement, the dial spacer ring and movement ring are plastic, in 2 parts unlike the one piece found in the SKX. Under the date wheel guard is a plastic intermediate date drive wheel.
Total of plastic parts in a 7002 is 4 (inc, crystal gasket not shown)
Conclusion.
So the 7002 has less plastic part than the 6309 and the SKX. The SKX is the clear looser, Now if you take the actual moving plastic parts, again the 7002 comes out on top as it only has 1.
The "7002 is crap because it is full of plastic parts" myth successfully debunked
