[69chevelless]

Several years ago, my next door neighbor and I were talking. He's retired (probably in his 70s) and a real nice guy. I commented on his watch (he wears a Rolex) and we got to talking about watches. Told him about my love for Seikos and he said "Oh . . . I had an old Seiko dive watch years ago but it stopped working and I threw it out. I was somewhat heart broken imagining what it could have been.

So today, I was out by my grill (in the rain) grilling some burgers for dinner and I saw him in his garage. I said "hi" and asked him how things were going and he made a comment about my dedication to grilling!

Then he said "I need to talk to you some day when it's not raining". I said "OK . . . I'm here all weekend so let me know". Then he said "Remember that old Seiko I told you about? I found it . . . I didn't throw it away". I IMMEDIATELY asked him if he wanted to sell it and he said "no . . . I want to get it working and wear it again".

Two things are killing me . . . .

1) What model is it?
2) Bummed he wouldn't sell it!

I told him "I knew a guy" and that we'd talk over the weekend!

I'm just gonna die it it's a 6105!

More as I know.

 

[69chevelless]

well hey if you can help him...you never know..hey may sell it to you when he wants too..

I plan on hooking him up with Spencer AND asking for right of first refusal should he ever decide to sell.

 

[69chevelless]

Unfortunately, I'm going to have to be patient. Their son-in-law had a major stroke a couple of years ago and they do a lot to help their daughter raise their grand kids. They aren't home a lot so I have to wait for him to come over or if I see him about, I'll ask!

Believe me . . . I'm dying with anticipation!

 

[69chevelless]

Most folks are not Crazy Goons like us WISer's who would dump 100 bucks in a "old" watch.

When he finds out how much it will cost to get her up and running again he may just give it to you Bob............

Don't I wish Tom . . .

I doubt it though . . . he was an attorney and they are pretty comfortable financially as far as I can tell.

Only time will tell though.

 

[69chevelless]

hmmm....
I don't want to be "out of order" on this one, but if it turns out to be a 6105 or above, I would suggest that the end justifies the means : without going as far as killing or stealing, getting a fellow watch repairman to tell your neighbor the watch can't be fixed sounds like something to consider

(after all, the really important thing is it ends up in the hands of someone who appreciates it AND makes sure it gets preserved for future generations: technically, you wouldn't be working for your own personal profit but rather for the sake of the Seiko diver heritage preservation, right... ;-)

Philip (25 years in banking and finance, and with no great love for attorneys)

Nah . . . . .

I've still gotta get up in the morning and shave myself!

I'll be square with him and let him know what he's got and what it's worth. I'll recommend Spencer to get it back in running order and see what happens. I'm hoping he gets tired of that "old cheapo Seiko" in preference to his Rolex and offer it to me for sale.

Worst case, I'll ask him if he'd be kind enough to give me right of first refusal should he decide to sell if it's something I can afford. If not, I'll offer to help him sell it for what it's worth.

 

[69chevelless]

Well . . . we have a verdict!

Saw my neighbors today and chatted for a while and he showed me the watch. It's a Resist/Resist 6139-6011 from December '70. Pretty nice watch and it looks to be salvageable. Here's a Q&D cell phone shot:

He said he has the original bracelet for it but preferred wearing it on a rally strap with some sort of clasp.

Watch doesn't run and the pushers are stuck but it looks like he'll be sending it off to Spencer for some TLC. Movement looks pretty clean and he claims that Seiko mismatched the chrono hands. As we were talking, it turns out that this is just one of those watches that connected with him. He loves it and I'm happy to help him getting it back in fighting shape.

Hopefully, I'll be able to share more updates as to the "back from the dead" status of this beauty.

 

[69chevelless]

Just helping him connect with getting it properly taken care of may very well come back to you down the road. Great story.

I'm not looking for anything but the satisfaction of being nice to a neighbor (they've been very nice to us and our kids) and seeing a great old Seiko back on a wrist!