[Camshaft Chris]

Hello all. I'm new to the forum and to Seikos in general. I'm currently looking at a few vintage Seikos on ebay, but I'm having trouble determining if they're fake or not. I was directed here from the Quartzimodo blog and am hoping you all can help me out.

First up is a Seiko 5:

The Quartizmodo blog said that no Seiko would ever say "Japan Made" on the dial, and this one clearly does. So, is it safe to assume that this one is a fake? Here's a pic of the back of the case:

The other three all, in my mind at least, appear to be modified, with some sort of aftermarket dial to match the straps. I'm not 100% sure on that though, so I looked at the case backs and they seem ok to me. But again, I'm completely new to this so I don't know what I might be overlooking.

#1

#2

#3

So, what does everyone think? Are these Feikos? Or can I bid with confidence knowing I will be getting the real deal? Thank you all in advance!

 

[Mr.Jones]

Real Seikos with fake dials.

 

[mncz]

Judging simply by the dials, I would say that none of them check out as authentic. As for the casing, hands, caseback and such details, others will surely be able to chime in with more particulars.

But if the dial is truly suspect, unless the other components are valuable, best to steer clear.

 

[scubarob99]

Bombay sidewalk special. All of them.

Rob

 

[mmounce]

I will commend you. Usually people that come here, buy the watches first and then ask if they are real.

You are ahead of most.

 

[uncleluck]

Absolute trash dials, avoid, avoid, avoid!

A good indicator is the price. All these horrible pieces oh crap are usually cheap.

I’ll put a pic up later (for a good laugh) of one of these eBay special ‘Seiko’s’ my Dad bought the other day, I told him to cancel the transaction as it’s clearly fake but the seller wouldn’t have any of it he reckons. Luckily he’s sending it to my house so I shall send it back for him!

God knows why he didn’t ask me first! Funny thing is he wants a yellow pogue and buys this POS off eBay for £25 (good indicator right there) and messages me bragging on the fact he’s bought a Vintage Seiko for £25! I showed my Mrs the pic and even she wet herself laughing so no idea what he was thinking!

Viewer discretion will be required though if you’ve eaten...

 

[mncz]

I will commend you. Usually people that come here, buy the watches first and then ask if they are real.

You are ahead of most.

True words!!!

Absolute trash dials, avoid, avoid, avoid!

A good indicator is the price. All these horrible pieces oh crap are usually cheap.

I’ll put a pic up later (for a good laugh) of one of these eBay special ‘Seiko’s’ my Dad bought the other day, I told him to cancel the transaction as it’s clearly fake but the seller wouldn’t have any of it he reckons. Luckily he’s sending it to my house so I shall send it back for him!

God knows why he didn’t ask me first! Funny thing is he wants a yellow pogue and buys this POS off eBay for £25 (good indicator right there) and messages me bragging on the fact he’s bought a Vintage Seiko for £25! I showed my Mrs the pic and even she wet herself laughing so no idea what he was thinking!

Viewer discretion will be required though if you’ve eaten...

Can't wait to see this...!
:djparty:

 

[imexian]

I think they look pretty classy................ish....

 

[uncleluck]

Viewer discretion warning
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I had to go back on WhatsApp and download it again as I’d deleted it from my pics, it actually makes me feel a bit sick looking at it for some reason.

 

[Paulb]

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I had to go back on WhatsApp and download it again as I’d deleted it from my pics, it actually makes me feel a bit sick looking at it for some reason.

My eyes!

 

[Saul]

Is the seller based in India? They have that look. I don't recall really seeing anything genuine on eBay from there. Worse than the chop shops in the Philippines.

 

[zeke441]

They do look like chop shop India specials. The dials definitely look like Feiko's, the chapter rings may be as well. The only good thing about those is if you sift through the trash you can pick up a movement parts donor for under $20 bucks to fix a real deal you already have.

 

[zeke441]

Viewer discretion warning


I had to go back on WhatsApp and download it again as I’d deleted it from my pics, it actually makes me feel a bit sick looking at it for some reason.

It made my whole screen look crooked. Please tell me your Dad has a sense of humor and he's just yanking your chain.

 

[uncleluck]

It made my whole screen look crooked. Please tell me your Dad has a sense of humor and he's just yanking your chain.

I wish he was!

Strange thing is he’s always been into watches and has loads of nice watches (accutrons, Seiko’s, Tissot, Longines etc) yet he’s now discovered eBay and that combined with his eyesight going, well that’s the result above.

This is the second one he’s bought too!

 

[barryw]

could be genuine these days - the way Seikos quality is going

 

[Reflex]

Welcome to SCWF Chris.
The markings on the chapter rings look like they've been hand drawn with a ballpoint pen.

 

[Jim W]

Absolute rubbish. Keep well away.

 

[Camshaft Chris]

Thank you everyone for the replies. Yes, the seller is based in India. So, the general consensus I'm seeing is that these could have genuine movements, but the rest is crap. So I will definitely be staying away from these.

Does anyone have any recommendations on a good place to pick up an affordable first Seiko? I like the idea of getting a vintage one, but don't know how to tell a legit one on ebay, lol. So I think it might be best if I stayed away from that. I'm also a big car guy, and really enjoy the modifying things, and I've heard that there's a huge market for modifying Seikos. What would be a good watch to start with that I could do some mods too if I went that route instead?

Again, thank you all for the welcome and the advice! I greatly appreciate all the knowledge I've gained so far!

 

[EdwardC]

I'm new to vintage stuff as well, but have learned a lot in the last couple months. Unless you want to spend a lot of time going to pawn shops, thrift stores and jewelry stores, eBay can still be a decent place to find a good deal. You'd just need to learn to pick through the junk. I like the units that aren't in too good of condition. A scratched up crystal and un-buffed case are good signs to me. Ask for a picture of the movement if there isn't one listed, make sure it all looks clean, and the movement matches what the case back indicates. Then search the movement number and case style code. A google image search should (as long as it's remotely common) result in pictures that you can compare with. Pay attention to the fonts and font sizes, the hands (particularly the length and color), and the dial code on the bottom.

And as always with any purchase, you're buying the seller, so if the seller, for example, has 100 of brand new looking vintage watches and happens to be selling from India, spend a little more time checking and make sure you know what you're buying. From personal experience, I've had decent luck with buy models from Japanese sellers, which makes sense to me since that was a large market.

If you wanted to do mods, I'd suggest looking at the SKX models. You could get one second hand fairly inexpensively (like a SKX007 or SKX009) and try changing dials, hands, crystals, chapter rings, bezels, bezel inserts, straps, etc. The 7S26 movement is pretty inexpensive if you completely mess things up. As a car guy, one of the best things might be that you get to buy a whole bunch of tools to go with the new hobby

Edit: Also, you're typically pretty safe purchasing from other users on forums like this.

 

[uncleluck]

Be quick guys...