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Problem with Seiko 5 Superior

2531 Views 15 Replies 7 Participants Last post by  slayer
Hello all!

I've been a long time reader of this forum and thanks to information I picked up here I made a decision to buy Seiko 5 Superior with 7S36A movement.

That was 2 years ago. Everything was fine and I was enjoying my watch thinking it will work forever just like my father's Seiko 5 that he has since 80's and never needed any work done.

Unfortunately recently I started experiencing problem with my watch. It loses time, alot of time.
I tried to isolate the problem and this is what I came up with hoping some of you might be able to give me and idea where I should turn.

Since this watch has glass cover on the back I can tell when watch is running properly, when it stops and when it runs slow.
I would wind the watch like operating manual suggests and observe the following, if I hold the watch with dial up or to a side it works great, when I slowly turn it around and eventually position dial downwards I observe mechanism slowing down and eventually completely stopping when dial is facing down.
Overnight watch was sitting on night table on its side and didn't lose any time, then I started wearing it and in less than 3 hours it lost about 10 minutes, that's when I finally figured what I wrote earlier about watch stopping when dial faced down.

I did a bit of research and thought that watch picked up some magnetic field and needs to be demagnetized, I did the old CRT monitor degaussing trick, but it did not help.

I live in Calgary Alberta Canada and wondering what my next steps should be?
Can anyone suggest anything?

I absolutely love this watch and went out of my way to purchase it in Malaysia via watches88.com, which is reputable dealer according to my research.

I hope someone can help me out.

Thank you.
1 - 16 of 16 Posts
I'd take it or send it to a professional. The balance wheel could have been knocked off kilter and needs to be reseated.

Hopefully some experts will chime in on the problem, but I suspect your course of action will be the same.
What would constitute "professional" in Calgary or Canada for that matter?
Any other opinions? Things to check?
Sounds very much like a balance wheel / Jewel problem possible.
Wow, is this common problem? I know I didn't bang the watch, I'm really careful with it. I can't see it being manufacturer's defect either as the problem would probably show up much earlier than 2 years later.
slayer said:
Wow, is this common problem? I know I didn't bang the watch, I'm really careful with it. I can't see it being manufacturer's defect either as the problem would probably show up much earlier than 2 years later.
It's most likely an isolated issue. There is another post here about a Seiko with cal. 7005 that describes the same issue.

Angelis
Take back to a professional watchmaker as see what he has to say. I concur with the diagnosis offered by others in the thread.
I guess now comes the time where I ask for a recommendation for a reputable watchmaker.
Should I send it to Seiko Canada even though this was not canadian model and was not purchased in Canada? What can I expect to pay for such repair?
Thanks to all who replied.
I agree with the posts above. If you have a positional error then you have a balance problem. Might be a broken staff, but most likely the balance shock spring has come loose or broken.

Ken
Ken!

Is it possible to see that spring being loose through the clear case?
If I take a picture, would you be able to tell me if anything is wrong?
slayer said:
I guess now comes the time where I ask for a recommendation for a reputable watchmaker.
Should I send it to Seiko Canada even though this was not canadian model and was not purchased in Canada? What can I expect to pay for such repair?
Thanks to all who replied.
Do a local search for a watchmaker first. Google would be a good place to start, perhaps?
If the problem is when the dial is down then the problem is the lower jewel under the dial.

Ken


slayer said:
Ken!

Is it possible to see that spring being loose through the clear case?
If I take a picture, would you be able to tell me if anything is wrong?
I just ran a google search for watchmaker calgary canada and found a few references.

This is from a rolex forum:
Here in Calgary, Canada, there is a terrific independent watch maker who specializes in the Swiss makes; Rolex, Tudor, etc.

Andy Affolter
Swiss Watch Clinic
1805 - 14 Street S.W.
Calgary, AB T2T 3T1
(403) 243-4694

Also found this with the tag line "Watch repairs are our business"
http://www.members.shaw.ca/abts/

Also try here at the NAWCC
http://www.nawcc-index.net/Orgs-Local.php

I know some guys found a good watchman in Toronto, but that's pretty far. I'm sure between Calgary and Vancouver you can find something.

Provided the balance is not broken and just needs to be reseated, it shouldn't be very expensive. I wouldn't pay first for a full service since your symptoms are pretty obvious.
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I seem to recall Bus Driver Mike has a trusted watch guy in Calgary. He may show up and share his source.
nhoJ said:
I just ran a google search for watchmaker calgary canada and found a few references.

This is from a rolex forum:
Here in Calgary, Canada, there is a terrific independent watch maker who specializes in the Swiss makes; Rolex, Tudor, etc.

Andy Affolter
Swiss Watch Clinic
1805 - 14 Street S.W.
Calgary, AB T2T 3T1
(403) 243-4694
Andy suggested to send it to Seiko :( Not sure why he doesn't want to touch it.
nhoJ said:
Also found this with the tag line "Watch repairs are our business"
http://www.members.shaw.ca/abts/
Harold at Alberta Time Services agreed to see it for a free estimate. I guess I'll just do that and see what happens. Thanks to all for great advice!!!
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