[phazelag]

Hello all,

I recently purchase a pre owned samurai from eBay. I am happy with the condition and the deal I got, however I noticed the watch is gaining almost 2 minutes a day.

I am trying to decide if I should return it to the seller, or try to address the problem. I am not sure what the cost will be to go down the rabbit hole of fixing this.

I have a watch repair facility locally that has good people working there so I plan to ask them about it, however I would like to hear advice from anyone who has been down this road.

I did already notify the seller just in case, however if this is an easy fix, I would prefer to just keep it. He may not even accept a return, so I may be stuck with it. So either way I would like know. I realize this is always a risk and learning process buying used.

The movement on the back says 4R35-01V0. I am a Seiko newbie, just learning so I am not sure how old it is.

Thank you in advance for your input.

 

[koekoek]

There are two options, the watch needs regulating or the watch will need a service. Regulating is easy and cheap. But a service will cost you quite a bit. So i'd go to a watchmaker and put it on a timegrapher and see what the results are.

 

[twall3]

Is this one of the older Samurai's, or one of the newer ones? That is, does it have the 7s26 movement or the 4r36 movement? (You'll see one of the two marked on the caseback of the watch as part of the model number.)

 

[phazelag]

Is this one of the older Samurai's, or one of the newer ones? That is, does it have the 7s26 movement or the 4r36 movement? (You'll see one of the two marked on the caseback of the watch as part of the model number.)

The movement on the back says 4R35-01V0. I am a Seiko newbie, just learning so I am not sure how old it is.

 

[twall3]

Gotcha, that's one of the newer ones (only been out for a year or two). As Koekoek said, it could be as simple as having the movement regulated (turning a lever inside the movement that speeds it up or slows it down). The regulating levers on Seiko movements are generally pretty sensitive, so 2 min/day, while far outside the expected range, could possibly be regulated down. If the movement is only 1-2 years old, I suspect that it wouldn't need a full service (although stranger things have happened). The other option - given that it's used - is that the movement might be slightly magnetized, which can cause it to gain/lose minutes/day (although i've had a magnetized watch gain minutes per hour) - but that's also easily corrected. If you have a local watch repairman who can put it on a timegrapher, with the knowledge that it's only a year or two old, they should be able to diagnose the problem pretty quickly. If I had to guess, I'd think it's pretty simple, but the other question is how much hassle do you want to deal with? If the easier solution is to simply return it, I think you're well justified given that Seiko rates that movement for +45/-35 sec/day. https://www.thewatchsite.com/21-japanese-watch-discussion-forum/5911-seiko-4r35-specifications.html

 

[phazelag]

Gotcha, that's one of the newer ones (only been out for a year or two). As Koekoek said, it could be as simple as having the movement regulated (turning a lever inside the movement that speeds it up or slows it down). The regulating levers on Seiko movements are generally pretty sensitive, so 2 min/day, while far outside the expected range, could possibly be regulated down. If the movement is only 1-2 years old, I suspect that it wouldn't need a full service. The other option is that the movement might be slightly magnetized, which can cause it to gain/lose - but also easily corrected. If you have a local watch repairman who can put it on a timegrapher, with the knowledge that it's only a year or two old, they should be able to diagnose the problem pretty quickly.

OK cool. Thank you. I will start there.

 

[phazelag]

The local watch repair man didn't speak english well, however he seems to have solved the problem. I did decide to sell it. I will go try some Seiko's in person to find the style and fit for me. At first at I liked the fit, but not for all day. I have owned plenty of Citizens and have a few Deep Blues, but I am new to Seiko.

I appreciate the comments and help.

 

[59yukon01]

Could be magnetized. I'd check that first if it's new.

 

[Chazman1946]

Sounds like it got magnetized to me, if it's running that fast, a $10 demagnetizer off of Amazon can cure those problems in less then a minute.

 

[phazelag]

The Watch repairman is pretty cool. He not only repairs, but will customize and refurbish watches. He has some pretty good work. The shop is friendly and has very reasonable prices.