Seeking old model

4847 Views 20 Replies 10 Participants Last post by Chyros, May 18, 2014

Chyros

Discussion Starter · May 14, 2014

Hiya everyone!

I have a question I've been going to some length to answer. I am looking for an old model of Seiko watch but haven't been able to find it. It is probably a 90s model (certainly not younger) but I don't know the exact year it's from. I've looked through the catalog scans on this forum but haven't found it. I've also asked Seiko themselves but they didn't know about anything before 2008.

The watch I'm looking for is a quite simple one. It's a gold-coloured, round model seemingly intended for a brown band. The plate reads Seiko and Quartz but no model name like "Dolce" or "Avenue" or "Spirit" or anything like that. The plate has 12 numbers on it, no numerals, and two circles with minute lines between them. It has only two hands (no seconds hand) but no day or date counter.

Can anyone here help me please? Does anyone know what model I'm talking about? Your help would be VERY much appreciated! I have pictures of two models, one of which has the exact same plate, numbers and hands, and one of which has the exact same base, but the forum doesn't allow me to. I can PM them easily though.

Cheers,

Tom

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thickman808

· #2 · May 14, 2014

No idea. But love to see what it is when you find out, just for the crack.
Does the reason for the hunt make for a good story? If so spill the beans...what does it mean to you...?

TheTigerUK

· #3 · May 14, 2014

Welcome, as Tom said It will be interesting to hear the story behind your search ?

ps: True story, my son (38 year old) sold a car to an "old" model last year, she was 63 and i know for a fact he fantasised over her for a few weeks

even his wife agreed she was a looker !!! (sorry I digress).

akable

· #4 · May 14, 2014

Tom the description is just too generic (very hard to describe most general watches) and even a little confusing i.e. "The plate has 12 numbers on it, no numerals,"

If you can post the images to a photo sharing site or attach here when you get a few more posts it will help significantly.

Alternatively PM me and I can post to the thread as I do not think you have any chance without the photos.

Chyros

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 14, 2014

Yeah sorry, I would've posted pictures if I could. I also can't send PMs until I have 5 posts xD . I'll post the appropriate stuff asap.

Chyros

Discussion Starter · #6 · May 14, 2014

Also, the story is that I had a watch of that model for years, it was a cheap hand-me-down from my grandfather, but I liked it a lot anyway. Unfortunately, it got nicked :/ . I tried getting around without a watch for a few months now, using my mobile phone instead, but it's annoying not to be able to just look at a watch, and this particular model is simple but quite elegant, at least in my opinion. The combined factors are why I'm looking for this exact model. I know exactly what it looked like, so I can identify it easily, but I just don't know the model number, so I don't know what to look for to try and find a replacement. I know they are there; I remember looking on Ebay at some point just to see if there were any, and I found at least one on there. I tried again but without the model name it's just impossible to try and find one.

Chyros

Discussion Starter · #7 · May 14, 2014

2

I think I should be able to post now. Sorry for the triple post; I'm not a spammer, but the forum rules are really not helping me here

.

The plate and hands look EXACTLY like this: (except that it doesn't have a date counter)

And the base looks EXACTLY like this:

base:

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Reynaldo

· #8 · May 14, 2014

Now I get it, "...12 numbers, no numerals." Just messing with you, sorry I have nothing to offer, but nice looking watch.

rileynp

· #9 · May 15, 2014

Hello and welcome Tom,
Unfortunately, what you describe could cover several different models over many decades- it sounds like a classic look that would have had several movements over the years, along with possible small changes in the dial, hands, or case depending on the fashion of the time. If you could narrow down the timeframe that it was acquired by your grandfather (or by you from him), that might help a tiny bit, but really I think you're going to need to spend some time in the stacks: http://www.thewatchsite.com/13-ads-catalogs-vintage-current/

Check out the Seiko catalogs from the 80s and 90s as a start, unless you think it could be from the 00's. Good luck, and please let us know if you find it. The suspense is killing us!

Chyros

Discussion Starter · #10 · May 15, 2014

I got it from him in the 90s, I don't think he'd had it for very long, so I'm pretty sure it's a 90s watch. Definitely not a 00s model. I already went through all those 90s catalogs, but I couldn't find it. In fact, I couldn't really find a lot of models at all in the 90s catalogs that just read "Seiko" and "Quartz" - were "quartz"-labeled models made in the 90s at all?

vboy

· #11 · May 15, 2014

my 7433 700 from back in the day looks a lot like it but has the date also

SurfingSeiko

· #12 · May 15, 2014

Welcome to the forum. Enjoy the hunt and keep us posted.

Mark

Chyros

Discussion Starter · #13 · May 15, 2014

Cheers for the replies, I went through the 80s catalogs to see if I could find it. There were a couple of close matches, but not exactly the one I was looking for. Though the plate style definitely seems more late 80s or early 90s, I'm fairly sure it's not an 80s watch because I would've been only a few years at the end of the 80s and I remember my grandfather had at least one watch before the one I mean, so that's a fairly small chance.

I would instantly recognise the watch if I was shown the picture as I've worn it most of my life, but I haven't found the exact one yet. I'd be happy to flip through more catalogs, but I think there's only two 80s ones and not all 90s ones are here, is that correct?

If I can't find this exact model for the moment, can anyone identify the model in the first picture I posted? So far it's still the closest match I can find, and it might help me find my original target too. Unfortunately it's from an ebay auction that's expired and which had no model description, so I don't know which model that is either.

Vboy, is your model the model in the first picture? I'm having a little trouble actually retrieving a picture of the model you're referring to. Could you post a picture of that if you can find it?

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7s26b

· #14 · May 16, 2014

Is this like it?

jringo8769

· #15 · May 17, 2014

looks like a beautiful watch

Chyros

Discussion Starter · #16 · May 17, 2014 (Edited)

7s26b said:
Is this like it?

Cheers 7s26b, it's a fairly close match to the SABQ044 or 5P31 (I'm not sure what nomenclature is generally used to refer to specific models) in the top left corner. The base appears to be the same, the lettering is quite close (but not identical). It uses 5 min dots rather than a circle, though, and it has a seconds hand and it doesn't say "quartz" but otherwise it's quite close. I'm sure it will have been in that price range as well because my granddad was a bit of a tightwad so I'd be very surprised if he spent a lot of money on it - I'm sure he went for a cheap option xD .

Is there a specific system to the nomenclature that groups similar watches with the same model name? I have a list here of watches I've found in the catalogs that are fairly close matches, and a few are all 5P31's:

(very) close matches:
7741 SACH008
9021 SCJB960
5P31 SABR048
5P31 SAKR080
5P31 SAKR062
7N01 SAKM006

close/decent matches:
7741 SACH011
9061 SVJE980
5P31 SABR010
7431 SCAA960
7320 SETN990
9531 SACT026
5P31 SABQ034
1E20 SCBK990
7321 SCTW880
7321 SCTW500
5E21 SCEW010

For reference though, the first picture I posted looks all but identical to the model I mean. I don't know the model of that particular watch either, but it looks almost indistinguishable. The only differences are a slightly different base and the date counter. I wouldn't mind going for that particular model if I REALLY can't find the actual one I'm looking for though - though it would be good to get the one I mean, of course

.

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akable

· #17 · May 17, 2014

Tom the 5P31 you refer to is the movement or caliber number, the numbers next to that is the case and then dial numbers.

For example in the catalog page posted by 7s26b the first watch has a model number of SABQ044, this has a 5P31 movement, case of 800 and dial 801.

This means on the back of the case it will be marked 5P31-8000 or similar. The last digit on the case refers to the country of distribution so may differ e.g. -8009 but will look physically the same. If you read the dial code on the 6 o'clock position it will read 5P31-8010, again last digit may be different but is usually 0.

Also note that some export models may state quartz on the dial where a local Japanese version may not. In these cases the numbers would all appear the same but an export model may have a 9 at the end of the dial number and the one with no quartz printing may end in zero. This is just an example and it does vary between models.

Good luck on your search.

Chyros

Discussion Starter · #18 · May 18, 2014

Many thanks, that does clear things up. I've found google searches for actual model numbers like "SABQ044" generally give no Google results (the only one for SABQ044 for instance is this topic). What part of the nomenclature is generally used to refer to a specific model?

akable

· #19 · May 18, 2014

My suggestion would be to search on the movement and case number. As this is stamped on the actual watch it is the most common thing people include in the description if they include anything at all.

If the most common models are the 5P31 then maybe just search on that and see what turns up.

Chyros

Discussion Starter · #20 · May 18, 2014

Cheers, I'll try that

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