[madeofducktape]

I recently acquired a Seiko 6139-6012 Chronograph. I've been wearing it for the last week or so and here are my initial impressions on it.*

Details:*

39 mm without crown
19 mm lug width

Serial Number 664385 - June, 1976

Watch has a gold dial, black chapter ring and black chronometer subdial. Everything appears to be original when compared to this catalog photo. The watch is certainly showing some wabi from a life well lived. The case is a bit dinged, and the seconds hand has faded just a bit to a red-orange color. Overall the dial is in pretty good shape, there is a bit of a smudge at the 110 mark of the tachymeter and a few very small spots. The numbers are all crisp.*

Lets check the lume, shall we?

Ok, so the lume is gone. no biggie.*


The watch arrived with a rally style leather strap, but the strap was too big, so I switched it out for an 18mm NATO strap for testing purposes.*


Set-up


Setting the time and date proved to be a bit tougher than expected: The minute/ hour hands seemed to set "reversed" from a normal watch (turning the crown counter clockwise moves the hands clockwise)- Is this normal?* The date changed by pushing the crown in (very cool feature) but I could not get the date to change.*

Performance

I proceeded to wear the watch for a week, It did have some early hiccups with time keeping, running a bit slow for the first night. But it kept good time for days 2-6. On day 7 it again slowed down for a bit- I suspect it has something to do with the fact that I took it off a bit earlier than usual on day 6.* I left the chronograph running per the advice I saw on some forums.*

Daily wear

This watch was great for use in day to day operation.* Its size was spot on - big enough to read, but small and light enough to not be in the way. The chrono feature was a perfect timer for my beer brewing operations over the weekend.* My daily watch is a Seiko SKX-009, so i certainly appreciate how light the 6139 is.*

Conclusion

Although I enjoyed wearing this 6139 for the week, I think this watch will see limited wrist time. This might be due to the color scheme, which I didn't like as much as I initially thought I would - maybe I would like the blue or black one a bit better.* I have also been keen to try the 6138 chronos, so I will have to keep my eye open for one of them.*

Cheers*

-Greg

 

[Reynaldo]

That's a great looking watch! I've been on a vintage seiko chrono kick this year. Btw, love the lume shot, good one!

 

[tritto]

Great looking watch Greg. I have an identical gold dialled model that I've yet to wear regularly as it's been in for service since I bought it.

It's my third 6139, and I've definitely caught the bug. Onto 6138s soon I imagine, but they're much less common and generally more expensive.

By the way, the day sets by pushing the crown in all the way (half way for date).

 

[pollyc]

Hi Greg,

Turning the crown counter clockwise to advance the hands is standard Seiko for pre modern. They are all like that

6139's are a particular passion of mine, Seiko nailed the details on many variants. I have a gold/black 6012 that I bought in honest used condition and tarted up a bit, the usual stuff, new crystal, painted hands and a relume. It is a nice watch but I agree it's not my favourite 6012 colour. Personally I like the black one best, they look cracking if in good condition. The blue is OK too but a little blinggy.


6138/9's are good to collect but a mine field these days with so many being cobbled together or plain knackered. Also unfortunately many are overpriced too.

 

[skg7548]

6138/9's are good to collect but a mine field these days with so many being cobbled together or plain knackered. Also unfortunately many are overpriced too.

What Mike said!

These are getting expensive and a mine field in that the novice won't know correct from "make overs"

So newbies (like myself last year) end up making a number of (costly)mistakes before you get a bit of an idea about them.

I've had a small number put right and the left overs made into a few mods, (thanks to Mike) however due to the above I now find myself sadly avoiding them.
Wearing this today though (crappy phone pic)

 

[madeofducktape]

Ray- the vintage chronos certainly are addicting, I dont know about you buy my eBay watch list was getting pretty unwieldy !

Tritto- thanks for the heads up-I'll try pushing the crown in a bit more tonight and report back. Pretty crazy how expensive the 6138s are isn't it?

Pollyc- its certainly reassuring to know that the vintage Seiko's turn "backward". From the pictures I've seen the blue one can be a bit "bright", the black one is probably next on my search list.

Pollyc/ Skg7548- they certainly are a minefield, especially on the bay! I was pretty patient, skipping out on examples that I saw with incorrect hands and dials. To the best of my knowledge my example is original (the old catalog scans are a lifesaver!) - but if anyone sees anything fishy, let me know, would love to learn.

-Greg

 

[tritto]

Looks legit to me Greg. Here is mine pre-service. The only difference is the 70m water resist text on the dial - but there are variations with and without. I believe my bracelet is non-original as I've not seen other examples with the h-link bracelet.

 

[airds]

Same same here - the chrono hands seem to be slightly different shades.

 

[madeofducktape]

Sorry for the delay in my response, I thought my reply went through the other day.

Pushing the crown in further isn't advancing the day (date still advances). When I look at the back of the watch, it looks like the crown is in crooked. Is that possible? Would that cause the day to not jump? Anyone know how to fix this?

As for the hands, I can't tell if one is sun faded or if they were two different colors.

Hope everyone is doing well!

-Greg

 

[tritto]

It looks like the stem might be a little bent. I guess that could stop the crown from depressing enough to advance the day. However, on mine the day quickset is sticking between Wednesday and Thursday. It's still at the watchmaker and he's going to look at that - I can only assume a tooth somewhere is worn. I've a spare 6139 6012 in parts I left with him so hopefully he can replace the part if necessary. The stem was bent on that movement too.

 

[tritto]

Ps, you can purchase a stem online and perhaps fit your existing crown to it. It's easy to pop the stem out of the watch, but I've not taken a crown off or put one onto a stem. Someone else with more experience would have to chime in.

 

[John3Cantos]

I believe it is a very nice watch and gold dial is quite different from others.
By the way, do you know its service history? the stem could be bent or it has been changed (and it is a wrong one)

 

[stil]

I like it.

 

[madeofducktape]

Been a while since I checked in on this thread, thanks to all or the replies! Unfortunately there is not much status to report on for this watch. I wore it for a few weeks and then its been sitting in the box since the 6309 arrived... The color never really grew on me like I hoped it would.

 

[Toronto_Time]

Cant go wrong with a good 6139, great watch.

 

[shandy]

Always loved these vintage chronographs. There are some beautiful pieces shown here, congratulations

 

[Chronomaster]

Ps, you can purchase a stem online and perhaps fit your existing crown to it. It's easy to pop the stem out of the watch, but I've not taken a crown off or put one onto a stem. Someone else with more experience would have to chime in.

tritto-I have a 6139-6005 blue face that I bought new in 1972. I lost the crown in 1981, (been in the safe since then), 1.) is it possible that the stem is still inside the watch ? 2.) Can I tell just by looking in the stem hole ? 3.) Is it possible that a crown is all I need, since the inner bezel has always turned smoothly and has been used little since new ?

Thanks for your insight and suggestions ! Jim

 

[tritto]

tritto-I have a 6139-6005 blue face that I bought new in 1972. I lost the crown in 1981, (been in the safe since then), 1.) is it possible that the stem is still inside the watch ? 2.) Can I tell just by looking in the stem hole ? 3.) Is it possible that a crown is all I need, since the inner bezel has always turned smoothly and has been used little since new ?

Thanks for your insight and suggestions ! Jim

Hi Jim. Yes, I guess it could still be in there. Look into the hole and you should be able to see it. Even if it is, it depends whether the stem broke off when the crown was lost or the crown simply unscrewed off the stem (the second option is the good outcome). Take a look at the excellent guide to dismantling the 6139 that PollyC put together for more about the internals. If you can open the case and take some photos we might be able to tell.

Polly's guide:
http://www.thewatchsite.com/showthread.php?t=43929

 

[h3ycal]

Hi Greg,

Turning the crown counter clockwise to advance the hands is standard Seiko for pre modern. They are all like that

6139's are a particular passion of mine, Seiko nailed the details on many variants. I have a gold/black 6012 that I bought in honest used condition and tarted up a bit, the usual stuff, new crystal, painted hands and a relume. It is a nice watch but I agree it's not my favourite 6012 colour. Personally I like the black one best, they look cracking if in good condition. The blue is OK too but a little blinggy.


6138/9's are good to collect but a mine field these days with so many being cobbled together or plain knackered. Also unfortunately many are overpriced too.

what a lovely wrist shot... the hands are replacement isn't it? if it is so... it still nice watch to wear...

 

[Chronomaster]

Hi Jim. Yes, I guess it could still be in there. Look into the hole and you should be able to see it. Even if it is, it depends whether the stem broke off when the crown was lost or the crown simply unscrewed off the stem (the second option is the good outcome). Take a look at the excellent guide to dismantling the 6139 that PollyC put together for more about the internals. If you can open the case and take some photos we might be able to tell.

Polly's guide:
http://www.thewatchsite.com/showthread.php?t=43929

tritto-
Thank you so much for steering me to the Amateurs Guide, WOW what an eye opener and a valuable piece of schooling for my "toolbox" of knowledge. My next step is to read and watch everything I can get my hands on in the Resource Section and watch the YouTube video that pollyc recommends at the beginning of the lesson. What a great effort and truly deserving of the +1 point many have awarded to pollyc !