Watch repair vs new watch?

[Paul_B]

I'm looking for an occasional wear, workaday watch and have two choices. But a new watch in the £100-200 range, preferably at the lower end of the range. Or get a seiko solar watch working again.

The Seiko was stored for a few years in a drawer. I got it out a few years ago and it wasn't working. I left it in the window to charge and it worked but the second hand moves very erratically. Kind of sticks then moves forward like it's catching up. I put it away at faulty but today I tried again. I'm figuring on leaving it in a sunny window for as long as possible then see what happens. I suspect it won't work.

So does anyone know if the seiko solar watch can be made to work again? Is it simply a new battery that's needed? I mean it went flat in the drawer I guess but surely that's not going to break it?

So fix or replace? Which is the best and / or cheapest option?

 

[C_Claycomb]

Worth finding a watch repair place and asking.
I have used these people to replace a battery in a high end watch and have been very happy. They do repairs by mail.

Seiko Watch Repair - Watch Doctors

Watch Doctors are fully trained specialists in Seiko Watch Repair, offering everything from battery replacement to full servicing.

watchdoctors.co.uk

 

[Megatramp]

Most likely a new battery will sort it, won't run on solar alone. Love my Seiko so I'd fix it.
I bought another watch to save my beloved skx from abuse but it's still in the box and the poor old Seiko is covered in scrapes and weld spatter!

 

[Foogs]

I don't know if it's the same, but when the battery is low on my Seiko Kinetic, the second hand moves in 2-second jumps to indicate it needs charging.

 

[ranger85]

I had a similar issue and was advised to leave it in the sun with the crown pulled out 2 clicks and leave it for 3-4 days, worked in the end!

 

[MikeLA]

Repair it, relative had a seiko and no one locally were able to repair it. My sister took it to Florida a local jewellers and they repaired it no problem.
I always believe a good watch should be repaired and it will probably have memories to it.

 

[Decacraft]

I have an old Gshock solar with a faulty battery. A battery replacement and reseal is around £65, I can buy the battery myself and do it for less than £20, or buy a new watch for £100.
I would rather repair the one I have as the model is no longer available and superceded with a slightly different one.

 

[Paul_B]

I don't know if it's the same, but when the battery is low on my Seiko Kinetic, the second hand moves in 2-second jumps to indicate it needs charging.

Exactly this. That's why I'm leaving it on the windowsill. Hopefully it'll charge up eventually. How long before I should give up on this hope? How many days on the windowsill for it to get enough charge to work normally?

 

[Paul_B]

My seiko isn't a good one, cheaper end of their range. No memories linked to it, just a tool that I never thought I'd use again until I did that is.

Still, always worth avoiding a consumerist spend if possible!

 

[Paul_B]

I had a similar issue and was advised to leave it in the sun with the crown pulled out 2 clicks and leave it for 3-4 days, worked in the end!

Good tip with the 2 clicks. One day with the 2 clicks and the second hand moves smoothly.

About a year ago I tried to charge it but didn't know about the 2 clicks. A week plus out didn't charge. This time 2 days without 2 clicks nothing changed, one day with 2 clicks it now works.

So I'm leaving it in the window today and I'll wear it tomorrow as I have another on site work day without my usual smartwatch.

 

[Tonyuk]

Solar watches have betteries just like any other, they simply keep charged in the sun. You should be able to send it to a decent watchmaker and have them replace it and it'll work just fine.

If you are considering a new watch then i'm a casio fan, in particular i've been wearing the below going on a few years now;

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Casio-Wave-Ceptor-Watch-LCW-M100DSE-2AER/dp/B004OYUNVE/ref=sr_1_42?crid=TWO0XBQUWA3F&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.lpeYqtF1BhhOqeFsnNtB9I0SXgMTHyfGolyLfBwnkhRhk9lpdXaanaOcRWKF1FhpoGAXY5Kp94XSPmxH3pN0mMVObnCBPRqPffS306qCBKMAZ-T8JAwgItzsnkNE1HD2wj3SwnLLcloA9k15ImIZbaddawwBSQHFNQSHc2Ye7CsaN9PRzzeAPZ8vtuuqRgOV4hKq8iHCPPGwkocmdCIHD-UuiqGOeTCDFdiy84wK3io6vPtcKjNksPSNzzirbrCIRA2UbhbhUnTLMlLQWN7dMfw9m4_A3_gLBEaQ-n37i0k.9v_lMMM8mKEfZyu7q9jcG0M6lFrxlgJxszZP3F9edQc&dib_tag=se&keywords=casio+solar&qid=1719001729&sprefix=casio+solar%2Caps%2C190&sr=8-42

An excellent timepiece.

 

[demographic]

If I remember it right Seiko Kinetics have a capaciter to store the energy instead of a battery (when standard anyway) and when they were almost out of charge they ticked every two seconds. I assume the solar one does the same? There's manuals online to find out.


Its a bit of a weird one, people sometimes get mechanical watches, saying they don't neet a battery every two years or whatever.
But, it's recommended that they're serviced at regular intervals, which is waaay more involved than replacing a battery. Check Youtube for details of that particular rabbit hole.
I happen to be fairly interested in the mechanisms involved but they're less accurate and more involved and expensive to keep in good condition than ones with a battery.

 

[Paul_B]

I thought the kinetic was movement but mine says Solar on the Seiko which is a different type of Seiko watch. Usually cheaper too

 

[demographic]

I thought the kinetic was movement but mine says Solar on the Seiko which is a different type of Seiko watch. Usually cheaper too

The kinetic is movement, not very efficient if watch forums are to be believed.
IIRC Pulsar is owned by Seiko and they share the Solar calibre.
Kinetics used a capaciter to store energy and I dunno if the solar ones use a battery or a capaciter.

Mechanical automatic watches are beautiful and interesting to look at but expensive to service. Not quite the last forever with no maintenance watch that some people make out.

 

[August Landmesser]

Everything modern is designed to break and be be thrown away, a good quality old watch may be costly to repair but it will at least be worth repairing.

 

[Paul_B]

Good watch repairers are few and far between these days. When I lived near Blackburn there was only one good one in Preston. An old fella who retired before I moved away. I do not know of another one now.

He fixed my grandad's retirement clock. A big mantelpiece one with a better than the casing would make out mechanism inside. A case you'd not want but a mechanism with a westminster quarters. By that I mean different chimes on the quarter hours, another one on the half hour and a really long peel on the hour with a really nice tune.

 

[bonzodog]

I don’t repair watches below £250.00 ,the repair cost can soon exceed the value of the watch.

 

[Paul_B]

It turns out @demographic was right. The two second movement must have beeen when it was just too low with the charge on the capacitor or battery, whichever it is. After about a week sitting in the window (or near it when the full sun was hitting the large window which made it get quite hot) thee watch changed to normal operation and seems to be keeping good time.

It is now stored on a tall, thin set of drawers in the study aimed to the window to keep charged up ready for use. It is only needed when I go into work on site. So every other week or once a month at the moment. If I need to go in more often say a few days every week then I will get a bigger watch.

This watch was my usual size when I got it as I do not have big wrists. Since getting a Garmin Fenix 6 with a larger watch face I have kind of sized up. This watch is now too small. Also it could have something to do with needing reading glasses too now I have gotten older!!!

So at some point in the future I might look at getting a new watch. I think you can't go far wrong with a casio. I have a few. A black thing my partner got but I am now nicking from her as it was really just an alarm watch when she travelled.I also have a dual time world time watch but that metal bracelet keeps losing the centres of the links. Basically the oval section full width parts not the third width bits linking them together. Those link parts have a centre to them that you pull out to decouple them for sizing. Unfortunately after I got them I had to go back because it was too loose. They did not fix them properly and I never got it sorted. This means that a reeasonable watch just falls apart and off now.

I have another gshock type of divers watch by casio that is 200m waterproof and 30 yearrs old. Just needs a new battery.


I still think a new one might be a good idea. Something a bit more of the size of a garmin fenix 6 I have.

 

[demographic]

Casio Duro?
Clicky here.
I have a couple of them, a black one and a blue.

I have pretty big wrists and they don't look too small on me. Many do.
I had to junk the standard straps cos I was on the last hole on em and the mineral glass on the black watch got scabbled at work.
I bought a cheapo press off Ebay and a sapphire watch glass in the right size. Pressed it in and although I've scabbled it on walls and all sorts it's not scratched the glass at all.

I could do with doing the blue one the same way but I've not done it yet.

 

[Paul_B]

Found my very old Casio DW-290 watch given to me as a leaving present by a past work placememt about 30 years ago. Not worn for well over a decade. Well I was in my local hardware / little bit of everything shop in my village and despite looking at it behind the counter every time I bouiigt from them I only just noticed they changed watch straps and batteries. So I took this casio in and got a new bzttery and strap. It was not straightforward as there is a little thin inside the back wher you have to stick somthing thin in to flick something over to get the new battery fully connected up.

Anyway, I now have a watch used in the first film of a series by the lead character who was played by a very well known male actor!! To the watch fans here can you guess the actor and the film? Answers on a postcard will not win a prize, this is just for watch and film trivia fun.

In the meantime I have another watch to wear at my security obsessive work site and one I have greater faith in than my Seiko solar watch. IMHO you can not go wrong with a good casio. According to a watch youtuber this one is a goodun to have not least because it is only just shy of gshock toughness and the module in it is a particularly good casio one.