my seiko 5 actus was running well for almost 40 years with no service. A few years ago i spent around 65 euros for a total servicing. I knew that i could buy anew seiko 5 for around 100 euros, but it would not be the same. The watchmaker mad such a nice job, that my watch now looks and works like a new one. emotional value is more important than commercial value of a watch

I love the fact that you correctly called it a “ low entry level “ rather than a “ cheap “ watch like a lot of people and watch aficionados do. Love your channel ! Thank You from Canada !

I put my Seiko 5 through my military service 1990. Believe me a tough watch.

im an automotive technician with an engineering diploma ive been to a few countries for varius engineering seminars.germany ,italy ,japan what ive noticed and was really surprising is that japanese from low end mechanics to to high end engineers and high ranked CEO's all wore casios , seikos citizens, orients . they never show off. everything they said they wanted us to understand exactly why they mean and the reason for it amazing culture amazing people . their mindset is what they put to their products

In the 90’s I worked with Japanese engineers to Americanize and Europeanize Japanese products. Their laser like focus to cost effective solutions was a lesson. Seeing that reversing mechanism brings it all back.

Seiko is the best watch company in the world, period.

Nice video. Never have your nose up so high in the air in this hobby that you can't appreciate these amazing Seiko affordable workhorse movements.

Thanks for giving my humble but beloved Seiko Fives some love. I have 7 with another on the way. Great video!

As a little boy I always had a fascination with watches, but I never knew how amazing they were until I became an adult and understood the difference between quartz and automatics. I love my Seiko automatic watches. And I still have a Seiko quartz I bought 25 years ago

It’s interesting Seiko philosophy on 5 movements, from 7s26 non hack, non hand wind movements and in the same period did the opposite. In the ‘80’s they used both the non hand wound movements and the 4219 auto and hand wound. Their simplification of a lot is amazing .

I'm sorta new at watchmaking, mostly watched your channel and a few others to learn the ins and outs. I started doing it so i could service my own watches, most of which are seikos including several seiko 5's. My first service was on a 7s26, the cheapest five they sold (Speedracer) which i bought just in anticipating of destroying it. 2 years out it's still running at about 275 amplitude and keeps fantastic time. Since then i've serviced and adjusted about 11 of the things, 7s26's, 7006's and nh36's. One thing i constantly hear in my watchmaker spaces is that seikos are garbage and run at low amplitude and keep poor time. After servicing so many of them, i've now advanced enough to do hairspring work and adjusting the regulator pins and my services seem to be impeccable regularly getting a lasting 275 to 290 amplitude and after adjusting the terminal curve and getting the regulator pins just right it's not uncommon for me to have a six position delta in the 6 to 8 range and on the wrist my last two services/repairs have deviated for one only losing 1 to 0 seconds a day (7s26c) (Again, this is on the wrist performance.), and my most recent which is 0 to 2 seconds a day ( 7s36b). I think 90% of the perception of the seiko five is that these are mass produced low cost watches, unadjusted with sometimes questionable lubrication from the factory. If you do a good service on them and do a little hairspring work (The terminal curve almost never tracks the regulator arm from the factory and so you gotta reshape it, recenter it in the regulator pins and get those regulator pins real close without binding.). Once you do those things it is remarkable how accurate these watches are, how durable they are. I'm pretty sure i could keep these running for a lifetime. I've just graduated to my first complicated watch which is a bell matic 4006. I just wanted to give my experience working on these watches as the amount of dismissal they get from watchmakers is imo not warranted. Are they high precision chronometer finally decorated movements? Of course not. Are they workhorses that CAN run incredibly well with a little massaging and take a beating at an amazing value price? Absolutely!

You rightly speak of the "Love of mechanical watches." Many in the Seiko 5 line have display backs which serves to allow people to appreciate the miniature machines that make this all possible. A picture is worth a thousand words.

Thank you sir! It is very much appreciated that you are willing to show a lower-cost brand like Seiko. They are my personal favorite for many reasons. I have ventured into the world of Seiko modding. I could not be happier. The real help, and surprise, comes from Seiko themselves because they completely support the modding community. No other watch brand does this. They make aftermarket movements expressly for this purpose and even allow the reproduction of dials and other parts. they are extremely robust and very inexpensive to work on.

You forgot to mention that they are affordable 😂 Just kidding, great video like always. As a Seiko fan, I always enjoy listening to professionals talk about their technical aspects. 👏👏👏👏

I owned an old Seikomatic weekender, which is probably an early 60s model with an engraved picture of a dolphin fish at the back of the cover. It look old and is a simple time and date keeper. What surprised me was that with such an aged instrument, the accuracy was superb, as precise as a quartz watch. It beat my other mechanical watches.

Seiko is a bargain for what you get. Plus, as an amateur watchmaker Seiko's are so much fun to work on. I have a box full of Seiko parts so almost never have to worry about locating parts and always a good feeling to put one back in service. Good video, Kalle.

I can easily afford an Omega, say, but I love my Seiko 5. The Seiko dials look great, the price is right, they keep time well, and I simply can't justify the price of 'better' high end watches. I'd rather spend it on travel or put it into my retirement. Nice video.

Seiko makes a fantastic watch for a great price. The aftermarket parts availability is out of this world too! I've built a few Seiko mod watches based on the NH35 (4R35) movement. Going to be be servicing and restoring a Citizen dive watch with a Miyota 8205/8215 later this week, which is the entire reason I decided to get into hobbbyist watchmaking in the first place.

Thanks for your excellent video. I own 3 Seiko´s with 7S26, 2 of the Seiko 5, one SKX 013, all running fine for the past 8 years without regulation. Seiko rules.

The fact that people pay crazy amounts of money for jewelry that has long been rendered obsolete by smartphones is wild. Don’t misunderstand me, I love watches and I own a fair amount, but I’m not gonna spend a fortune on one when Seiko offers a great value for something most people never even notice on my wrist. Great video.

I’ve gained an appreciation of these entry level mechanical Seiikos thanks to your video.

As a Seiko collector and fairly new to your chan I was like Oh No the swiss guy will be ripping apart the Japanese brand but I was happy to see the video and the love of all movements you show in the way you talk about things. I have swiss watches as well and I love them all.

Great video! I have found that in general I prefer less 'decoration' in my collections of things and this goes for watches as well. It also happens to put into sharp relief how little 'more' you get with Rolex when you see how well the Seiko works and is built. No corners cut as you say. Many many watch snobs would be shocked to learn the proximity that Seiko achieves in the relation to their favorite brands and this would require one not to look too hard at where all the extra money they spent went to.

All of my seikos are vintage autos and none of them have any issues and work beautifully. Orient/Epson also vintage and working beautifully. They’re pretty accurate too. Damn fine units.

Thank you Kalle, I really enjoyed this episode. Before this episode, I thought you only worked on high-end models! I totally agree that a watch, even a relatively low cost one like a Seiko 5, is worth restoring if it has sentimental/emotional value to its owner. That alone is priceless.

I love my Seiko 5. I knew when I bought it that it was really good worth for the money. This Video made me appreciate it more. Thank you👍

Thank you Kalle, I started working on watch repair and have since specialized on Seiko. I love the Seiko 5, I love finding broken Seiko's online and repairing them, they are genius... and parts are available...

Spot on. Definitely nothing wrong with a Seiko, they make great affordable watches 🙂

I just love your videos. So informative. Thank you so much.

Thanks for this video, great insight. Love the passion.

Bedankt Kalle erg leuk deze seiko aflevering !!!

Thank you Kalle. Your instructiononal videos are wonderful. These infomational videos are just the icing on the cake. This makes an enjoyable hobby into an inspirational one. Chronoglide rules.

Thanks Kalle! I’ve got my father’s Seiko 5 Sportmatic which of course I’ve serviced!

Seiko is the Japanese Rolex. I have a snxs79, the 7s26 is unbreakable. I love this watch as much as the expensive ones I also have...

Thanks Kalle. Love the fun facts about Seiko, I’ve taken a few 5’s apart myself and think there a great movement.

Thanks, it is a great piece of design 👍 Refreshing after the Powermatic video too.

Thanks Kalle. I have been a Seiko fan and collector for years. I got my first 5717 mono-pusher Chronograph this week. I love your streams they are so inspiring, and I always learn something new. All the best.

My wife bought me a Seiko 5 from a charity shop for my birthday a couple of years ago Its really nice and keeps perfect time

Glad to see you talking Seiko Kalle, they are truley great watches. Bart/US

Many thanks for your great work Kalle. Great movements to use for learning. The generation before 6602 manual winds were also great. Serviced one last year - 55 years old and runs at a consistent - 1 second per day !! Love the Japanese.

I have learned so much from these videos. Thank you

Thanks for admiring Seiko,my beater watch is a Seiko 5 and it’s just a great watch. That was a FUN video

My first restore was on a very similar Seiko 5, great watch!

Thank you. Planning to buy my first automatic watch, and I'm settling on a Seiko 5 thanks to your review! :)

Love your expert opinion because you get to see the internal mechanisms which the general population do not see. You have the technical expertise to analyze the internal workings, thank you.

Superb. After watching your video, I love my seiko even more. An honest opinion that can only come from a watchmaker. Subscribed.

I love my snxs73. Keeps great time and is beautiful with an upgraded bracelet

There are 4 stable channels I have when it comes to servicing watches. A Welsh, a English, a Norwegian in Switzerland and you. Thank you for being fair when it comes to Seiko, I do quite often get the feeling that in Europe they never did forgive Seiko for the Quartz crisis (what they started themself) I can't say more for I am Biased, I love my Japanese watches, specially my Seikos but also my Citizen and Orient. Have one Swiss and one German watch and I wouldn't want to miss either of them. The love of a mechanical Watch is what is that we all have in common.

I live the 6119 and 6309 movements.. the 7xxx are not as nice but the reason I usually avoid them is the hairsprings seem lower quality compared to the earlier models. I often have 7xxx movements with the hairspring out of flat, but the 6xxx are usually fine. Of course that could just mean the 6xxx is more tolerant of my clumsy handling of the balance wheel. Thanks for the great videos.

Thanks for that! I'd love to see you feature one of these on the tuesday live stream!

I really enjoyed this, while by chance wearing the SNK807. So it appears it is even better than I tought. I do have some stuff from Switzerland in my box, but I just love this little workhorse. Great video!

Good insight. My Seiko 5s have been a pleasure to own and never let me down. If only all watches were as clever and as honest. Affordable quality that everyone can enjoy, just as it should be.

I am a fan of Seiko 5, they are reliable, you can choose from many designs, they have heritage, they are 'tough' and they are at the same time affordable. They have proved their quality over the years and that's why they have sold so many pieces worldwide. What else can you ask from an everyday watch?

This is awesome, it is the complete antithesis of Tissot. Tissot cut corners on the things that matter (see my rant on your plastic escapment video 😂) but decorate the movement to trick you into believeing you get a good watch. Seiko make a quality, durable watch movement with no decoration. I know which brand gets my money in future and it isn't the Swiss one! I have a 1917 Waltham trench watch and an Atlas Goliath pocket watch from 1920's. There will be Seiko 5's built today getting restored in 100 years but powermatic 80 Tissots will be scrap very sad of a brand with such history. (Whoops i didnt mean to rant again 😂)

Thank you so much Kalle that you made that video! When I started, as I told, I did with Seikos by chance. Later when I opened Swiss Moment watches I was a bit surprised why they do it more complex way 😂 However, coincidence or not: while watching this, I wear a 7S26-0060 with serial number 8O… that I just reworked and now am testing 🤣🤣 Thank you for ur beautiful content.

Thank's for interesting video Kalle,greetings from Ireland 🇮🇪

Thank you for the video! Fantastic

Thank you very much! I just bought one because I love mechanical watches and don't have the money. I wasn't sure if it was a good purchase. Your statement makes the purchase all the more important. 👍

*Omdat ik fan ben van horloges en tevens zoon van een Nederlander* _(ik kom uit de USA)_ *geniet ik vooral van deze video's. De Nederlandse mentaliteit: goed gemaakt, effectief, goedkoop en gaat lang mee.*

Thanks, very helpful 👍

One time I took my older seiko 17 jewels automatic 7005- 7001 ( 2D 2361 ) swiming , with no screw back case, and no water got in at all . Im very surprised 😮 so far it is the thinnest automatic seiko around 😊

Wonderful presentation as always, thank you so much! I knew these facts about the SEIKO 5 , yet it was so good hearing it from a Watchmaker expert, quite reassuring! I love automatics (mechanical), and so do quartz pieces as well. Have 2 SEIKO 5s and a SEIKO mechaquartz, love them all! The SEIKO mechaquartz chronograph runs terribly accurate!

Seiko is an incredible watch manufacturer. Completely vertically integrated, one of only two such bRands.... Yeah they can be criticised for various things, particularly recently, but still, they offer high quality mechanical watchmaking, from entry level to the most exquisite Grand Seiko. The magic lever is incredible! Innovative, elegant, and so simple. And whether it's a 5 or a top end GS, always has the advantage of being able to walk into a shop and actually buy one, unlike certain other bRands....

Thanks for showing us your opinions and ideas on the Seiko 5. I have a 28 year old Pulsar v736 and 2 SNK's... they are my favorites. I switch them out every 10 days. I would love to go upbrand, but i haven't.

Brilliant video sir very informative.

Soy un enamorado de las soluciones fáciles, simples y eternas!!Gracias por compartir .Un abrazo

From Los Angeles, California, great video. Seiko is part of the Seiko Group which also owns Orient. I recently purchased an Orient Ray 2 watch from the Orient USA website for US $210 before taxes with free shipping. The dial is a sunburst blue and I have replaced the metal strap with a blue alligator one. I owned a Seiko divers watch with a screw back in the late 1960's early 1970's and paid around US $150. Today, you can pay thousands for a new Seiko divers watch which is outside of my comfort zone. Take care.

Hello from NYC, big fan of your videos. I do have a question, a lot of youtube watchmakers lubricate and replace the shock settings for the balance, install them to check everything, but then remove the balance to continue the re-build process. Doesn’t that displace the oil in the “ incablocs” ??

Topkanaal met top videos... a breath of fresh air tussen alle grey dealer BS videos! Thumbs up!

A really great mix of know-how and entertainment. I really love it. The honesty is also very pleasant. One more request. Could you make the volume of the voice a little higher, because it always feels a little too quiet. Probably because of the distance to the microphone. Thank you and Grüße aus dem Rheinland 🙂

They are like the Toyota Corolla of watches. Cheap but reliable.

Aside from my Swiss watches, I have two of these Chinese seiko homages (Steeldive and Heimdallr) but they're running nh35 in them. I'll never get them serviced because it would cost more than the entire watch, but they're very accurate and great beater watches.

My first mechanical watch was a Seiko. Not even a 5. I love my vintage Swiss watches, but I fondly remember my first watch which sadly got crushed in an accident! The only thing that annoyed me was it was day/date and had dual language days it was a repeated pain to get the day/date setup properly

Just dated my Seiko SARB035. Thanks Kalle! I had no clue how to read the sn

Excelente vídeo kalle, gracias 👍 🇨🇴🕓🇪🇸👍

Thank you enjoyed this (:

❤ Seiko gives you the Bast Bang for by your Buck. Especially the turtle line. IMHO.

Love the videos Kalle. Would be interested in finding out what you all do with a 6139B that comes in with a broken center chronograph wheel? Unobtanium!!😢

Thank you for the nice videos. What I was always wondering isn't the the end of the lever (claws) wearing the teeth of the gear too much down because of the friction?

Great video! Would be interesting to hear your thoughts on the higher level Seikos.

Both my parents own and wear their Rolex datejust all day every day. They are very active. Every few weeks their watches run out of power during the night. While I can keep my Seiko running forever wearing it a few hours per day. The automatic winding on Rolex is just not as efficient as the humble magic lever.

Now i respect my seiko 5 entry level even more

Yes. I love my Seiko SRPE77: gorgeous ice-blue dial, heat-blued hands, lumed hands and indices, auto-wind with click (can also be hand-wound), hack (for exact seconds setting, an absolute must for anyone who travels by bus or train rather than driving their $87,500 Mercedes), water resistance, shock resistance, and reasonable accuracy (gains about 2sec per day). All for $250. Which is all I can afford, as a retired person with very few assets and a low income. But even if I had a lot more money, I would be unlikely to buy a much-more expensive watch. For the price of a low-end Swiss watch ($5000), I could buy a nice used car. For the price of a mid-price Swiss watch ($50,000) I could buy a nice new car. For the price of a Grand Seiko Kodo ($350,000) I could buy a nice 3-bedroom house. So, no, I'm not going to spend that kind of money on a mere wrist watch. If I want super accuracy I'll spend $15 on a Casio electronic quartz LCD digital watch. If I want an all-mechanical watch (just to be steampunk), I'll spend $250 on a Seiko. But the price must be < $500. I'll leave the $500+ watches for folks who wear Armani suits and drive a Mercedes Benz.

Seiko 5s are great, mind you the prices are going up all the time. That's really cool with the numbers on the back and how you can tell when it was made. How would you rate the 4R35 movement?

A Seiko 5 is my everyday watch. Reliable, unobtrusive yet attractive, and not so expensive that it would be a misery if it got damaged.

Nice one Kalle 👍

It’s Grand Seiko for the finish.

I LOVE SEIKO

When you had that dram I subscribed instantly

I bought quite a number of watches in the late 80s and through the 90s as a collector,and seiko 5 and citizen 7 were more or less the only affordable automatics in poduction at that time.aside from rolex,the swiss brands had gone virtually all quartz,the longines catalogue from 1989 has 2 mechanical watches in it.anyway,ive got 4 seiko 5s from this era all 7009 series.seiko are still using the old 7s36 in current lorus automatic watches.....

nice vid well said about SEIKO ,as bit of a watch nerd i alway`s say buy a SEIKO to my freind`s

I love my Seiko 5! I'd like to add another mechanical. Which would be a nice step up, but not crazy expensive?

I have a 7S26 from a watch i bought in 2002....it is still running now, 22 years later....and not a single servicing

Have you worked on Perseo watches?. I have had one for about 25 years, never serviced, and still going strong......used every day.

MAGIC LEVER!!!!!!!!!

Reversal wheels on ETA 2824 movements are a weakness if manually wound. Seiko movements don't suffer from this. The automatic winding system is superior.

I had bought a Seiko 5 with the 7S26 movement in 2008. Till date I have not serviced it and it works just fine. Thanks for making the episode! I also have a question. The glass of my Seiko is somewhat scratched. If I change the glass then will it affect the water resistance of the watch?

I would love to see a modern Grand Seiko movement and your opinion Sir.

What do you think about the 3130 movement compared to the newer 3230? Which one do you think is a tougher more reliable?

Have you heard of a certain pulsar divers watch that is oil filled? The one I seen was tested at 2990 ft . Pressure without implosion. Only a backplate dented , glass in good shape , and still running 😊