Worn out Seiko SKX Watch Service and Repair | Seiko 7S26 Service

In this video I will be servicing and repairing the Seiko SKX Diver's watch. It wasn't running when I received it and the complaint was that it wouldn't hold time. It turns out the automatic works' rotor was loose and it tore into the internals of the watch. Have a look and see how it gets repaired and see some watchmaker techniques applied in the process on the Seiko 7S26 Movement in this watch.
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#Seiko #watchrepair #restoration #skx009 #skx007
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[@rafeeqosman5494]

This is amazing Gert! It's crazy how tiny and intricate these movements are. Thanks for taking out the time to service this one, really appreciate it. Im sure it was destined for the scrap heap in any other hands. But it just goes to show how durable and robust these movements are, even after years of bad fitment and wear, you still managed to revive it. Great job bud.

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

Only a pleasure my man. I just love bringing these back from the 'scrap heap'!

[@M3LTUP]

Nice job. These SKX are going up in price. Probably gonna be more people restoring the 7s26 movements in a few years.

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

Yeah, they seem to be more “desirable” now that they were discontinued and prices reflect that. I’ve seen NOS 007’s go for over $500 lately. Older divers have gone through the roof and finding original cosmetic parts have become almost impossible. So yeah, it’s time to collect as many bits for these as possible

[@Javic167]

You can put an NH36 in there. You just have to swap the movement ring from the 7S26 to the NH36 and maybe the day wheel. You get handwinding, better shock ressistance, less friction, more accuracy. And an NH36 is less than 50 bucks.

[@adrianhargreaves2854]

I’d rather service my skx to keep it original. It’s far more special to keep everything. Great vid

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

I agree, SKX’s have steadily gone up in value (more so than it’s vintage 6039 and 7002 brothers) so best to service it when needed.

[@jonharry6293]

Excellent and a nice South African-accent

[@predragjo5977]

My favorite movement. Cheap and reliable and can last for generations given it's serviced properly :)

[@johneisenberg9700]

Fascinating. I don't have the hand/eye coordination or patience to attempt anything like that but can certainly see myself watching your videos. I rewound and replayed parts of this one. Was excellent. Thank you.

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

Thank you John, I really appreciate it!

[@tiberiubondor8586]

Very nice Gert, it was a pleasure to watch the video!!!

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

Thanks buddy, much appreciated my man!

[@krakenlad95]

Fantastic video, thank you for sharing!

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

Thank you very much!

[@barrymcdermid9466]

incredible work. Had mine since 1999. It's a thing of beauty.

[@yousontheloose]

awesome content thanks for sharing

[@alvisgineika9306]

woooooooooooo that is super nice and all the coments, and yes still think that would love to learn this and do it ,,,, Thank You

[@corychecketts]

This was awesome. I’ll definitely be getting my SKX007J1 serviced when the time comes. It has the cool Arabic date wheel that I want to keep.

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

Thank you! Yeah keeping these original is now a thing when you see what they sell for lately

[@alaindrolet_atlt_2019]

Interesting video ! I restore a Pepsi Seiko 7S26 too, it’s was my first Seiko experience and I learned so much with it ! Congratulations nice video ! Thank you for sharing !!

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

Only a pleasure. If you hadn’t noticed by now, I really love the Pepsi Seiko’s.

[@orgazmick]

lol i learnt another thing about seiko movement's today i was just servicing a 7S26 and noticed a bit more end play on the mainspring barrel like yours had i used my stacking set to make the hole smaller and the middle part of the hole is replaceable as i found out hitting too hard lol i then had to just get a donor from another seiko and replace you live and learn every day cheers

[@RestorationAustralia]

Very cool. nicely done.👍

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

Thank you!

[@Javic167]

Really cool video! But considering you can get an NH36 for under 50$, regulate it and swap the grey movement ring with the black one of the 7S26 and it will fit plug and play, while beeing more shock resistant, has less fricton, being more accurate and mainly has handwinding, servicing a 7S26 seems pretty pointless...

[@stephenward3468]

Nice job boet i have the SKX can't remember if it is the 007 or 009 but a classic Seiko for sure,i love my Seiko watches i have the automatics,kinetics and solar ones.I saw aSeiko Marinemaster selling for £6000.Seiko quality for sure.The current price for a new Captain Willard is about £1050 and going up.I bought the homage version STEELDIVE for £114,it has the Seiko NH35 movement,it came with a metal strap and two other rubber/silicon straps extra spring bars and spring bar tool.Not bad for the price on Amazon.

[@alanshaw6161]

That was just fantastic work. After seeing that I think I will throw my 4R35 in the trash before even trying to repair it myself lol 😆

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

Thank you Alan!

[@garyhenson9100]

Time to buy NOS!!!!

[@jeromesookdeo8097]

Nice 👌

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

Thanks 😊

[@acsiii110]

Was just about to say the thing I like about this channel is no commentary.

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

I'm still trying to find what works and what doesn't. I started off with voice overs but later ones I used captions. It seems the ones without voice overs do better, so I'll probably stick to that. Then again, they're not as informative. But I'm easy either way - you guys need to tell me what you prefer

[@acsiii110]

@@TheBeardedWatchmaker Please do. Been enjoying the silent videos. I'm learning the trade on a Slava twin spring 2427.

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

Thanks for letting me know!

[@chrishynes6091]

Why not just turn your volume off?

[@saldogdave]

Great video! Thanks for making it.

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

Thank you sir!

[@garysmith7545]

Nice video! All of my Seiko's are quartz.

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

Thank you! You might want to try one of their Automatics. Something mesmerising watching a mechanical watch operate

[@philofalltrades]

Love the video. I am starting my watch making journey soon, could you please tell me the jars your using, baskets, and ultrasonic cleaner ? thank you

[@marcjcapetown]

I really enjoyed watching that, thank you. Are you in SA, I'm in Cape Town. Just getting into watches. Two questions, please: how long did this process take from start to finish, and what do you think of the 4r35 movement? Thank you!

[@geobel1669]

very nice and instructive video, and very real about the difficulties a hobbyist can face ! Thank you to share it with us… What breaking grease are you using for the barrel ?

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

Thank you very much! I generally use 8217 braking grease on Seiko barrels

[@ruicarmo3468]

Hi there. Loved your video on this skx009 job. Wonderfully serviced watch with great skill. I wonder if you can give me a hint on mine. It worked just fine until a few weeks ago. It fell to the floor, no aparent outside damage, kept working just fine. Then it started to stop by no reason and now works for less than a minute and stops. And something on the inside sounds “losse” when I gently shake. Any guess? Thanks a lot. Rui

[@_MotoMa83_]

Hi, Bearded. Please help me figure out if I'm adjusting the SKX007 or if something is wrong with the mechanism. The watch's second hand when in 30-second position is when the minute hand is aligned. and the other issue is that in the morning, the SAT shows on the date and by 2:45am-3am it changes to SAB as to 'pm' time and would stay there for the next 18 hours. Thank you in advance for your reply.

[@dustins.4666]

I have an skx011j bought it new old stock for like 230 bucks. Crazy how expensive they are now

[@c000536]

Wonderful work. You are very patient. Question, how much does a new movement cost for a SKX173 w/7S26?

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

Thank you Tom. Hmmm, not exactly sure. Brand new 7S26 movements aren’t easy to come by now that they’re discontinued. I’d guess around $100’ish. But donor movements are plentiful and a lot cheaper.

[@rl7487]

He’s wearing a seiko skx009 J.

[@chrishynes6091]

Messed mine up from a hard drop. What would be more practical... having a full service or replacing the movement with a nh36a ?

[@chrishynes6091]

@DickBanger-ui6no Ended up sending to authorized seiko repair. Cost for that movement to be replaced was very reasonable.

[@clark3830]

I would just replace the movement with a NH-36 new and move on. But it is a great video of your service. Opening the barrel and removing the mainspring on this movement is very scary.

[@robertrubley3810]

Hi there - how much does a service like this cost on average? I have my eye on a preowned SKX009 that looks to be from the 90’s at a really great price (35$), but the description says the watch needs a new battery. I know it’s not that easy being that this is an automatic movement. I am wondering if it is worth spending the money and what would need to be done to the watch in order to get it running again and how much that would cost. Any input would be greatly appreciate, thank you!

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

Hi Robert. Heh, it’s a real difficult question to answer to be honest. 7S26 movements are real cheap, so most watchmakers would just replace the whole movement and carry on to the next job. Servicing the actual movement as I’ve done here isn’t really common for watchmakers that earn a living from their trade - where guys like me do this for a hobby and it’s more a labour of love. So you need to find someone like me if you want to have it serviced hehe (unfortunately I’m based in South Africa so logistics would be uneconomical). Service costs is mostly labour and the price of that is a regional thing, so impossible for me to give you a good answer. That being said, those movements are pretty much bullet proof - you may be lucky by giving it a good shake and it would fire right up. For $35 you certainly paid peanuts, so if push comes to shove you could probably just replace the movement if it’s not keeping good time

[@mattfisher1916]

My skx007j is gaining about ten minutes a day. I can't find anywhere I trust to fix it and Seiko's site says movement not found under repair

[@machinistmikethetinkerer4827]

hi Gert did you say saltwater rinse? thats a first for me. fill me in!

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

Ha no. I use an ammonia based cleaner ;)

[@blackhole6834]

No plastic parts in 7s26?

[@TheBeardedWatchmaker]

On 7S26 only the calendar works has plastic gears. And the movement ring of course

[@muhammethamdiaydn9744]

Your presentation almost identical to @M539Restorations. Enjoyed btw

[@holikdenv]

You are touching that movement with your hands, this is the first time I see that someone handles the watch without rubber finger covers. Yes, you put them on afterwards, but I guess you did that only for the camera.

[@annafraley5388]

Same watch I have had for 4 years, it was making a noise when shaking it also, I took the case of and found the flywheel loose too. After that I accidentally touched the balance spring trying to speed it up a bit.😱 now it Don’t work at all. 😥🫣🤔