WIP - Blue Fifty Five Fathoms Seiko 5 Mod

Four years ago, when the blue Sapphire bezel insert was released, I bought most of the parts to build a Fifty Five Fathoms Seiko 5 mod.

However, for whatever reason, it's languished, unstarted for all that time, but with the arrival of an AliExpress blue 'Sailcloth' strap, I was spurred into action and have removed (read destroyed) the original bezel insert and am ready to start, as soon as the bezel insert adhesive strip arrives.

I thought it might be fun or interesting to document the process and my success, or otherwise...

Here are the parts...

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...f848df9e42.jpg

The bracelets were rubbish on SNZHs, so I originally intended to wear it on a rubber strap (which is currently fitted), but I'm going to try the sailcloth strap as they're more the look I'm after.

My black one, which DickBrowne helped with :

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img922/6969/KqBS6Y.jpg

My previous go at a blue one, before the proper bezel insert was available :

https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img903/286/ZfJxU8.jpg

This was based on a world timer, which was purchased to get the better movement for the black one.

M

OK, so today I decided to start work.

Getting the movement out is pretty straightforward; remove the caseback and the stem and it levers gently out.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...4d0163fcec.jpg

Set the hands to midnight and then use a hand remover to lift the hands off the spindles (I'm sure there's a proper word for them on a watch!).

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...d417bcab12.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...1e17f677d8.jpg

The dial can be gently levered away from the movement, there are just two pins on the back of the dial to locate it.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...216e894d23.jpg

Fitting the new hands is probably the trickiest part and where a minor disaster occurred.

The hour hand goes on first and a hand pressing tool located it perfectly, but the minute hand was less precise - most of the parts are Yobokies and excellent quality, but I bought a set of hands from eBay as (as I recall) Yobokies didn't have a red-tipped second hand available at the time.

Trying to get the minute hand to fit, I touched the hour hand with the plastic tweezers I was using and it went straight through the lume AND the hand, there was no metal behind the lume! :eekskull: So, my hour hand has a hole in it!

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...4ebacb7a0e.jpg

It looks terrible in the photos, but just looks like a mark on the hand to the naked eye. I'm not going to spend money buying another set of hands now, so it'll have to be less than perfect.

Getting the second hand in wasn't too bad, but it merely proved that the minute hand was poorly seated and it took a good half an hour of fiddling and pressing with two small screwdrivers to finally get it properly fitted and the second hand passing smoothly over it.

Finally the movement went back in the case and I left it running for a while to check the timekeeping was still OK.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...7746f0677b.jpg

The bezel adhesive strip hasn't arrived yet, so the final steps will have to wait until then.

The moral of today's story? Buy the best quality parts you can and be very, very, very careful!

M

I will be watching this progress as I have often thought about doing similar. I fancy a FF style watch with lumed bezel but with with a mil spec / no rads style dial

And so to the bezel insert...

It's very nice (as you expect of Yobokies).

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...400d7b0f67.jpg

The insert adhesive strip/rings arrived (I bought two to be on the safe side).

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...ddb6537406.jpg

They're a little tricky to centre on the insert (Should I have actually put it in the bezel instead...? Time will tell!), but it's OK.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...dfbb4c29b0.jpg

M

Unless hands are fully lumed, like the Heuer Pasadena, Orfina PD chrono etc. there will not be metal behind the lume. The lume material is applied from the rear, bridging across an open slit or wider gap. This is the only way to create the neat metal frame around the luminous material.
It’s a very satisfying when you have created your ‘new’ watch from a pile of bits. I’m currently wearing a ‘bitsa’ Speedy Pro that I’ve built from my parts box, having robbed a trashed Tissot of its Lemania movement and using other parts that I’ve accumulated over years of tinkering with Moonwatches. I’ve three other proper Speedys but this one gets the most use. The weird thing is, it has significantly less value than its component parts and will be broken up again if I ever decide to get rid of it.

Ah, you live and learn.

The bezel insert is in now. It proved very easy to get it dropped in accurately (shame people at Seiko don't take as much care).

Last change now will be to fit the 'sailcloth' strap and decide which I like better, it or the silicone strap it's currently on, which is a nice soft one.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...0d08605233.jpg

Sent from my ASUS_X00PD using Tapatalk

And now the choice...

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...d5efc7102d.jpg

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...94d76d752a.jpg

I'm going to try the sailcloth for a couple of days, then decide.

M

Sent from my ASUS_X00PD using Tapatalk

Quote:

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Originally Posted by snowman

Ah, you live and learn.

The bezel insert is in now. It proved very easy to get it dropped in accurately (shame people at Seiko don't take as much care).

Last change now will be to fit the 'sailcloth' strap and decide which I like better, it or the silicone strap it's currently on, which is a nice soft one.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...0d08605233.jpg

Sent from my ASUS_X00PD using Tapatalk

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Looks excellent

That’s a great mod and a cracking looking watch.

People underestimate how difficult it can be to fit watch hands. New hands can sometimes be too tight and the hole needs to be very carefully broached to get a satisfactory fit. Most folks who try to mod watches won’t have a set of broaches so they’ll struggle. Getting the hands to sit properly is tricky, it gets easier with practice but a hand fitting tool is a must, it enables the hand to be manipulated to get it parallel to the dual and not sitting lop- sided.

A ball- point pen refill is useful for pressing large hr hands on, but if the hand needs excessive force its too tight and needs broaching.

I’ll be fitting a new handset to a vintage Omega this week (Royal Mail permitting) and I know it won’t be straightforward, they never are, even with experience and a decent set of tools it’ll take a while. The hands have to be curved slightly to match the originals and I'll have to age the lume to suit the aged dial, all time- consuming and with scope to get it wrong........all part of the fun!

It's definitely the trickiest part!

I've only done it on three Seiko 5s and they seem to fit the spindles (I suspect there's a watch word for them!) quite well, but even then getting the hands level, so they don't interfere with each other can be a challenge.

M

Thats a right beaut, sad times on the hour hand, but it doesnt seem to notice, well definitely not with a well placed second hand in the pic anyways :)

Looks very good.

All modders have a few bent hands in the parts box. Frustrating at the time but you learn quickly. Interesting re the lume filling the hand, just found this out myself the other day