Battery about £60 from Seiko; cheaper options are available.
The movement will need serviced like any Quartz, though it is better sealed.
Hi guys, looking at getting into 9F quartz game. Got a spring drive and a couple of mechanic 9S movments.
Does anybody know how much woult it cost to replace GS 9F battery? I think it has a 3 year interval? I would suppose there is nothing else to be serviced for the 9f, right?
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Battery about £60 from Seiko; cheaper options are available.
The movement will need serviced like any Quartz, though it is better sealed.
If you do it yourself maybe about £3 for the battery and a few quid for the other items.
https://youtu.be/VcjW2O5EOac
I think any competent watchmaker could change a battery for £30 or so. Maybe other have their recommendations.
“ Ford... you're turning into a penguin. Stop it.” HHGTTG
Sure thanks, I was wondering if anybody here has replaced battery and proper seal it with Grand Seiko (or Seiko for that matter) ? Not sure I want to hand the zaratsu beast to the corner shop watch repair guy .
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I generally tend to treat all quartz watches the same; just replace the batteries when they fail, don't leave dead ones in there and don't worry about it.
When I was fairly new to the higher end watch game, I had a Breitling that I'd send away to get done, but eventually realised that the costs didn't really add up. I've never had a quartz movement fail other than the absolute cheapest movements and then it's been electronic failure (that won't be mitigated by manufacturer battery changes and servicing) rather than mechanical failure (that might). Replacing the module when it fails is more cost effective than paying to slightly reduce the risk of failure.
Paying what averaged out at about £100 a year for batteries and servicing didn't make sense when the watch was likely to run for 30/40/50 years with just a £1 battery change every 3-ish years.
I have had a 9F GS that had be stopped for a while fail to restart after a home battery change, so that went off to Seiko for service and they replaced the module as part of the £450-odd service cost.
Completely up to the OP, but even my new 9F GS will have its battery changed by me whenever it needs doing.
I have had my 9F diver for 5 odd years. The battery has been replaced twice and both by Seiko UK. The last being November 2022 at a cost of £90 which included regulation re sealing and pressure testing. A nice service pouch and return postage in that cost.
The previous battery change had been through an AD but still went back to Seiko and cost £60 at that time.
I generally change batteries myself, it's no big deal and doesn't make sense to pay £40 for someone else to do it when I have the tools, a battery costs pennies and I'll care for the watch more although I won't be able to ensure water resistance.
However... for my GS, I'm going to send it off to Seiko. If I fry a movement in a cheaper watch it's no big deal but for the warranty from Seiko it's a no-brainer for a watch costing multiple thousands to have some manufacturer protection.
How much for the upkeep on a Gannd Seiko 9F?
If it was out of warranty then I would change the battery myself, over the years I have changed 100s of quartz movement batteries without a problem.
Think my local watch shop charged me £20 for the battery replacement and reseal , its just a quartz with a standard Seiko battery
I changed both of my 9Fs myself - very easy and just added some lube to the gasket before resealing.
In the future I may send it back to Seiko for a once over but as the battery changes are only every 3 years - it will depend on how much abuse they get
from me wearing them 😂
cheers
matt
Sorry to gate crash but didn't think this merited a separate thread as it's a similar topic.
Is anyone familiar with what the numbers on a case back sticker of a 9F quartz Grand Seiko mean?
I read this as the battery is a March 2020 unit, which is a bit concerning considering I received it new today from an AD. Before I risk looking a bit foolish, wanted to check if anyone can confirm my interpretation?
I believe your interpretation is correct; Seiko sometimes use year and quarter, but I think that’s reserved for the linear year markings with dot punch.
Thanks.
Seems pretty unreasonable to me to sell a watch with a 3-year expected battery that's got less than 3-months left on the clock. I think it's fair to ask them to either cover the first battery change or equivalent discount, else it'll go back on principle (which is a shame because I really like it).
Going to avoid naming them on the assumption they'll put it right, not had any issues with them in the past. Can confirm via PM thought if you're interested. I too was quite surprised to see this inexpensive model would be sitting for so long, perhaps not enough rotation happening in the stock room.