A certain someone requested an automatic sports watch some time ago, and I’m hoping this ladies diver will fit the bill…

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This watch is fitted with one of Seiko’s smallest automatic calibres, the 4205, which despite its diminutive size, offers more technical refinements than many of it’s larger stable mates, having a full bridge for the balance, and the ability to hand wind the mainspring.

With the top plate removed, you can see that there isn’t much room to spare inside, the wheels for the going train are tightly packed, and a separate bridge has been squeezed in to house the wheels for the hand winding mechanism.

This calibre also has ‘indirect centre seconds’. In most calibres, the second hand is attached to the axle of the fourth wheel which extends through the main plate and out onto the dial. In this calibre, with the 4th wheel positioned out on the edge of the main plate, an extra seconds pinion is needed to maintain a centre sweep layout.

Before re-casing I took an “exploded view” shot of all the casing parts, which is typical for many of Seiko’s divers.

To finish off I replaced the crystal and gaskets, popped in a traditional bezel insert, and fitted a matching strap. It looks good… I hope it gets the seal of approval!

Rich.

No need for a ‘before’ picture as this ladies Enicar looked just as good before I started working on it as it did when I’d finished, very nice indeed.

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Fitted with Enicar’s own AR2691DM calibre this movement was a level above the Standard 69 movement I serviced last month in terms of overall quality.

Nothing more than a good clean needed to revive this one as the old oil had solidified, after that it started right up and just needed regulating to keep accurate time. Judging by the great condition, both inside and out, I’d say that it was rarely used by the previous owner.

Another birthday gift, this one is UK bound. I even managed to get hold of an Enicar watch box to finish off the package.

Rich.

In near perfect condition, this ladies Seiko was made in 1977. Though this one is fitted with a manual wind 2202A calibre, the automatic winding variants the 2205A and 2206A are more commonly found in ladies watches from the seventies.

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These calibres are called ‘Hi-Beat’ as they run at a rate of 28,800 bph (8 ticks per second), which is higher than the majority of vintage Seiko calibres which typically have beat rates between 18,000 and 21,600 bph. Theoretically, the higher the beat rate, the more accurate the watch, as the power from the mainspring is released through the going train in smaller, more controllable, increments.

The problem with this watch was a broken mainspring and not surprisingly, being almost 30 years old, replacements are no longer available from Seiko. All was not lost though as the same part is used in all of the 22xxA calibres so finding a donor watch was pretty easy. With the replacement mainspring fitted and after a clean and oil, she sprang back into life.

There isn’t much of a market for vintage Seiko ladies watches which is a shame, as this one is in great condition, in it’s original box and with all bracelet links intact.

Rich.

Another birthday gift, this time for a good friend here in Melbourne. I came across this Art Deco style Swiss Accurex in a neglected state, non-running, missing a few marcasites and with a filthy bracelet.

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Inside the watch caseback was a service mark of April ‘48, can it be that old? The watch was fitted with a 17 Jewel Standard 69 calibre which dates to 1962, perhaps the original movement has been replaced at some point.

I thought the bracelet was going to be a nightmare to clean but an experiment with a couple of Polident tablets (yep, the foaming denture cleaning tablets!) did the trick, the effervescent effect lifting out 80% of the old dirt… hmmm minty fresh! The rest I removed carefully with a toothpick and after a thorough rinse and polish it looked like new.

I picked up a cheap marcasite watch from eBay to replace the missing stones, cleaned and oiled the movement and polished the crystal, turning it into quite a nice gift.

The lacquer on the dial has started to deteriorate around the edges but rather than detract from the overall appearance, in this case, I think it adds to the vintage feel.

Rich.

I picked up this ladies Oris as a birthday gift for a certain someone in the Netherlands (Hoi!). From what I can gather it was made in the late sixties or early seventies, but dating vintage Oris watches with any accuracy can be quite difficult as even Oris doesn’t have any records of production dates and numbers.

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Working on this one was a real treat, no calendars or automatic winding complications to deal with. The movement hadn’t been running for some time as the stem had been bent preventing the watch from being wound. Luckily, I managed to source a replacement and it was straightforward from there. All cleaned up it runs nicely and being a pin-lever escapement it’s got a lovely loud tick.

It’s still in great cosmetic condition with just a little wear on the crown and a few marks on the case. I thought about replacing the crown with something a bit more modern but decided to leave it as original as possible. I think it’s great, I hope she likes it.

Rich.