# My 1st Restoration Seiko 6105-8000 1968



## thorpey69 (Feb 8, 2006)

This all started with a simple wanted ad and spiralled out of control into a new found Seiko obsession.Anyhow after a bit of negotiation i recieved a rather battered but very original Seiko 6105-8000 symetrical cased model diver dating from 1968.This model is really the first real diver that seiko produced, which help shape the watches such as the 007 we wear today,the 8000 features a hacking movement with non locking crown,a bidirectional 60 minute bezel and 150metre water resistance.

The watch i bought was in a pretty sorry state




























with a battered and bruised case,a rather opaque looking crystal and a bezel complete with split,and missing lume pip ,my biggest worry out of those woes was the bezel,as i found out from experience ,replacements are rare as rocking horse poo and rarely come up on the used market.

My 1st step was to start stripping the watch down to its bare essentials,first off i removed the movement,this was one of the watches strong points as it was running very well,this in turn allowed me an uninteruppted sighting of the beautiful original dial and hands,these really are unblemished and a great feature of this particular watch as is the wonderful traffic light second hand.


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## thorpey69 (Feb 8, 2006)

,next up was hunt for a bezel which proved fruitless,so i decided to go with the split one and have the missing lume pip replaced,again not as easy as you may think,so after a reccomendation or 2 the bezel was sent to a nice fella called Michael (Twickersdude),who said he would make me one,to cut a long story short,Michael through another forum located a New old stock complete bezel(Bloody expensive and located in Brazil),this rebuild was getting a real international flavour now,i bit the bullet and ordered it,after all this is a keeper and had to be right.

Parts have started arriving and im thinking about straps now,the originals are silly money and im not a big fan,so i decided to use a Marinemaster 300 strap,very retro and very comfortable,a little trim and the jobs a good un!.

Assembly can now get under way,new gaskets are fitted and the crystal is popped in,its stunning!,the Ar really shows off that great face and hands,










i cant believe this watch is a year older than me but yet looks 20 years younger,movement back in and caseback on,the wait for the Bezel from Brazil is on.

2 weeks have passed and im getting anxious that my Bezel has gone AWOL,when i get a call from home to say a strange package has arrived from Brazil,1st thoughts are its the specialist porn i ordered,then reality dawns, its the worlds most precious bezel,it literally is as new,and is the crowning glory on my project.










Final assembly takes place,and at last it can be on my wrist,this is my 1st watch restoration and im quite proud that ive managed to turn a beautiful but well used watch into something to be admired again,hopefully it wont need restoring for another 40 odd years.




























I hope you enjoyed reading about my little project,and i will keep you posted on my next one,a 7002 case with many modifications,guess this playing with watches hobbie has gained yet another side for me now.


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## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

:swoon:

Stunning, simply stunning!


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## PhilM (Nov 5, 2004)

Nice work... am also a huge fan of the 6105's and the 8000 really is a true Seiko icon IMO :yes:

BTW Well done on the getting the bezel, rare as bloody hens teeth... I can't even imagine how much that cost you


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## squareleg (Mar 6, 2008)

Thorpey, you're a genius - what a great piece of work! Beautiful. :wub:


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## andytyc (Sep 9, 2006)

Amazing! Love that seiko.


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## orionz (Feb 15, 2009)

Really nice! Great job! Thou the AR on that crystal is the so called /simplex ar/ which only adds a cool tint to it, it makes the watch look pretty nice


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## mach 0.0013137 (Jan 10, 2005)

I`m not a fan of most Seiko divers of what ever age but that is very, very nice B)


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## Sparky (Nov 2, 2005)

Awesome job Andy! Love it

Mark


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## mjolnir (Jan 3, 2006)

What an amazing transformation.

I love the 6105 and yours is outstanding. Practically perfect.


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## bry1975 (Feb 6, 2004)

Good work Thorpey!


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## JonW (Mar 23, 2005)

Superb work Andy! that looks amazing now... Whats next? Cant wait for project number 2 

Ive a few projects on the go at the mo and just completed my Nautilus 500 which looks great and gets worn a lot. In fact I do wonder if its the economic climate, but Ive started to restore quite a bit myself on some of my keepers rather then pay someone else to do it... yesterday I spent a few hours making reset levers for my Aquastar Benthos movts from scratch! It took me a while to source the correct thickness and grade stainless sheet, and then hours of painstaking cutting, filing and grinding, but its worth it to see them work again  I certainly never considered that I would be making watch parts even a year ago... but these are parts NLA now, although you can buy one for US$200 from an American watch restorer who had some remade. If anyone wants one I can do em for half that, all handmade too


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## Dick Browne (Dec 16, 2008)

That's all turned out rather well, hasn't it?

Nice resto


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## jasonm (Nov 22, 2003)

Well done, looks fantastic...I saw you had bought the nos bezel, cant be many left in the world now....


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## powelly (Jan 6, 2009)

Thats loveley, how did you refinish the case???


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## Toshi (Aug 31, 2007)

Great job, Andy, and a real result finding that dial under that beat up xtal. Who would have thought it would have been in such good condition :thumbup:

The watch looks fantastic now. Well done!


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## thorpey69 (Feb 8, 2006)

Thanks for the kind words,it was meant to be a sympathetic restoration,which didnt leave the watch looking brand new,but left some of the watches 41 year old life visible,im still not sure whether i like the AR crystal or not,i might try an original if i come across one.The lume on the dial is original and it hasnt been touched and still even glows a bit for a short time :blink: ,the Marinemaster strap is comfortable but might be a little long for those with a skinnier wrist.

Anyway im wearing it and its accurate and sooo cooool :lol:

Case refinishing was done with various grades of papers and a dremel with different attachments,purely achieved through trial and error,but achieved a reasonable finish.


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## powelly (Jan 6, 2009)

I have a dremel, maybe i'll scan ebay and see if I can pick something up to restore. Would you say Seiko are quite a friendly watch to do a first time resto on.


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## thorpey69 (Feb 8, 2006)

I think Seikos are probably one of the most user friendly watches to try,and the quality of construction makes them quite robust,my advice would be to document every stage of dismantling by photographing,this then makes assembly a bit easier.


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## oubaas56 (Nov 23, 2008)

Beautiful job mate. I had one of those when they first came out and thought it was the dogs b****x.

Seeing yours I still do.


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## mrteatime (Oct 25, 2006)

awesome.......and that strap looks as good as the original


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## thunderbolt (May 19, 2007)

Stunning transformation, looks superb. Well done, fantastic job. :thumbsup:


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## Zephod (Nov 15, 2006)

Fantastic work looks superb


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## Steve's Dad (Dec 19, 2007)

I love these restoration stories, especially with before and after pictures.

Amazing to think this is your first restoration, I struggle just to replace straps.

Well done mate, thanks for posting.


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