Seiko 7S26 watch, balance wheel

[ferd9191]

I have the exact same watch! I don't know much about automatic watches, but i'm just wondering what the + and - sign stands for? There seems to be an arrow pointing somewhere in between them above the spinning wheel

[null140]

@ferd9191 hi there. that little section is the regulator; it's basically a little lever that can be moved incrementally, between the '+' and '-' signs to speed up, or slow down the watch, respectively. you would regulate a watch this way (or get it done by a pro.) if it was running unreasonably fast or slow, say by a couple of minutes or more a day. i've regulated an old watch from the 50s this way, and now it runs pretty darn accurately for such an old, potentially unserviced watch!

[keesdegroot2004]

I have the same. Just perfect! Swimming, shower, no problem for this watch.

[samstterhamstteer]

anyone know anything about how good these watches work under water particularly ones that say resistant to 30 meters? 100 feet

[CharlieDoan]

@samstterhamstteer 30m..or just said water resistant.....very weak!! = You can wash your hand with a little big WET....Safe if you get 100m water resistant so you can swim (not dive) with it.

[UltraViolence14]

7S movements suck cheap and nasty

[opmike343]

@UltraViolence14

Nonsense.

[UltraViolence14]

@opmike343 ye im a seiko horologist and all i do is fix the 7s range so many problems

[CharlieDoan]

@UltraViolence14

Get 7s26B (The most accuracy of 7S (newest design and improve by Seiko engineer)

7S26A is the oldest

With today is 7S26...little more money you look for 7S36 with 23 Jewels, this is more ontime and better ($) Look for Made in Japan models are the first think I do ( I'm not a Japanese but whatever work best for us)

GOOD LUCK

[dimonalmaty]

@CharlieDoan funny thing is that seiko 5 with 100m waterproof is said to be made in japan, however it is so much cheaper than black monster which is not made in japan. I couldnt get it, but generally those cheap seiko 5 models are not pf same quality (bracelets, lead etc.)

[CharlieDoan]

@UltraViolence14 Buy a Times for you..$20.00 Wal-mart. You are an American you don't know Seiko!!

[UltraViolence14]

@CharlieDoan im not american !!! and i work for seiko so suck it eh

[CharlieDoan]

@UltraViolence14 I Mean TIMEX for American...Every year buy a new one or time to change battery...get new one too!! kkk  Battery is $20.00 plus tax.....Better buy a new 1 $25.00....kkkk AMERICAN STYLE

[CharlieDoan]

@UltraViolence14

My Great Grand Father past down a SEIKO to 3 generations and NOW to me, the AUTOMATIC watch more than 70 years old and the watch STILL RUN ON TIME. I just let you know that , of course you like or u don't like ..who care but I knew the quality of SEIKO..again I am not a Japanese.

[UltraViolence14]

@CharlieDoan old seiko mechanicals and Automatics last forever not the new auto 7s series

[firewalled1951]

@CharlieDoan

In 1956 (55 years ago and not 70 years) Seiko watch company produced the first self winding (automatic) wristwatch made in Japan. Seiko also created the world’s first quartz chronometer in 1964 Seiko was the official timer of the Olympics summer games in Tokyo.

A curious piece of information that people seldom know is that my great great grandfather invented the self cleaning electric oven in 1735, 160 years before AC electricity was invented by my other grandfather, Nokolai Tesla

[ducttaperulestheworl]

what does those jewels mean?

I got one and it says 25 jewels and this watch say twenty one jewels.

does it mean like there's 21 jewels in a watch or it's a type of jewel?

[sandbender1414]

Jewels means how many ruby jewels are in the movement. They are used to reduce friction and extend the life of a watch. The minimum of a decent watch is 17, 21 to 25 is typical. Generally anything over 25 is just for show.

[ducttaperulestheworl]

owh

okay

thanks for the info

appreciate that :D

[greyhall1]

@sandbender1414 A decent manual wind watch can get by with as few as 15 jewels.

[CharlieDoan]

@sandbender1414

I saw 7s21 long time ago and watch still run 3 generations in Vietnam, I thinked to keep the watch simple like BASE SEIKO 5 IS THE BEST nothing fancy . The more fancies are easy to .....have more problems!

[Nebraskahusker23]

@sandbender1414 Actually watches with more than 25 jewels usually have a specific purpose. Usually that's a chronograph, dual spring barrels, or they're just incredibly accurate. Just look at Jaeger Le-Coultre's 8 day movement.

[mnpd007]

Another thing I've noticed about the 7S26X movement models is that the hairsprings don't beat with good symmetry... even in brand new watches. Usually the springs beat with a somewhat lopsided movement. It apparently has nothing to do with good timekeeping, but I have noticed it, especially since Seiko began building so many watches with a see-thru back.

[mnpd007]

People born in the $1 quartz watch age can't realize just how expensive a timepiece was in the pre-electronic watch age.

Even a moderate quality jeweled movement 50 years ago could cost a couple hundred dollars... equivalent to a couple thousand on todays economy.

I bought a 1955 Rolex Air King in 1970 for $75... a new one then was $150. Still have it. What's the price today... $2500 or so?

[diamondmoney007]

I agree fully

[mnpd007]

Seiko automatics are reliable timepieces. I have probably a dozen. It's too bad that the unadjusted Seiko movements don't regulate time well. Worse, Seiko always adjusts the regulator on new watches to run about a minute fast per day, even though the watch is capable of closer accuracy.

[derkommissar1917]

I just acquired a Seiko SNK803K2 about a month ago, same 7S26B caliber as in the video. It doesn't gain a minute a day at all. It does have a slight gain, but it's not even a minute a week, about 45 seconds.

I wouldn't trade it for 10 quartz watches, 45 second gain per week or not.

[mnpd007]

The factory seems to send the "B"s out more closely regulated than the "A" versions. I'm not sure why the Seikos were ever regulated to run quite so fast. .

The Seiko automatics have a big edge over the quartz watches, even if they don't keep time within a second a day. They are superior quality, can take a beating and still work, absolutely waterproof and will run 15-20 years even if you never have 'em cleaned.

[mnpd007]

Odd how a comment reflecting simple truth can garner negative comment ratings! :) Some people are so emotionally involved with their Seikos that even simple facts upset them! LOL

I knew the Rolex crowd was thin-skinned, but it never occurred to me that the Seiko folks fit the same mold.

[derkommissar1917]

Well, the Rolex crowd is thin-skinned because they paid $2500 for a watch that's really no better than a lot of other watches that are a fraction of the cost, and hearing the truth hurts.

I'll take your word for it about the 7S26A. I don't have one of those to compare, but other people have said that the B version is more accurate. As for quartz, I don't mind it in my clocks, but I don't want it on my wrist. :-)

[gmlasam]

@derkommissar1917

Working in public transportation industry, we are required to wear very reliable, railroad approved watches, and quartz or atomic watches are essential, but I do prefer wearing automatic watches when I'm not working. :)

[gmlasam]

@mnpd007

I've just purchased 3 Seiko 5 automatic watches and each seem to be slightly in the slow side. My new orange monster loses about a minute in two weeks and another seiko 5 loses only 15 seconds in a month. Are there any jewelers out there that still regulate watches?

[elenchus]

Yes, jewelers can still regulate. You can also try leaving the slower watch face up at night.

Try an Orient next. I've had my Planet Orient for three-four months now, and when I set it on day 1, it was 7 seconds slow. It's now 2 seconds fast. No regulation, never died, never set. So 9 seconds in 3.5 months or so.  It's much, much, much more accurate than my quartz watches.

[ihatespam1977]

30 seconds per week is still pretty good. I wouldn't have anyone open it up because it could mess up the water resistance. The original 7S26as are harder to regulate because the adjustment lever is umarked and highly sensitive. The new 7S26b movement is supposed to me more accurate out of the box and easier to regulate

[carinhall1]

Der VW Käfer unter den Uhrwerken.Läuft immer.

[deathb4digital]

Let's hope the 7s26B is an improvement over the 7S26A which I've never had good luck with. They don't stay regulated well and seem to die on me after about five years. My 6105-8110 and 6309-7049 are much more reliable than these modern 7s26's.

[mnpd007]

Yep, the 7S26X series are Seiko's entry level movements. A good bargain any day, but Seiko does produce higher grade (and priced) jeweled movements. I still can't get over the prices on the Spring Drive line!

[sandbender1414]

They truly are built to last a lifetime. I was speaking with a co-working who was wearing a Seiko 5, the one on his wrist was 10 years old, no servicing. He had one for 20 YEARS with no service. He just got tired of the style and gave it away, still running!

[myscrnnm]

Nice. I just ordered a Seiko SNK031K dive watch (same 7S26 movement as shown in your video) and it's good to know I'm getting something as reliable as this.

[CharlieDoan]

@sandbender1414

Vietnam, fishman pick up a big fish and inside stomach of that fish had a seiko 5!!! So , What do you guy think where the watch COME FROM?? and the watch still running because the fish moving (of course)????

[douro20]

These things are marked with the Seiko name in four places: on the pallet bridge, on the lower plate next to the balance, on the plate carrying the selfwinding mechanism, and on the rotor. As with all Seiko mechanical movements, this one is built to last a lifetime.

[CharlieDoan]

@douro20 ?? I do not think so! compare with 7s21 work horse!