The Bill Yao CUSTOM Seiko diver SKX 007 K ... MOD 300
Purchased from:
Shaun Miller, Watch Works International, UK.
www.watchworksintl.com
Priced at £145 stg, or up to £150 with other dial/hands combinations.
I have often seen, and admired these Bill Yao custom watches which are available in the USA, and wished that it was possible to buy one, without the hassle of first buying the donor watch, sending it to Bill Yao in the USA, and then having to pay import tax when the finished watch was returned to the EU.
Well….. Now it is!! I have purchased one, and the complete package, watch, and modifications, were done in the UK!! The watch was purchased from Watch Works International. WWI will customise your watch to any stage, ie; dial only, hands only, or hands and dials. There are several designs of both hands and dials available.
Shaun, the principal at WWI says that he will also retro fit these items to your own watch, but a small fitting charge is payable. You will also need a new sealing ring for the case back.
The donor for this watch is the ubiquitous but popular Seiko SKX 007 K, which utilises the even more ubiquitous Seiko 7S26 21 jewels automatic, first used in 1996, running at 21,600 bpm, quick set day/date, non-hacking movement, with Seiko’s own ‘diashock’ protection.
Movement:
This bi-directional winding automatic movement cannot be hand wound, but my experience shows that it will start with a gentle shake, and that an hours wear is sufficient to get the movement working efficiently.
This is Seiko’s ‘entry level’ mechanical movement, but I would imagine, that with the possible exception of the ETA 2824/2836 and it’s iterations, that it is probably utilised in more watches, than just about any other mechanical movement available. Is it as good as the ETA? Technically the ETA is far superior, but the strength of the 7S26 lies in its simplicity… it just seems to go on, no matter how it is abused.
I have had watches with this movement, and it’s predecessor, the 7002, for a number of years, and have found them to be extremely accurate, and reliable.
Unfortunately, the design of this custom dial does not allow you to display the day, but I don’t find this a problem, as I wake up most mornings knowing what the day is, but some may find this irritating, as they may also, the non-hacking function of the movement. The only way to set this movement to the exact time is to stall the second hand at zero, with slight backpressure on the crown. This will not damage the watch, and is quite normal procedure for non-hacking watches. The date aperture is in its normal position at 3.
The dial. This is the ‘MOD 300 date’ dial option. There are others available:
Here is an original MOD CWC dive watch; with the dial this is based on:
The Bill Yao custom dial is very clean, and easy to read, with no branding on it whatsoever, save the small T inside a circle, which is the mark used by the UK Ministry of Defence to show that the dial is coated with Tritium. The UK MOD ‘broad arrow’ marking is thankfully missing. This arrow device is overused these days, and has become meaningless and trite. Of course, the hands, and chapter are not coated with tritium, but with with Luminova, and the marking is there merely to add authenticity and a period feel to the dial.
The dial is matte black, and the dial markings seem to be well applied, and quite thickly printed. There is no sign of overprinting, or smudging. In fact, the dial is beautifully executed, and to a high standard, however, the arabic 3, and 6, have always seemed to me to be unnecessary on a dial of this type, and I wish they were not there… horses for courses…? The luminova compound is bright white, which makes the dial extraordinarily easy to read, even in dim light. The centre seconds hand is lacquered white, and the ‘dauphine’ hour hand and ‘sword’ minute’s hand are chromed, and well filled with the luminova compound.
The whole effect is quite wonderful…. It hides the ancestry of the watch…and changes the character completely. It is almost impossible to tell the watches origin, and makes a mass produced, and well known Seiko watch look different enough to be really interesting.
The dial has been well fitted, and even on close inspection, it is impossible to tell it is not the original. Correct orientation with the crystal appears to have been maintained, though it is impossible to tell without removing the movement.
Just for the record, a quick test with this, and another Seiko, with a ‘Lumibrite’ dial, placed in bright daylight for 10 minutes, and then taken into a darkened room, showed that this custom dial glowed much brighter, and seemed to hold it’s ‘charge’ for longer. I have read that the brightness and duration of the Luminova glow is in direct proportion to the quality and quantity (thickness) used. This must be good, thick stuff. I still, however, would much rather have tritium, which whilst not immediately as bright, lasts longer, and seems to stay brighter.
The workmanship used to effect these modifications is of the highest standard, and it is quite impossible to tell that the dial and hands are not original. There are no tell tale marks on the caseback to suggest that it has ever beend.
The dial used is custom made for this watch, and the feet are obviously spaced for the SKX 007. There should be no problem however fitting this to other, older Seiko’s of the same diameter…. The feet will have to be ground off, but the dial can be fitted with double sided tape.
The Crystal:
Seiko’s own ‘Hardlex’ glass, which I am led to believe is hardened mineral glass coated with a skim of synthetic sapphire. Whatever, I have never had any problems with these crystals, they are difficult to scratch, but easy and cheap to replace. It is flat, which can be a pain when trying to read it under water, but it is also recessed slightly below the bezel, which helps to avoid damage.
Case:
The 3 part heavy stainless steel case measures 41mm in diameter, and is 13.2mm thick. Lug width is 22mm. The highly polished/matte lug tops and top of case finish is typical Seiko, that is to say, superb. It really does act as an example to manufacturers of much more expensive watches, of how to finish a case, even the space between the lugs, which is often left unpolished, is bright and shiny. It is a big, chunky looking case, which I like immensely. It follows the usual Seiko dive watch practice, of having the 8mm dia, nicely knurled, protected crown at ‘4’ This feature, which is an annoyance for me on normal watches, suits this ‘retro’ styled watch perfectly. It has a standard screw in back which is decorated with with the Seiko ‘wave’ logo, and the usual descriptive text. The case is sealed with a rubber O ring, and the crown screws down onto the case. This guarantees a water resistance of 200m/660 ft. In the real world, this is sufficient for most purposes, and this model is used by many non-saturation professional divers.
The heavy stainless steel, double milled bezel contains an applied bezel ring, which appears to be a laminate of aluminium and enamel. My own experience of these bezels is that they are fairly hard wearing, but again, are cheap and easy to replace if damaged. The bezel turns quite stiffly, but aligns with the cardinal mark correctly. It has detents at ½ minute intervals, and should loosen up with use. I find this older bezel design far superior to the current practice of protecting the edge of the bezel with a shield, which is broken at 2 and 10 to allow the bezel to be manipulated. I believe that this shield can allow debris and sand to get trapped, causing damage to the bezel, and making it difficult to turn. Why Seiko continue with this design, is a mystery.
Strap:
The watch, as delivered, comes fitted with standard Seiko rubber strap, with the beautiful huge stainless pin buckle. This is a great strap, but I have fitted mine with a Rhino NATO style strap. This style of strap suits the vintage style of this modified watch perfectly.
Here it is on the original:
Here it is on the Rhino NATO style, you will (if you are observant), that I have modified the strap too:
Packaging:
Standard Seiko packaging, which is adequate if not spectacular. Of course, spending more on packaging will necessarily increase the price of the watch.
Warranty:
Standard Seiko warranty…though I cannot be sure whether or not the validity of the warranty is affected by these modifications, I suspect however, that it will be.
Conclusions:
It would be easy to describe this watch with words such as stunning, or awesome, but it is neither of these. Workmanlike, and tough are far better suited… that said; it is a very good looking watch.
Even with the modifications this watch is cheaper from WWI than the UK standard list price, and as such is a real bargain. Few divers watches are better, or more highly respected than this. It is a hard working, hardwearing workhorse, and will never let you down. It is cheap to repair if damaged. Consider this… Seiko’s own current UK model, the 100m Kinetic divers watch costs more than £200 stg, and it is not half the watch this is. Buy one now, before the price goes up. A bargain!!
There are rivals at this price point, or slightly above, from Zeno, Ollech and Wajs, Broad Arrow, Glycine, Oris, and others, but this Seiko is a tried, tested and trusted watch, and at this price, it is, frankly, unbeatable.
There are much more expensive dive watches, with fashionable or exclusive brand names, but whether any of them are as good as this for non-saturation professional work is a moot point…. I know which one I’d wear…. And it wouldn’t cost more than a couple of hundred!!
Thanks for reading,
Doug
