Seiko Style Crown or NOS?

[nickb]

Hi All,

First post besides my intro. I'm working on a Seiko 66-7100P. It's running alright but pretty scuffed and grimy. I'm hopeful a clean, a service, and a new crystal will do the trick. My question (for now) is about the crown. It's one with a gasket inside the crown with a washer holding it in place. It's pretty dirty and the gasket, although intact, doesn't feel pliable. I've read about rebuilding the crown by stuffing small gaskets into the gap until the washer pops and then replacing it with a staking set. This is a bit beyond my current skill level/tool collection. And I know typically you just replace the crown. So my question is three-fold.

1. In general, if the gasket is fine but dirty and you plan to reuse the crown, do you just clean it in the ultrasonic and call it a day? Do you apply silicone grease? If so, how?

2. I found a NOS seiko crown. Should I be concerned about the age of the gasket in there?

3. I also found "Seiko Style" crowns. Are these a better option because they have, presumably, newer gaskets? 

I might be over-thinking this, but I figure better over-think than under-think. I also have no delusions about this watch really being water resistant but I just want to do the best I can, or at least know the best option. 

[AndyGSi]

1 hour ago, nickb said:

1. In general, if the gasket is fine but dirty and you plan to reuse the crown, do you just clean it in the ultrasonic and call it a day? Do you apply silicone grease? If so, how?

You can but I wouldn't trust it being any kind of waterproof.

1 hour ago, nickb said:

2. I found a NOS seiko crown. Should I be concerned about the age of the gasket in there?

Are you sure it's NOS and how is it packet?

1 hour ago, nickb said:

3. I also found "Seiko Style" crowns. Are these a better option because they have, presumably, newer gaskets? 

Always an option depending on the quality and how original you want to keep the watch.

Depending on the crown you can sometimes just hook the washer out to replace the gasket and then all you need is a tube to reinsert the washer.

[nickb]

Thanks!

59 minutes ago, AndyGSi said:

You can but I wouldn't trust it being any kind of waterproof.

Would you still apply silicone grease?

55 minutes ago, AndyGSi said:

Are you sure it's NOS and how is it packet?

I'm not sure at all. It's listed on ebay as genuine NOS with the part number (55W10NS) that is correct for the case code. Picture just shows it loose so I'm guessing that's not a great sign? 

1 hour ago, AndyGSi said:

Depending on the crown you can sometimes just hook the washer out to replace the gasket and then all you need is a tube to reinsert the washer.

I might try this. If I mangle it no big deal since I already figured on replacing the crown. 

[AndyGSi]

23 minutes ago, nickb said:

I'm not sure at all. It's listed on ebay as genuine NOS with the part number (55W10NS) that is correct for the case code. Picture just shows it loose so I'm guessing that's not a great sign? 

If it's the one I think it is then it's going to be after market at that price.

Does it look right as I wasn't sure if it was the 55W10 or 55W12 as I've not got the case sheets for any 66s?

[SwissSeiko]

NOS anything with gaskets, I replace them. I replace all gaskets when I service a watch

[nickb]

15 minutes ago, AndyGSi said:

If it's the one I think it is then it's going to be after market at that price.

Good to know.

15 minutes ago, AndyGSi said:

Does it look right as I wasn't sure if it was the 55W10 or 55W12 as I've not got the case sheets for any 66s?

Yeah it looks right to me. Jules Borel has it 55W10NS1 and lists 55R15NS1 as an alternate. I don't know what the 10 vs 15 means. From what I can find those digits refer to the serial number. 

I was also able to find this (attached) that shows it for 6600-7100P. 

3 minutes ago, SwissSeiko said:

NOS anything with gaskets, I replace them. I replace all gaskets when I service a watch

To clarify, you'd replace the gasket on a NOS crown? 

[AndyGSi]

59 minutes ago, nickb said:

To clarify, you'd replace the gasket on a NOS crown? 

If it was sealed NOS then I'd see how it looked and felt.

1 hour ago, nickb said:

Yeah it looks right to me. Jules Borel has it 55W10NS1 and lists 55R15NS1 as an alternate. I don't know what the 10 vs 15 means. From what I can find those digits refer to the serial number. 

The key part here is the R as although it still has a gasket it isn't classed as waterproof.

[SwissSeiko]

18 hours ago, nickb said:

To clarify, you'd replace the gasket on a NOS crown? 

 

Depending on the age, yes. If it's older than 10 years, I do out of principal. The client is paying for it to be like new

[Malocchio]

I've bought some sealed Seiko crowns from Cousins and I couldn't even fit them on the crown tube because the gaskets were rock hard. They can be changed but there's no easy way.

[RichardHarris123]

If not damaged, rubber gaskets whether natural or not, can be refreshed.  Many preparations are available but I believe that most can be restored with warm water and dish soap. Of course, I  could be wrong.