I Took on an Impossible Watch Repair – You Won't Believe What Happened!

My friend Karl, an 80-year-old retired truck driver, cherished a watch he had bought during his travels in Kuwait. It had endured years of heavy use, witnessing his life on the road. When it finally stopped ticking, the repair costs were beyond his means, so he attempted to fix it himself, which, however, proved too complex. Therefore, he packed the partly disassembled parts into small boxes, leaving them untouched for the last 20 years.
Now he entrusted me with the task of bringing his watch back to life. He doesn’t want its history erased, considering every scratch a mark of his own journey. I have taken on the challenge—not just to repair a timepiece, but to preserve a story.

The Seiko Kakume 6139B is a highly regarded vintage chronograph watch, introduced in the early 1970s. It belongs to the famous Seiko 6139 series, one of the first automatic chronographs in history. “Kakume” means “square eyes” in Japanese, stemming from the watch’s distinctive square subdials.

Historical background
• The Seiko 6139 movement was introduced in 1969, competing with the Zenith El Primero and the Chronomatic (a joint venture by Heuer, Breitling, and Hamilton-Büren) as one of the first automatic chronographs.
• The 6139B is an improved version of the original 6139A movement, offering better durability and improved functionality.
• The Kakume models (ref. 6138-003X series) were produced between 1973 and 1976.
• Unlike most 6139 models, which had a single subdial, the Kakume featured a dual-register chronograph (30-minute and 12-hour counters), making it more functional.

Key features
• Movement: Seiko 6139B automatic chronograph (column wheel, vertical clutch)
• Case size: Around 43mm
• Case shape: Chunky, tonneau-shaped stainless steel case
• Subdials: Square-shaped, positioned at 6 and 12 o’clock
• Dial variants: Common colours include blue, gold (champagne), and silver
• Crystal: Hardlex (Seiko’s proprietary hardened mineral crystal)
• Day-date Feature: Located at 3 o’clock, often available in both English and Kanji

Buren lady watch winners please contact:
magicwatchmaking@gmail.com

Hope you enjoy the restoration 😊

Chapters:
00:00 The story of the watch
01:53 Disassembling the movement
05:13 Cleaning the movement
05:48 Assembling the movement
13:56 Cleaning the case
16:17 Assembling the parts underneath the dial
22:49 Final steps
25:53 Timegrapher test
26:09 Show-off

The tools used are listed below. Kindly note that the links are affiliate links, that means that I will earn a small commission if you purchase an item through the link. This helps me make more videos like this one!

Tools:
Microscope (gifted by Linkmicroscope): https://amzn.to/3ClPjQV
Ultrasonic Machine: https://s.vevor.com/bfRgls (use VVGDS5 to get 5% discount)
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#restoration #watchmaking #seiko #kakume

Видео I Took on an Impossible Watch Repair – You Won't Believe What Happened! канала Magic Watchmaking