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Nemrod
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First Name: James
Location: Kansas

Seiko Turtle

Sat Jul 21, 2018 2:19 pm

Just in case y'all do not know this bit of rather old news. The Seiko 6309 "Turtle" has been reissued as the Seiko SRP77XX. Faithful to the original except better, even a PADI version if you are into that sort of thing. My old 6309 is beyond repair I think but I just replaced it with the new issue instead of spending a ton of money trying to piece a 6309 back together that does not want to cooperate. About $250 and up. Even poor vintage sorts, poor from owning too many DH regs, I suppose, can afford a SRP77XX and the good thing is, the Turtle takes no guff from that silly over priced dress watch pretending to be a diver, Submariner. The Turtle eats those for snacks. Just saying.

Nem

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ScubaLawyer
Master Diver
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Joined: Thu Apr 08, 2010 11:25 am
First Name: Mark
Location: Laguna Beach, CA

Re: Seiko Turtle

Sat Jul 21, 2018 2:31 pm

Those are fantastic dive watches. I had one I used for years until I lost it somewhere in the Western Pacific. Love to have another one. Mark
"The diver who collects specimens of underwater life has fun and becomes a keen underwater observer. .. seek slow-moving or attached organisms such as corals, starfish, or shelled creatures." (Golden Guide to Scuba Diving, 1968) :D

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couv
Master Diver
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Joined: Tue Jul 18, 2006 10:26 pm

Re: Seiko Turtle

Sat Jul 21, 2018 7:35 pm

Oddly enough, my son recently expressed interest in my old 6309. So just yesterday I took it to a local watch "hospital." The watch works, but it just doesn't keep time very well. Nonetheless I was hoping for an inexpensive estimate as I only paid $110 for it new.....They wanted over twice that much. I said, "no thank you" and walked away disappointed.

If any of you have a line on where to get it up and running for a reasonable price please let me know. I'm not concerned with cosmetics, in fact keeping the "character" of the timepiece is preferred.
A sincere THANK YOU to all at VDH who make this wonderful resource available and to all the thoughtful contributors.

Flakotter
Lung Diver
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Joined: Mon Nov 27, 2017 8:32 pm
First Name: Traner
Location: Lakeville MN

Re: Seiko Turtle

Sat Jul 21, 2018 8:54 pm

There is a huge community that does aftermarket 6309 modifications. If I remember correctly, there are 2 or 3 guys out there that are 6309 wizards. Spend 30 minutes googling “Seiko 6309 mods” and you will be neck deep in a rabbit hole.

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Nemrod
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Joined: Sat Jun 25, 2005 1:53 pm
First Name: James
Location: Kansas

Re: Seiko Turtle

Sun Jul 22, 2018 12:14 am

The 6309 was a great watch but it has a few design defects, mainly the screw down crown threads tend to wear off as on mine. The crown will not engage reliably now. The new Turtle is a better watch, slightly longer lug to lug, drilled lugs, better crown, better movement with hacking and manual wind. Here for comparison, side by side:

Image

A good 6309 is worth investing in especially if it has good memories attached but the new Turtle is a better diver and being new, more reliably water proof to it's now 200 meter depth rating than the 6309's 150 meter. I always thought the Turtle, old or new, to be a little on the too large side, thus my actual preference for the SKX00X (SKX007 BLACK OR SKX009 Pepsi).

I am going to have to pass on the PADI version of the new Turtle, mine is the Pepsi with the new silicone rubber strap, Walmart online, it was $239.00, got it a month or so ago. Normally I do not like a watch over 40mm to 42mm but the Turtles, old or new, are just shy of 44mm. However, unlike most, Seiko contours and bevels the cases to fit the human anatomy and offsets the crown and as a result they wear like a smaller watch. The 6309 pictured I purchased summer of 1976 and the SRP77X is of course current production. Another rumor has it that the famous SKX00X may be dropped. I hope not as it is a better (smaller) size, better price and nicer looking, more wearable watch.

James

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Nemrod
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Location: Kansas

Re: Seiko Turtle

Sun Jul 22, 2018 11:33 pm

couv wrote:
Sat Jul 21, 2018 7:35 pm
Oddly enough, my son recently expressed interest in my old 6309. So just yesterday I took it to a local watch "hospital." The watch works, but it just doesn't keep time very well. Nonetheless I was hoping for an inexpensive estimate as I only paid $110 for it new.....They wanted over twice that much. I said, "no thank you" and walked away disappointed.

If any of you have a line on where to get it up and running for a reasonable price please let me know. I'm not concerned with cosmetics, in fact keeping the "character" of the timepiece is preferred.
That is why the new SRP77X is such a good deal. Repairing a 6309 can be expensive and more than a new Turtle. But, that said, there are only so many real watch makers left, only so many places that can work on a mechanical watch, cannot expect their time to be cheap. How Seiko continues to manufacture quality watches that give watches costing 10 or 20 times as much a run is amazing of course. And if you want to spend money, Seiko can accommodate you there as well, but going down the JDM road to pick up a Marine Master, well, it can be a journey. But with the Seiko SKX007 at sometimes as low as $150, it is a solid purchase and a well respected watch even amongst watch people who know their stuff.

My intern cannot tell time with a clock, can you imagine that! We went from pocket watches to wrist watches and now back to pocket watches (smart phones). We went from LPs to CDs and now back to LPs and CDs are fading away. Amazing sometimes and then there is this crazy guy building brand new double hose regulators :!: Jesus, what is the world coming too :P .

Nem

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Drado
Master Diver
Posts: 682
Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2011 6:11 am
First Name: Eduardo
Location: Manila, Philippines

Re: Seiko Turtle

Tue Apr 02, 2019 10:36 pm

Late to the party, but glad to have made it!
Image
Thanks Robert for getting me hooked on these things!
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Ed

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