Buying a CHEAP Ebay Seiko So you don’t Have to || Or should you?
About a month ago I committed a horological crime. For the polluted minds, horology is the art of making watches and clocks. I’d been intrigued by the idea of a tank style watch for a while but not interested enough to commit to something like a Hamilton or a Cartier at the top of the price scale. Against my better judgement I started looking on Chrono24 at all the different rectangular shaped dress offerings of all shapes and sizes but nothing stood out to me.
I watched a video that mentioned the Seiko Dolce as a popular candidate for those looking for a tank look without the price and I was sold. I immediately hopped onto Ebay and started exploring my options. There were a few examples from Japan that seemed to be in good shape despite a few scratches and scuffs but that was to be expected from a watch from the 80’s. My frugality won out when I spotted a square face Seiko Quartz dress watch from India. The watch was listed for $25 and to me that seemed liked a win win situation but I still thought I would do some research before pulling the trigger. Google yielded endless results advising me against purchasing a second hand watch from India as there seems to be quite the market for fakes and “Frankenwatches”.
Seiko Dolce
A Frankenwatch can be summed up as a collection of spare watch parts pieced together to create a functioning time piece with exactly zero reliability or guarantee. Normally this would have put me right off the idea of purchasing it but again for $25 dollars, I saw this as a safe gamble and a small experiment. I’m happy to report that what I received three weeks later was exactly as it looked in the pictures and it even appeared to be functioning.
It arrived on probably the worst chainmail bracelet I have ever seen in my life. It was difficult to adjust, caught the hairs on my wrist and was sized to fit what I could only assume would be a malnourished skeleton. Thankfully, I had planned to change the bracelet all along so my biggest annoyance was trying to get the spring bars loose. After an hour and some very colourful language I was able to break it free and switch it for a navy blue leather strap.
As I write this, its been about 6 weeks since I received the watch and I have to say that it has been nothing but a pleasant experience. The watch keeps time well and hasn’t stopped working even after wearing it out a few times. Visually, it offers all the looks of a tank style watch and presents itself as an opportunity for conversation. I can safely say that this is one of the best “gambles” I have ever taken and I would encourage you to do the same though please please please be sure to do your own research and don’t overpay for something you aren’t sure is completely legitimate!
Do you like watches? What have you added to your collection lately!