Sunday, December 1, 2013

My yellow submarine: Seiko Diver 7002-7000

Seiko Scuba Diver 7002 Yellow Dial


"......
As we live a life of ease
Every one of us (every one of us) has all we need (has all we need)
Sky of blue (sky of blue) and sea of green (sea of green)
In our yellow (in our yellow) slubmarine (submarine, a-ha!)
.......  " 


I nicknamed this watch as yellow submarine is because of its replacement dial which is in lemon yellow. The Seiko 7002 series of diving watches is the fourth generation of Seiko recreational automatic diving watches. It is an ISO-rated dive watch. The 7002 line of divers replaced the 6309 in 1988 and ran until 1996 before being replaced by the SKX line of divers. 


The 7002 divers shared the same slimed-down case similar to the second generation 6309 divers. The same case is still in use to this day by the SKX divers.


The stainless steel case measures approximately 41mm in width (47mm including the crown); 13mm in thickness; and 22mm in lug width. This case also incorporate a small blister shaped guard which protects the watch crown. The case has a combination of fine-polished mirror surfaces and machined or satin finishing surfaces. 


Like most Seiko divers, this 7002-7000 has a 60 click bi-directional bezel. The bezel has a black insert with silver marking and a dotted lume. This watch has a very thick mineral crystal. 


The huge crown is a signature of Seiko diver watches. It is relatively easy to use. The crown is screw in and locked type which gives better waterproofing. This watch is rated to 150 meters water resistant.


One major characteristic of 7002 divers is that they all use rectangular hour markers on their dial. These hour markers are covered in a greenish lume (possibly promethium) that predated Seikos use of lumibrite. Although this is an aftermarket dial, it remain truthful to this. The hands are all heavily lumed.


The caseback is screw in type with a Seiko Tsunami logo at the center. The caseback is engraved with JAPAN A (Daini lightning bolt logo) STAINLESS STEEL SEIKO (the word Seiko is written in larger font) 7002-7000 A1 (inside a box) SCUBA DIVERS. From its serial number, this watch came out of Seiko's Daini factory in May 1995. 


The cal. 7002 is a 17 Jewels automatic movement and runs at 21,600 bph. It's non-hacking and has a quickset date-only calendar mechanism. It is beating at 21,600 bph and has a power reserve of 40 hours. This is the few 7002 divers with the mechanism still assembled in Japan and is proudly stated on the caseback and the movement itself. Most 7002 divers has movement assembled in Singapore and cased in Hong Kong. 


This watch is fitted with Seiko original Z22 rubber strap. This strap is very comfortable to wear. 


The most stunning part of this watch, is the bright lemon yellow dial....


I regard the 7002 as a neglected vintage Seiko diver. Maybe because it only has the date function. Or perhaps it has too many similarity with the current SKX Scuba Diver. Maybe most people think the quality of the watches dropped as the operation being moved from Japan to Hong Kong and Singapore..........


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