My very simple watch restoration project

A couple of months ago, I rediscovered my good old trusty watch while sorting through the packing boxes we brought with us when we migrated to Australia.  

It was a Seiko model 7002-7000 A1 automatic diver's watch, still in good working condition, with light signs of wear, i.e. scratches on the bezel and crystal.  

The watch closely resembles the current model, the Seiko SKX173.  I liked this watch for the style, size, solid build and most of all, you never need to replace the batteries.

Hitting up Google I discovered that these watches are quite popular nowadays, with this particular website having a very comprehensive buyer's guide for collectors.  

7002-7000 150m diver on Rhino strap. Photo by Kevin Chan. 

And reading up on this article dates my watch's manufacture sometime in February 1995.

I found another excellent and informative site, Seiko Diver's Reference, where I saw this photo of my watch with a very nice looking Rhino strap.  

After doing further research on these straps I learned that these are British military inspired watch wristbands.  With quite a number of styles like the pictured Rhino, the NATO (more popularly known as the NATO James Bond) and the Zulu, they all look quite similar, with variations only on the buckle and the number of rings.

I was also happy to find these straps being sold on eBay.  I ordered a black NATO strap recently,  which replaced the aftermarket rubber strap that was on my watch.

This is how the watch looks like now (pictured left).

And this is how it looks like on my wrist :-)