Have I ruined my Seiko Samurai?

[zippydee]

Hi there,

I recently went for a 15 minute wakeboard/swim and realized I left my crown unscrewed. I didn’t notice any condensation, but I’m still concerned. I’ve heard mixed opinions on gaskets and the integrity of the Water Resistance with the crown unscrewed. I’m worried the movement would be covered in rust if I opened it a week from now. Any thoughts?

[Juclaq]

Most likely you have some water/moisture in the watch. You can try to confirm if you get condensation in your watch. Good luck

[Art_Riddle13]

Most Seiko diver crowns have gaskets placed to where the watch still retains some water resistance even when unscrewed. But if you are extremely concerned take it to a watchmaker.

[X2-Elijah]

Always worth trying to put the watch in a bed of dry rice (crown open), to try and de-moisturize the air in the watch. If the seals held back during the swim, they will hold in rice also, and if they didn't hold, at least there will be some demoisturizing.

[ffritz]

Always worth trying to put the watch in a bed of dry rice (crown open), to try and de-moisturize the air in the watch. If the seals held back during the swim, they will hold in rice also, and if they didn't hold, at least there will be some demoisturizing.

^^ This.

But before you do it, you should check if there's moisture in the case right now. Here is a excerpt from this article:

"Both before and after the “reliability under water” test, the watch is subjected to a condensation test to determine whether any moisture has penetrated the case. The watch is placed on a plate and heated to between 40 and 45 degrees C, or about 104 to 113 degrees F. When the watch reaches the temperature of the plate, a drop of water at 64 to 77 degrees F is placed on the crystal. After one minute, the crystal is wiped off, and any watch with condensation on the inside of the crystal fails the test, as this result indicates a leak."

This is the original test procedure from ISO 6425 and it can easily be done at home, without any need for special equipment. Just place the watch in the sun or under a lamp to heat it up and then apply the drop of cool water as described in the ISO test. If you don't see any fogging under the crystal, your watch is dry and it'll be fine.

[berni29]

Hi

I think the watch will be fine. That is what stem seals are for. You did not dive in it.

Best of luck

Berni

[ffritz]

I think the watch will be fine. That is what stem seals are for. You did not dive in it.

But plunging into water at speed puts a lot of hydraulic pressure on the watch when hitting the surface. Depending on how those 15 minutes of wakeboarding went, I wouldn't be so sure, unfortunately..

[timefleas]

Do as Fritz and Elijah suggest--then hope for the best--worst case scenario would simply mean that you would need a complete service (CLA) but you have certainly not "ruined" your watch.

[Tickstart]

There's no way of knowing whether you bumped the crown or not, which is what the screwing-down function is there to prevent. Not sure about the samurai but most SEIKO divers are waterproof regardless of crown position.

[TwentiethCenturyFox]

Plus one on trying the rice trick it has worked for me in the past. Other time it was a $900 service on my Rolex!