My first Seiko Kinetic that was bought for me by my wife for my 28th birthday (early 1990s) met a horrible death. Due to catastrophic failure of a gasket, seawater got in and fried the electronics. Below is the crown of the said watch. This watch has a reference code of 5M43-0C80.
Due to the age, Seiko could not repair the watch as per original.
The water rating was set at 5 Bar or 50 meters.
Recently, Seiko informed me that they have a movement that is of the same type that is similar to the shape of the original crown. Due to the effects of the saltwater, even the dial was destroyed. Instead, they suggest a transplant of the Seiko Kinetic SKA475P1 crown to my original bracelet. Below is a picture of the model of crown which Seiko suggested I transplant.
It worked well! In fact, I was happy that I kept the old bracelet as it was a solid one unlike the new ones that they provide which is hollow and lack the weight. The only thing that I had to sacrifice is not having a day counter as the newer one only has a date counter. On the plus point, I got a newer and better caliber: the 5M62 and the water rating is now up to 10 Bar or 100 meters. At least the dial is still white like the original.
There has been a lot of internet chatter about problems with the kinetic technology employed by Seiko. I am glad to report that none of the problems highlighted has happened to me that is directly due to the technology.
It is a comfortable watch to wear. With a face size of 38 mm, it fits well on my wrist.
Although there is a power reserve indicator button at the the 2 o'clock position (if you pushed it, the second hand will rotate and indicate the amount of power available in the capacitors. Full power in a turn of 180 degrees. At the moment, at full power, not sure how long the watch will last; - 1 month?
Total cost of the transplant; RM550.
Below is the picture of my watch on my wrist.
