I’d been looking for a summer, knock-around beater for a little while (about a month into summer, in fact). I’d considered some sort of vintage diver as something fun to wear that I wouldn’t really have to worry too much about it being banged up. The 6309 had entered my mind as I had seen a few for sale, anywhere from $100 to $300, depending on how original it was (a big deal for Seiko purists). I was not too concerened, myself. As long as it ran it could have been made from 11 different 6309s.
I found a few on eBay with a BIN in the range of $135. These were all from the same seller and for a month I watched them, and watched, and watched. One sold after another, and I did nothing. Not sure why, I guess I wasn’t really sure I wanted one. Finally one day, I took the leap when I found the seller had one with the original dial (many that he’d sold contained new dials styled to be similar to the original dials). It had been relumed, but it was the original dial. So, I jumped on it.
It was shipped super fast from Singapore, which always makes me happy. It’s funny that I can get things faster from overseas than within the states sometimes. Anyway, when it arrived and I tore into the package (it was very well packed) I was very pleased. Original dial and hands, both relumed as mentioned, it does have an aftermarket bezel insert, which is no bigge. It looks great, especially on the wrist. I loved it right away – I think I finally understand why there’s so much hype over these vintage divers. Now that I have this one, I want more!
