Blogs
What Is A Seiko Mod? And Why It Is Not A Fake Rolex
The term Seiko Mod stands for Seiko modification.
With a base of a Seiko movement, everything around it is customizable.
The choice of which dial, hands, case, glass, bezel and strap are used is entirely up to you.
Seiko modding is perfect for watch modders because of the plenty of aftermarket and spare components accessible on the open market.
Read on to find out everything you need to know about modified Seiko watches.
Where Does The Idea Of Modifying Seikos Come From?
This idea of taking a movement from Seiko and putting the rest of the watch together with your own parts originated in Asia.
People wanted something original on their wrist but with the confidence that it wont break like most cheap watches would do.
Seiko making movements for their own watches and movements to distribute to other watchmakers made the perfect base for these modified watches.
From the base, people went all crazy with their creations.
Making watches to their own taste and pieces that looked like something else.
Most people could not afford the expensive Rolex or Patek watches, so they started to make their own.
This was fine, while the timepiece didnt show any branding from another company.
The Parts Used For A Seiko Mod
The Seiko Mod its base is a Seiko NH35A movement.
This is the brandless powerhouse of the Seiko Caliber 4R35.
Seiko makes the NH35A, especially for non-Seiko watches.
The NH35A is an automatic movement with a power reserve of 41 hours.
For all the specifications of the NH35A, click here .
Other parts that are used for a modified Seiko are all brandless.
This means no brands or logos are shown on the watch except for the Seiko movement logo.
Cause of the use of these brandless parts, the watch looks very clean and feels premium.
The parts are made out of 316 RVS steel. Watches can use a sapphire crystal or plexiglass.
Nevertheless, they are both water-resistant up to 50m.
These parts are used for the homage watches; if you go with your own design, you can pick any dial, hands, case, glass, bezel, and strap your heart desires.
The time it takes to create a Seiko mod is around 6-hours.
Although this can differ, the more personalized your watch gets.
Is A Seiko Mod Not A Fake Rolex?
A Seiko Mod is not a fake Rolex watch. Seiko mods do not wear the Rolex branding.
Although having the looks of some Rolex models, they are a homage to them, showing honour to the big watch brand.
While fake Rolex watches are being sold everywhere and should not be worn by anyone.
These Seiko mods give you the luxury feel you get from Rolex for a fraction of the price.
You can get a unique looking Seiko with a date function for just 250.
Where Rolex replicas are illegal to buy and sell, Seiko mods are not.
The modified Seikos are legal for you to purchase and for anyone else to sell.
So you dont need to worry about taking your watch through customs.
Where To Get Your Seiko Mod?
There is no official distributor for modified Seikos.
But more and more people are making Seiko mods and are offering these watches through social media or their own website.
I sat down with a Dutch maker called RCM Watches for this post.
RCM Watches holds a stock of their most popular Seiko mods, but you can also get your own desired watch.
Nothing is too crazy for RCM.
The maker works with a jeweller and another watchmaker to give the best quality possible.
The price for a pre-made Seiko mod is under 300 euro.
Youre getting an outstanding quality timepiece with a travel pouch and digital manual.
For more info, check the Instagram page of RCM Watches @rcmwatches.
Another way to get your hands on a Seiko mod is to make it yourself.
You need to be very sure about your own technical experience because making a watch is nothing like building a lego set.
Seiko Mod Review Why You Should Consider One
I see modified Seikos every day.
Since I noticed that these watches got desirable, I went on a hunt to find one. I learned the story behind those watches, and I got one myself to see if it was just a knock-off Rolex or really a timepiece of its own.
I love watches and everything that involves these timepieces.
I also have a piece in my heart reserved for Seiko. It is a brand from which almost everyone had a piece on their wrist.
So the idea of taking that pure Seiko and making something else did not really fit into my heart at first.
But before you can have any opinion about anything, you need to use the item youre gonna have an idea about.
We make a statement without even seeing it, let alone trying something out, most of the time.
So for this review, I wore the watch for 2 weeks straight.
Enough small talk tho, lets get into the review.
Table Of Contents
Short History Of Modified Seikos
There is no date or year we can pinpoint the start of the idea about modifying Seikos.
I do know it originated in Asia.
People wanted something original on their wrist without breaking the bank and with the confidence that it wont break like most cheap movements would do.
Seiko was and still is making movements for distribution.
They want to give other watchmakers the quality of their movements.
This was the perfect base for everyone that wanted to make their own modified Seiko.
From that base, people went nuts with their own creations. Making watches that were a piece of themselves.
Some people really liked some designs from Rolex or Patek Philippe but couldnt afford them.
Well, this is where the Seiko mods were born that have the looks of some popular watches for a reasonable price.
From there the modified watches made their name across the whole world, becoming really popular in Europe and North America.
Parts Used For A Seiko Mod
The Seiko Mod I tested uses the parts stated in this review.
Suppose youre getting a modified Seiko from any other maker.
In that case, there is a chance they are using different parts like the movements, glass, steel and everything that is used for the watch.
So the watch starts off with a base, the Seiko NH35A movement.
This is the brandless powerhouse of the Seiko Caliber 4R35.
The NH35A is specially made for non-Seiko watches.
The NH35A is an automatic movement with a 41-hour power reserve.
For an in-depth specification of the movement, click here .
All the other parts that are used for a modified Seiko are brandless.
This means no unnecessary logos or names on the watch except the Seiko movement logo on the dial.
Because of this, the watch looks clean, making it feel more premium.
The maker picked a blue palm dial with a date function for the watch I tried.
Protecting the dial is a sapphire crystal.
This closes the watch making it water-resistant.
The jubilee bracelet made the watch fit really easily on my wrist.
Is A Seiko Mod Legal?
I get this question a lot when wearing the watch.
And yes, a modified Seiko that might have the looks of another timepiece is totally legal.
Where Rolex replicas are illegal to sell, buy or wear.
Replicas are considered counterfeit goods.
Logos and names are typically trademarked. This makes it illegal to purchase counterfeit goods.
A modified Seiko might have some design elements you recognize from a Rolex Date-Just or a Tudor Date.
But it is not wearing another brand its name.
On the watch dial, we can see the Seiko logo, which tells us the watch uses a Seiko movement.
So yes, the modified Seiko watches are totally legal.
Why People Buy Modified Seikos
I know some people find it silly when I wear my modified Seiko.
At first, I also didnt really understand the purpose of these watches.
But lets say you own a really nice watch you spend some of your savings for.
This watch may have cost you $1.000 or $10.000, nevertheless, it was a lot.
Whenever I go out to the city at night I am always worried about my watch being stolen.
Every week there are people being robbed of their jewellery at night, you cannot open the news app in the Netherlands without a new article about this.
So I wear my nice Seiko mod whenever I go out for a beer or to the club.
This way I still have a nice-looking piece on my wrist and I dont need to worry about some gang robbing me of my valuable pieces.
If someone would rob me for any reason I would just hand them over the watch and get home as soon as possible.
But I would not be worried about the lost watch because I know I can get a new one for just under 300 euro.
Inside The Box
First, there is no real box for this watch.
The watch comes inside a soft travel pouch or a hard travel case.
Inside we really dont find a lot except the watch and a QR code which will lead you to the users manual.
This is all digital.
The slogan from RCM watches is; Safe the trees, keep it digital.
Tho there is not a lot to unpack, it is all nice and clean.
The Seiko Mod On My Wrist
This modified Seiko was perfect for my wrist.
The case is just 36mm big making it perfect for daily usage.
And when I say daily, I mean every day.
Whenever you are going to the office, diner, or nightclub.
The watch will suit every occasion and every outfit. Making it the perfect daily watch.
If you ever get bored of its look you can always change the strap.
I really enjoyed wearing it in the sun as well at night.
In the sun, the watch really glisters and stands out. Because of the sapphire glass that is used it catches peoples eyes.
It is also terrific at night because of the lume on the hands and hour-markers.
My Overall Experience, Should You Get A Modified Seiko?
I gotta be honest in my posts and I am gonna be with this one as well.
I didnt think I would enjoy the watch this much as I have done.
It really is a cool watch which was fantastic for all my plans and activities.
I really enjoyed the feeling at night that I could go out and didnt have to worry about which watch I would wear or it being stolen.
The 41-hour power reserve made it convenient to swap another piece for a day without the need of setting it up again when you want to wear it.
After all, I can tell you that it is worth it to get a modified Seiko.
If you are looking for something to add to your collection or it is being the first watch, this Seiko will be a great fit.
RCM Watches
I got this Seiko mod from Ray at RCM watches.
RCM watches is based in the Netherlands and makes amazing Seiko mods.
This is not the only model that they make.
You can find all the other models on RCM watches their Instagram and website.
When youre looking for something totally unique RCM watches are the place to go as well.
Ray can make almost anything you can imagine, so dont be shy to slide in his DMs.