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What’s a Seiko MOD in 2023

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How it all started.
Starting from the MOD part, it simply means a modification made to something’s function or appearance, so from a scratched SKX bezel that got replaced with a ceramic bezel, or the obsolete 7S26 upgraded for the modern NH36 by a watch enthusiast in his/her basement, watch modding has taken a bunch of wild turns.

seiko skx mod
Credits to Jonathan Mabey for the picture!

Parts replacement became more and more extravagant with time, mainly with the Seiko SKX being the selected timepiece for experimentation, because of its popularity, initially cheaper price, and availability of compatible components in the gray market, this watch became the place where the modding magic started really happening, with different bezel colors, styles, dials, hands, etc… 

Watch Modding, with Seiko as an ambassador and the SKX as its first wildly popular base, took on the expected turn of taking the style of timepieces from notorious brands such as Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet, making them into mythical Seiko MODs, like the Seiko Daytona MOD, the Seiko Nautilus, Royal Oak or Submariner MODs, that are definetly more MODs then they are “Seiko” harboring mostly their reliable harts and calibers (or dials) and merging these with aftermarket components that brought the opportunity for the masses to enjoy the most legendary and iconic models of horology’s history, with Seiko’s powerhouses giving life to these quirky inventions.

I’ve seen this trend grow and grow with time, until I decided to take an active part in it, as a professional watchmaker in Barcelona, more and more people were coming to replace bezels, dials, and hands that had no defects but were giving these timepieces new life and character, until I started making these fully customized MODs, using cases with styles from other creators and brands, and I really understood what was happening, I really understood that this was the future of watchmaking and collecting, where everything is at your disposal and you can wear the watch that most suits your taste and fancies, without having to spend fortunes and still getting the highest quality materials and calibers that will run a lifetime.
 
Seiko Daytona Blue Dial
Seiko Daytona Blue Dial

So what’s awaiting us? What’s the future of watch modding, and is Seiko going to keep silently acknowledging the modding community or is the Japanese company going to take a more active part in it, revolutionizing the watch world once more, as they did with the great quartz crises that created the luxury and mechanical watch market we are today witnessing, and kept changing mechanical watchmaking forever with its iconic calibers, like the modder’s beloved NH35/NH36 movements, and other powerhouses that we’ll talk about on our next posts!

Whatever is waiting the modding world, we can be sure it’s going to be a fantastic ride, and we’re all in!

Pedro, a watchmaker from the wristmodding team
Barcelona, 01/05/2023