Story Mod(e): Reconnecting with Family Through Watch Modding

Seiko modding is no doubt a great pastime. Hours will go by without you noticing, as you tinker with tiny and fragile mechanical parts, figuring out why the bezel won’t go on the case or why the hands keep slanting even if you mounted it perfectly.

It can be a fun personal hobby, but some modders choose to try the craft not for personal enjoyment, but for other, more noble reasons.

One example is our customer Andrew, who popped in our inbox with a story that tugged at our heartstrings.

With his permission, here is the story behind his Seiko mod.

(Story has been edited for more formal punctuation and continuity. Words have been kept as the original)

Brotherly Love

"So, this is my first build ever, I wanted to give my brother something special, something to show him a bit of thought went into it. He loves his car, it’s a 2002 Holden Monaro. He put those wheels on it, we upgraded, painted and polished the brakes together. He put the yellow accents in the engine bay himself and he usually keeps it impeccably clean.

The inspiration for the watch build.

He suffers from pretty severe anxiety, and I haven’t exactly been the best brother to him with things that I’ve said and how I treated him - not really understanding him and the struggles he has every day.

Until recently, my eyes were shut in a way, so that’s why I built this for him; to show him I care and love him. He’s my bro!!!

I put all the parts I ordered together without a single issue, I gave it to him tonight and he was pretty much speechless. I just wanted to thanks you guys for the excellent service, top notch packaging and pretty good shipping time all things considered at this time.

Here I have included some pictures of the car itself (a little dirty but it is in mint condition when clean), and a few shots of the watch as I went along and him staring at it haha, so... Thanks a lot guys!!! A build for myself will be next!!!"

Modding is not always perfect on the first try. Since many different parts are being mixed and match, and sometimes from different suppliers, there can be fitment or technical issues that can slow down a build.

We’re glad that for Andrew, everything went smoothly and he was able to finish the mod on their first go. The sooner he can gift it to his brother, the better! We thought.

Looking at the pictures, we can see clearly that it was a very meaningful mod, both for the modder and for the wearer of the watch. It was a black watch with yellow accents, mimicking the color and style of his brother’s car.

He used our PVD Matte Black SKX007 case as a base and fitted it with a bezel and crown in the same color and finish. A double domed sapphire crystal with no bevel edge creates a smooth transition to the Sub style black/black ceramic bezel insert.

For the yellow accents, he used a yellow chapter ring with black markers and lumed yellow hands. Finally at the back, our sapphire display caseback lets one peek inside the mechanical engine powering the watch.

When we saw the picture of Andrew’s brother looking intently at the watch, we sighed out in adoration. We’re happy that our hobby can allow for touching stories such as this.

If you would like to share your own modding story – please send us a message on Facebook, Instagram, or here in our support email: support@namokimods.freshdesk.com

We’re eager to hear from you, modfam!