Opening up a vintage watch for the first time can be a little unnerving. No matter how nice the watch looks on the outside, there is always the chance that the inside has been butchered from a previous service. So when I saw the second hand on my beloved 9943 Grand Seiko started doing its 2 second dance this week, you can imagine my concern regarding what I’d see once I opened it up.
Being an old quartz watch, this one has a battery hatch cover. While these are easy to use, occasionally they can be tricky to get off once unscrewed. Sometimes they get stuck and have to be pried out. This one came right off!
As I peeked inside, I was happy to see that everything was clean and tidy; even the gasket looked new. The “Seiko” branded battery was a plus and makes me wonder if the last battery change had even been done by Seiko Japan; which is a possiblity as I’d purchased the watch from Japan.

I dropped the new battery in and she started right back up with one second ticks. Mission accomplished, and I now know that this vintage Grand Quartz is as clean on the inside as it is on the outside.