1972 Day 'N Date 6007

Sometimes it's not hard to spot a 1970's watch.  Often they have... well, bold styling is a nice way of describing it.  Another way to spot one is if it has a day of the week complication.  Although calendar models go back to 1954, it wasn't until the early 1970's that day and date models were introduced.  One of them was the 1972 Day 'N Date 6007.  It's also known by the model number on the back, 825004-4.

The Day 'N Date 6007 came in a gold electroplated case with a stainless steel back.  It has a dark brownish colored dial or a golden gilt dial.  Both options featured the quick change Q/C II movement.

I recently came upon a Day 'N Date 6007 and it caught my eye because of it's funky egg-shaped styling and because it also came with it's original dial.  1970's watches are becoming very fashionable so I was quite surprised when I won it for a very reasonable price.

If there's any doubt that the bracelet is original, it should be reduced by the big H on the butterfly clasp.  That doesn't mean the bracelet is original but it matches the catalog depiction too.

The back of the watch is unremarkable and shows evidence of at least one attempt to open it in the past.  The -4 in the model number means the watch is yellow gold plated (sometimes filled).  A -3 would indicate the case is stainless and there is a very similar looking stainless model with the number 825004-3, it's the 1973 Day 'N Date 5009.

This bracelet is made by Drema... in case you're looking for one.

A silicone ball makes for a great case opener, believe it or not.  It doesn't always work but it works most of the time.

The Q/C II movement is often the caliber 825, although I believe there are some other calibers too.  This is the one I've seen most often.  Two retaining screws hold it in place and then I can push the little detent to release the stem and crown.

There is a lot of detail in the design of this dial... wouldn't you say?  The hands and hour markers are black and gold and are very hard to photograph.

While things are being cleaned I will tape up the bezel and polish the crystal.  This way I won't accidentally polish away the brushed finish on the metal.

Everything is cleaned and ready to be reassembled.  There are a lot of parts to this movement, including a number of easy to lose springs.  So I will have to be careful not to lose anything in the process.

So far so good, them basic movement is back together and ticking away.

Not too bad... I can slow it down and improve the beat error fairly easily.

Well, the beat rate of +12 sec per day is where I want it.  The hair spring stud is up against a stop so I can't reduce the beat error any farther without loosening the stud.  I'd rather not goof up the hairspring for such a small adjustment so I'll leave it a 1.3ms.  One most watches that would be more than acceptable.

This is definitely a funky, chunky 1970's model, that's for sure.  It looks great though and the bracelet is a nice finishing touch.  I was able to get the gold on the hands and markers to show up too.  It's a sharp looking watch.