Hi guys,
As a fellow watch enthusiast, I wanted to share my Seiko story and how it ends.
Seiko has been one of the very first watches that got me started on me WIS journey. I instantly fell in love with their design and finishing of the watches. The retro styling, the case design, the case finish… There was some feeling of satisfaction that I just could not find in any of the swiss brands under 1.5k. And this is how it all started:
As a fellow watch enthusiast, I wanted to share my Seiko story and how it ends.
Seiko has been one of the very first watches that got me started on me WIS journey. I instantly fell in love with their design and finishing of the watches. The retro styling, the case design, the case finish… There was some feeling of satisfaction that I just could not find in any of the swiss brands under 1.5k. And this is how it all started:
- SRP775 Guilt Goddess Turtle : Right at the beginning of my WIS journey, the SRP775 was one of the first watches I bought at around 300$. And I instantly fell in love with Seiko. It was like a love at first sight. There wasn't a thing you could ask for more at the price range. The accuracy was good with some effort, I managed to keep it at +- 2 sec by using the advantage of different position placement (although terrible accuracy at + 15 to -15 variations). I knew how it beat, and how to place it to gain or loose time. However, after the honeymoon period ended, the OCD kicked in. It had a terrible alignment (which you also can't find on any other brand), and it simply had to go.
- SRPB53 Samurai : Ok, I said let's look for something else. I went to the AD and wanted to pick up a Samurai. However, the crown is quite long on this model, and it was at some very weird misaligned angle and so much out of center that I just walked out without a watch. Couldn't tolerate it even for a minute. And yes, this was the case on every Samurai they had in the store.
- SSA377 Presage Open Heart : In meanwhile, I wanted to add a dress watch to my collection. And there it was the Presage open heart with a beautiful domed sapphire crystal. I said they can't really mess up a watch without a bezel. However, right after unboxing, removing all the wrap and sizing the bracelet, I noticed few dust particles flying around the dial. Now this is when I learned that this happens, and it does happen to Omega, Panerai and other brands as well… But apparently, not as often as to Seiko, as you'll see bellow again (or I had bad luck). I was not allowed to replace it because I have already removed the wrap and sized it, even though I didn't wear the watch. So my only option was a 4 week annoying wait for the watch to be sent to Seiko to claim warranty and fix an issue that just takes 5 min to solve. Honeymoon period was taken away, and I never enjoyed that watch as much after getting it back. I just felt disappointed with it (I was still ignorant first grader on my WIS journey and thought that this is such a bad thing and unacceptable that took out the pleasure of enjoying this watch).
- SRPD25 Monster 4th Gen : I purchased the new monster. It was a beautiful blue dial and a stunning watch indeed. Many say it was subdued compared to the original monster, and this is what I liked. However, the dial, hour indeces and chapter ring alignment was a complete mess.
- SBDC053 62MAS : Now this was a beautiful watch, and one of the rare Seiko divers that I couldn't really complain about misalignment. I got lucky. Accuracy was great too, + 3-4 sec/day. Only remark was some weird lines/stripes all over the case facing the lugs at 6 and 12 position which became visible once on a leather strap. Even though it was a beautiful watch, after the honeymoon period, I just didn't bond with it, felt very light and small on my wrist on a leather strap. So I said it's time for a change, which brings me the next one.
- SBDC061 MM200 : I decided to go for the MM200. I instantly fell in love this watch, and I can say that it has been one of the most comfortable watches with an amazing lume and finish on the case. However, again the bezel was misaligned. On top of that, it had a very cheap plasticky look and feeling to the bezel and one of the worst bezel actions I've experience on a watch. To me unacceptable, especially since we are talking of an 800 - 1000 $ watch. On top of that, there it was again… Dust particles started moving around the dial, not sure if they came out of the date disk or something, but they were not there when buying the watch for sure. So it had to go again back to the service center, and you get that again "we'll call you when it's ready" and you get to wait for it forever.
- MM300 SBDX017 : After giving it some thought and selling the MM200, I said ok, maybe it's time for the real deal and be done with a grail quality dive watch. Guess what, a 2.6k $ watch with misalignment issues? Sorry Seiko, but walked away and said I'll never spend more than a 1k $ on a Seiko… But hey, even after everything I've listed above I still considered Seiko and was ready to spend 1k on their watches.
- SARX055 Baby GS Snowflake : If there is any watch I can say to be perfect and to regret selling, it was the Baby GS Snowflake. IMHO, it's one of the most stunning and beautiful dress watches you can buy at under 2k. It was just perfect. Sold for some other reasons.
- SBBN037 Tuna Marinemaster : After the failure with the MM200, I wanted a proper dive watch. And again, what else but a Seiko. I just couldn't resist all the hype about the tuna. It's everywhere, blogs, youtube, articles… "The Tuna is the best dive watch ever!" No doubt, it might just be the case. A quartz for a 1.1k? Hmmm… I appreciate a high-quality quartz, so said Ok, let's order one, even though I did feel it was slightly overpriced considering the hardlex. And then I saw that the new model SBBN043 was just released, I said maybe I consider that one with a sapphire. However, when I saw that they increased the price by 50%, it was a definite NO!, wasn't worth it to me, of course my opinion. So ordered the SBBN037. It might just be the best dive watch indeed. However, the first thing I noticed when opened the box and put it on my wrist was something on the bezel insert near the edge. It looked messy, especially considering that it is a shiny bezel insert. After a closer look, it looked like adhesive or something at the edges where the bezel insert goes in the bezel. A three-hand quartz at 1.1k $!? I at least expected that everything will be in order this time. Now maybe it doesn't sound as something serious, maybe I could have tried to carefully clean it and take it away or something and enjoy the watch. But I guess I was already at the tipping point with all my Seiko experiences, so didn't want to bother with it at all and just gave up the watch. I lowered my limit, from max 1k for a Seiko to max 500$ for a Seiko.
- SBDC069 Blue Coral Sumo : And this is the last one that brought me to my senses. At 540$, seemed like a perfect dive watch. And it is… unless…
The coral blue is simply amazing, stunning. The hardlex is not my favorite, but I guess there is no such thing as perfect. I saw the new SBDC113, which was exactly the same watch with a sapphire, but then again, price was double, at around 1k$, haha, almost laughed when I saw the price. Don't get me wrong, I don't say it's not worth it. It might be worth it when compared to other watches, but definitely not worth it with the worst QC in the watch industry. Let me get back to my Coral Sumo. I pre-ordered from the same AD that I bought few Seikos, and he promised to make sure alignment is good. So far so good. The watch arrived, and I was thrilled. I was so happy that I finally found a Seiko that is a keeper. The case design and finish, the dial, the lume, the hour markers… It was like a long journey home, and I am finally here. The alignment was not perfect, I think that's impossible for Seiko, but at least it was decent and acceptable. I have already slightly adjusted my OCD when it comes to Seiko. This was it, a Seiko keeper. And then… I pull the crown to adjust the time. I do the regular date change at 6.30 and move over 12 to set the time. This is when I noticed at 12:00 that the hour hand is off. It simply didn't aligned with the minute hand. After a detailed inspection it turned out that the hour hand aligns only around 12:06, 13:06… and so on for every hour. No, it wasn't the date changing mechanism at around 00:00, it was 12, 13 and so on. All my happiness killed instantly… or let's say put on hold… I said, not a big deal, ask for a replacement. It was brand new, stickers on, wrap on, never worn, exactly same as I received. After sending videos and pictures to Japan through my AD, he tells me that they say this is not a big deal and it is normal, and I should claim warranty if I want to. So no replacement was possible. What??? Brand new watch to claim warranty? Again? On top of that, the official service center is terrible, I don't know how but they manage to scratch your case when servicing most of the time, they couldn't even do a proper alignment of a friend's watch, even though he paid for it as watch wasn't under warranty. They just say "it's ok, better than before". On top of that no pressure test, nothing… They say "no need" just to get rid of you even though you insist. So you see what I needed to deal with if I wanted to get the watch fixed. So this was the third Seiko that had to go to the service center brand new. Not a chance!
. Figuring out what works best for one is just part of the fun I guess 
