[tmar]

Hello all,

Im new to this forum but have been collecting watches for a couple years now. The first Seiko I bought was a Seiko SARB031 and fell in love with her over the 3 Tissots I have.

Looking for another, I have some questions regarding the Seiko SARY017 and the Seiko Premier SSA013. Is the only difference that the SARY017 has black hands and the SSA013 has silver?



Thanks in advanced Seiko lovers!




SARY017

SSA013

 

[Johnny Wishbone]

Hi tmar, and welcome.

Regarding your question, they are both the exact same watch, even the hands are the same colour.
They only seem silver in the other pic but they are black on both watches.
Seiko sells some model ranges of their watches as SARY as well as SSA, I believe one is an asian model marketing name the other is an international marketing model range, I don't know if the SARY or the SSA is the international model range but that doesn't matter.
The watches you posted, albeit under different model names, are both the same watch.

 

[tmar]

Thank you for the welcome and information regarding these two watches Johnny. I am quite surprised that they are infact the exact same watch.

Open heart watches have always been on my mind after seeing a Frederique Constant Persuasion in person. I am 22 years old and am still not quite able to get myself to spending $900+ on a watch but after getting my first Seiko, I was pleased to see that they had an open heart in the sub $500 range.

I will be taking the SSA013 since its around $250CND cheaper then the SARY017 and replacing the bracelet for a leather strap. Maybe a Kain Heritage since im saving so much on the watch . Will post pictures when its all together.


Thank you again!

 

[Likestheshiny]

Hi all. Apologies for bumping this, but I've been eyeballing the same watch and I wanted to be sure.

So, y'all are SURE that the SARY017 and SSA013 are the same watch? I mean, they look the same, and have the same movement, and it makes sense that they're the same watch. But, as tmar notes above this post, there's a pretty big price difference -- the cheapest I can find the SARY017 is about $350, but the SSA013 can be had for $250. One site, creationwatches.com -- which I've admittedly never heard of and probably wouldn't order from -- actually has both for sale, with a $200 price difference. There's a (well-rated) eBay seller with the SSA013 available for $270 shipped, which is even cheaper than amazon.co.jp's $350-ish for the SARY. I might jump on that, but I'd like someone to soothe my concerns and repeat with certainty that these are exactly the same watch. Many thanks.

Incidentally, since the SARY017 is on amazon.co.jp and the ssa013 is not, I'd assume that the ssa013 is the "international" version or something similar. That might explain why it's cheaper, if its wholesale price is aimed at other Asian markets.

 

[Chronopolis]

Nice!
Might have to look into those.

Not to derail: But why do some people hate the open heart?
I've heard people say it's bcz it's a "fake", or a "poor man's" tourbillion.
Really? How absurd!!

Is there some really *good* reason to hate the open heart?
I myself find them delightful in certain designs. Like this one.

 

[Likestheshiny]

Eh, I've never been a fan of skeleton/open-heart/see-thru watch faces in general. I figure that's what a clear caseback is for. But, I dunno, something about this particular watch appeals to me. I think I like that it's got a traditional elegant face contrasting with that gaping look into the machinery. That said, this watch has a crappy movement and is overpriced at $350+, especially when a SARB can be had for only a little more with a better movement. For $270 shipped on eBay, or $245 if I decide I trust creationwatches.com (which, I suspect I don't -- anyone heard of them?), that doesn't seem like a bad price. I think this could be a pretty nice watch on a leather strap.

*edit*
And... creationwatches appears to be legit:
https://www.watchuseek.com/f65/creationwatches-com-legit-operation-220729.html
http://www.tz-uk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=115787

$245, international shipping included, for the SSA013. That... makes the watch seem pretty reasonable. If it's no different from the SARY017. Which it seems to be. Which seems too good to be true. Which makes me nervous. Can anyone else weigh in on that?

*edit*edit* And this watch has a black-dial, leather strap version as well, the SSA017. It's ONLY available as an SSA, and not as a SARY. It seems that it's available only internationally, and not domestically in Japan. How odd.