Gday Chris, maybe the retailers were fed up with Seiko supplying the grey market and forced Seiko to more closely regulate supply. Here in Australia, the PVD BFK was an AUD700 watch, a SKX007/173/whatever something like AUD500. That might have worked when the majority of people were still wary of online transactions but, as internet retail is now accepted by the mainstream consumer, it's unlikely Seiko retailers were selling too many BFKs (for example) here.
Seiko Prospex GMT Kinetic
Greetings!
I think the new Prospex GMT line to hit international markets are very good looking.
Still think that their prices are artificially inflated due to higher demand than what's been supplied to the vendors, which is always the case when we're talking about Seiko and their new launches.
The design specifically is a radical revamp of the old shrouded diver, with the skeletonized laterals and the cut out spaces to accomodate the large crown (which BTW emulates the old 6159-7010 crown in terms of sheer shape, with a slight twist given by the enamel color around) and the (IMO, at least) useless and totally dispensable power reserve button (present in almost all of the non-direct drive kinetic line).
The new kinetic caliber 5M85 (which seems to be a variation with GMT complication of the new and 'improved' 5M82 that came to replace the discontinued 5M62 - check Thomas' blog: http://yeomanseiko.com/2014/01/18/se...iver-ska579p2/ ) promises a better charge hold up when not in use, which will remain to be seen as the years go by.
A 24mm lug width on a Seiko diver is a highly unusual feature, and once again a radical departure from the brand's conservatory philosophy in keeping design points same ole' same. I only remember ever owning one Seiko diver with a lug distance other than the staples 20mm and 22mm, which was my long gone Velatura Diver's 200m SNDA63P1, with its 26mm lugs!
Well, having said all that, one thing still intrigues me: these new Prospex export models are on extremely short supply. Note the emphasis on 'export'. Yes. An export model that already starts selling in an almost 'nowhere to be found' state. Some vendors are offering pre-orders on the variants, which only helps to drive the prices already inflated up and up.
The bizarre thing is that you can buy a SBBN015 (a JDM-only model, none the less) easier than you can find a SUN019, as of now.
So does anyone know if the models SUN019, SUN021 and SUN023 can be found in any of the usual ebay stores that we could always find our Seiko diver's? I remember not long ago that we had a plethora of options in terms of sellers coming from Singapore that offered almost every Seiko diver's export model on ebay. Where did they go?
So far, the only place online I know of to order one of these Prospex models is a U.S. based one, which is a Seiko AD, hence selling with official prices. Where are the other sellers? Better yet, where are the deals on these ones (which was always one of the reasons why we all loved Seiko)?
Please, chime in guys.
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I think the new Prospex GMT line to hit international markets are very good looking.
Still think that their prices are artificially inflated due to higher demand than what's been supplied to the vendors, which is always the case when we're talking about Seiko and their new launches.
The design specifically is a radical revamp of the old shrouded diver, with the skeletonized laterals and the cut out spaces to accomodate the large crown (which BTW emulates the old 6159-7010 crown in terms of sheer shape, with a slight twist given by the enamel color around) and the (IMO, at least) useless and totally dispensable power reserve button (present in almost all of the non-direct drive kinetic line).
The new kinetic caliber 5M85 (which seems to be a variation with GMT complication of the new and 'improved' 5M82 that came to replace the discontinued 5M62 - check Thomas' blog: http://yeomanseiko.com/2014/01/18/se...iver-ska579p2/ ) promises a better charge hold up when not in use, which will remain to be seen as the years go by.
A 24mm lug width on a Seiko diver is a highly unusual feature, and once again a radical departure from the brand's conservatory philosophy in keeping design points same ole' same. I only remember ever owning one Seiko diver with a lug distance other than the staples 20mm and 22mm, which was my long gone Velatura Diver's 200m SNDA63P1, with its 26mm lugs!
Well, having said all that, one thing still intrigues me: these new Prospex export models are on extremely short supply. Note the emphasis on 'export'. Yes. An export model that already starts selling in an almost 'nowhere to be found' state. Some vendors are offering pre-orders on the variants, which only helps to drive the prices already inflated up and up.
The bizarre thing is that you can buy a SBBN015 (a JDM-only model, none the less) easier than you can find a SUN019, as of now.
So does anyone know if the models SUN019, SUN021 and SUN023 can be found in any of the usual ebay stores that we could always find our Seiko diver's? I remember not long ago that we had a plethora of options in terms of sellers coming from Singapore that offered almost every Seiko diver's export model on ebay. Where did they go?
So far, the only place online I know of to order one of these Prospex models is a U.S. based one, which is a Seiko AD, hence selling with official prices. Where are the other sellers? Better yet, where are the deals on these ones (which was always one of the reasons why we all loved Seiko)?
Please, chime in guys.
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I picked this one up this afternoon, grey market import in the Netherlands. It is an astonishing watch, I absolutely love all the layers in the dial, the hands, 24mm lugs and of course sapphire crystal. I'm a happy man!
Despite the dimensions it wears comfortable on my 7" wrist.
Have a great day!
Eric
Despite the dimensions it wears comfortable on my 7" wrist.
Have a great day!
Eric
WOW, it looks GREAT!
Who blasted it for you?
Amazing! If you could locate the SUN019 OEM bezel (due to the all black insert), then it would fit right in with the blasted look...
Good job!
Who blasted it for you?
Amazing! If you could locate the SUN019 OEM bezel (due to the all black insert), then it would fit right in with the blasted look...
Good job!
Love mine. Not a huge fan of the PVD so I had it Bead blasted along with the hardware. Hopefully it keeps me happy before I decide to flip it ..lol
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1 - 20 of 25 Posts
