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Tell me the Seiko SNDC09P1 is a good watch...

8K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  baserock love 
#1 ·
Because I just ordered one. Found it on Skywatches.com.sg which a thread on this forum recommended for 109 USD with no tax or shipping. I originally came here to find out if Nixon's were worth buying as i wanted the 42-20 chrono and all you guy's talk about how terrible Nixons are pushed me to get a Seiko instead as every watch forum seems to swear by them.

I had a watch fetish as a kid and in my early 20's which was just rekindled when i found my 12 year old beat up Nixon Clutch in a drawer which amazingly still works upon replacing the battery. So i guess i don't know a whole lot about the intricacies and qualities of watches but i wanted something durable, good quality and accurate that would look substantial and stylish but not too big on my skinny wrists. THe fact i'm an animator and work with timing a lot makes the chronograph feature a HUGE plus for me.

Is this a good watch? Does the movement have a description other than "japanese quartz"? Did I get a good deal? What kind of accuracy is reasonable to expect from such a watch? I see the list price elsewhere at 350 bucks so i assume it's a fairly decent watch at a price like that, the 109 i just paid out the door seems....a little too good to be true. I really don't know anything about watches and the jargon but i would like to and i like to know a lot about something i just impulse dropped a bill on, especially since i can't find out much feedback on it.

This is my first Seiko. In my mind, Seiko's always seemed like 60 dollar cheapies you bought at Target or Big 5 and after reading up here and other watch forums, this appears to not be the case at all.
 
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#2 ·
It's not a brilliant watch, it's a cheap 100m WR quartz chrono, most likely on a flimsly bracelet.
It's worth all of the money you paid though, so no worries there.

It will be something nice looking, functional and accurate to wear whilst you're sat reading WUS planning your next one!
There will be a next one... ;)
 
#3 ·
Thanks for the reply. I'm happy with that considering i don't even like going in the ocean much past my waist so i don't see ever needing to go deeper than 300 feet. Accuracy, durability and style i guess are my main concerns. Being the noob of the day, i guess i'm curious as to what makes a brilliant seiko as opposed to a non brilliant seiko? I see talk of automatic, kinetic but I don't mind replacing a battery every two years that's for sure and i keep hearing about automatics being off by multiple seconds per day and that doesn't sound like much of a trade off to me.

I own two 9 dollar Target stainless steel watch bracelets that have been going strong for nearly a decade and i highly doubt this one is flimsier than those or is it just a big plus to have a thicker and more substantial bracelet because it looks cooler?

I'm genuinely curious, i'm looking at seiko watches in the 500 dollar list range on amazon and all have "japanese quartz" movement. Is it just a matter of "You get what you pay for"? Is there cheap japanese quartz movement and non cheap? Do they all have similar accuracy and it just comes down to build quality and styling or quality of finish? Obviously the more expensive ones are 300 or 400 meter WR which just seems like a moot point for well, damn near everybody on the planet since diving isn't exactly as popular a hobby as gardening XD

I personally really dig the way this watch looks, and as long as i'm getting an accurate and good quality time piece that will get me a lot of years use and i'm not getting ripped off, i'm quite happy. I just want a solid watch at a good price.

Regardless, i'm curious about the questions above.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Welcome to the forum. The watch is a nice looking Seiko.

I think the watch you purchased will be solid and be fine for years of service. Seiko makes a full range of quartz movements with varying degrees of quality and accuracy. I'm sure your watch will keep great time, but the movement is not the same as in a Seiko high end quartz watch, which will likely loose only a second or two a year.

As far as the bracelet, you can see from the photos that the links are made of folded metal. This is common for watches in the sub $100 price range. Nicer watches have solid stainless steel links, and as you go up in price, the end links (where the watch connects to the case) are also solid. This makes for a heavier, more solid feeling watch. Your bracelet will hold up just fine, it will just rattle more than a solid bracelet.

Automatics tend to be off by anywhere from a few seconds a day to 10-15 seconds per day. Those of us that love them have a sickness and a love for things mechanical. Hang around here too much and you might catch it. As far as "brilliant" Seiko's go, you will see many posts about watches such as the Seiko Sumo, SKX007 and Orange Monster. These watches are popular because for a few hundred dollars, the quality rivals automatic watches costing much more, and they are robust and well designed watches. Some of these are Japanese market only watches, as Seiko doesn't sell it's best watches to the western world.
 
#6 ·
I've also heard bad things about Nixon, but I've also had really good luck with mine, and I've beaten it up for the past 6 years.

For your question about the Seiko, there are probably a few letters and numbers on the lower portion of the dial (something similar to 7S26). That's normally the code for the movement. You could try googleing it to learn more about it. In general though, getting a Japan movement chronograph for ~$100 seems like a pretty decent deal to me, and the watch has classic styling too.

Seiko is sort of like Honda with their lineup. They offer everything from a cheap entry level Fit , to something high end, like an Acura NSX, and everything in between. Everything that they offer is reliable and good quality. When a watch gets more expensive, typically it does not make it any better at meeting the simple job of a watch (stay on your wrist and tell time). It's like any other hobby. Enthusiasts appreciate the aesthetic details, the construction that goes into something, and the cost required to build something to higher tolerances, and they will pay more for it.

If everyone was buying a watch only for logical reasons, then we would all buy a solar atomic digital G-Shock, which is resets its accuracy automatically every day, never requires a service or battery change, is extremely easy to read, and is extremely durable.
 
#8 ·
The SNDC09P1 has the 7T92 movement in it. I used to have a Seiko with that same movement (gave it to my dad, so it's still in the family) and it's a really fun chronograph because the hands on the 1/20 subdial spin really fast! Also, the chronograph measures up to 12 hrs. Mine gained about 2 seconds per month, but they will not all be the same. It's rated at +/- 15 seconds per month. Here's the instruction manual: http://www.seikowatches.com/support/ib/pdf/SEIKO_7T92.pdf

I think you're getting pretty good bang for the buck. And since it has normal lugs (not an integrated bracelet) you can always switch it out for a leather strap, or a Zulu strap, or whatever else will fit.

enjoy!

-Ted
 
#9 ·
Thanks for the replies guys. I gotta say, i am not at all enamored with mechanical movements. One of the things that always fascinated me about watches, like guns was the extreme precision involved in them and while mechanical movement might be the epitome of precision manufacturing, the performance is the pay off for me personally for that precision and the idea of paying more for a less accurate watch is just baffling even though i quickly learned through lurking that accuracy is the least of most watch enthusiasts concerns. It seems status, quality, and fashionability are what drives the watch fanatic. I'm actually very interested in stylishness and quality mainly and i seem to be lurking at the HEQ forum quite a bit more than the rolex forum. I like the idea of an incredibly accurate watch that is still an incredibly high quality little device and of course, nice looking (analog only).

It's been 7 days and he still hasn't sent my Seiko and yes, i'm already thinking which one i might get next :-d

What are some of the nice looking high quality movement HEQ and very accurate seikos that preferably aren't going to cost over 400 bucks? Preferably ones that would look nice on skinny wrists, i'm thinking 40mm case is probably the most i could do without looking silly. Being an animator, i actually have a very practical use for a chronograph watch. I only ask this as most watch sites don't sort watches by movement.

Also out of curiosity, i know the Kinetics are quartz, but do they have the same accuracy as a quartz? I would take a kinetic over an automatic any day personally.

Also OT but any thoughts on the bulova precisionist line and bulova watches in general?
 
#10 ·
What are some of the nice looking high quality movement HEQ and very accurate seikos that preferably aren't going to cost over 400 bucks? Preferably ones that would look nice on skinny wrists, i'm thinking 40mm case is probably the most i could do without looking silly. Being an animator, i actually have a very practical use for a chronograph watch. I only ask this as most watch sites don't sort watches by movement.

Also out of curiosity, i know the Kinetics are quartz, but do they have the same accuracy as a quartz? I would take a kinetic over an automatic any day personally.

Also OT but any thoughts on the bulova precisionist line and bulova watches in general?
A Kinetic should have the same accuracy, assuming that you keep it "wound."

If accuracy is your main concern, you should check out some of the Casio atomic watches, which automatically reset every day to the atomic clock. They have some really nice higher end ones, like the Oceanus line. I imagine that you might be able to get a used one for under $400, but I'm not sure. An associate of mine has a Titanium Oceanus that I always admire, but I think it was a bit more expensive. They also have the Edifice line, but I'm not sure if those are atomic or not.

Personally, I love the precisionist movement, but I'm not a huge fan of the styling of any of the watches that it comes in. Also, many of them are fairly large.

Also, if you prefer Swiss over Japanese, I think that Tissot offers some great and handsome quartz watches for the price.
 
#12 ·
Gonna necro this just because when researching this a couple people made threads here asking about the sndco9p1 only to not get a single reply so i might as well say my thoughts on the thing now that i got it for the sake of future google searchers and forum members looking for a cheap but pretty stylish Seiko chrono as a beater or for a gift or whatever.

Pros: While being a "cheap" watch, it doesn't look nor feel cheap at all. The finish is quite nice if simple and i absolutely love the way it looks. the incredibly skinny second hand and raised circular ribbing around the secondary dials look very nice in the light. It's got a chrome polished bezel face and sides with brushed steel finished front on the lug area which looks simple but classy and all the text on the face is very clean and perfectly printed unlike some watches in this range where you can see little blobs of paint on text if you look super closely. The hands and hour markers are VERY shiny making it sorta sparkle in the light, makes it look a bit more dressy than i imagined. The bracelet is very comfortable and the whole thing has a nice weight for it's size while not being heavy, it's quite comfortable and i already don't even notice i'm wearing it which is impressive considering my nixon with cheap Target band i ditched for it i constantly noticed, partially due to the fact i only started wearing a watch again a little bit ago. For skinny wristed guys it's a good size although i imagined it being bigger from the pics and the measurements seem to differ from site to site, some saying 39mm to 45mm. Being an animator, i'm already finding having a chronograph on hand is really handy and it's just a neat little gizmo, i love fiddling with it.

Cons: Absolutely no lume, a few sites selling it mentioned it had illuminated text and hands on it but it doesn't, if i'm in the dark i'm gonna have to take out my lighter to check the time which is a bit disappointing but not a deal breaker even if i sorta guessed it wouldn't from the pictures. I plan to buy a citizen bm8475-00x eco drive for when i'm out at night doing astronomy or wandering around. The bracelet while seeming quite strong and looking fairly nice from a foot away is quite cheap being of the folded steel variety. Instead of pins it uses those flat U shaped pieces of steel which are a royal ..... to remove, my fingers still hurt since i just used a couple of nails to get them out and i had to remove 5 links for my skinny 6.7" wrists. It doesn't however rattle near as much as a lot of cheap steel bands i've seen and used.

Considering how impeccable the finish is and the fact the movement is the same movement seiko seems to use on watches costing hundreds of dollars more, the fact this thing can be found for as cheap as 87 bucks makes it seems like a fantastic value already and i love it even if i'm already looking to get something a little nicer. I'm definitely already a Seiko fan after only owning one for a day.

one question, i think it would look better with a more hefty solid steel bracelet, i'm assuming i can purchase one and swap it out, is there anything that might be preventing me from doing this? the final link that attaches to the actual lugs is connected in a strange way and i don't even begin to know how to replace it especially since it fits flush with the bezel making me think other bands might not fit. Any advice on a new steel band that preferably won't cost an arm and a leg?
 
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