4R36-05HO
An unusual 'On the Wrist' post today, because this was not the result of a shopping trip or a soiree around London... no, this watch actually belongs to my friend and work colleague Rich. Some of you may remember that in the dim and distant past Rich and I went to London for the day, looking at all the watches we could never hope to afford (and maybe a few we could). Rich is building up quite a collection of watches now, he has a TAG Heuer 2000 Series, a Tudor Pelagos LHD, a Pagani 'Aquaracer', a blue dial Seiko Automatic, a Casio digital watch and this Seiko Turtle.
Now I find Seiko massively confusing so apologies in advance if I make any glaring errors in this post, unfortunately my knowledge of Seiko is in no way comparable to my knowledge of TAG Heuer, but Rich assures me that this is a 'turtle, though exactly what that is supposed to mean I'm not 100% sure. I think it's mainly to do with the shape of the case. Which is... an 'acquired' taste, perhaps?
Well, I have to say honestly that the case is probably my least favourite thing about this watch, but despite that there's plenty to like. And I must confess, while it was on my wrist (fitted with a rubber strap) I did find it perfectly comfortable.
Rich says he finds the watch a little top-heavy on the bracelet (unfortunately I couldn't do the bracelet up because Rich's wrists are puny like a girl). Unbelievably, I can't even get his Pelagos LHD over my hand to try it on, but I did actually manage to get this one into place at least so it must have a wider opening deployment clasp.
The clasp is pressed and nothing special and while the bracelet gives the impression of being a five-linker it's actually a three link, with the narrow polished links marked into the outer links. Considering how much people rag on Seiko for their bracelets it seemed okay to me, a little jangly admittedly, but it does have solid end links which is positive.
Rich managed to find a 'Crafter Blue' (CB08) blue rubber strap to suit his watch and because it is made specifically to suit these watches it fills the lugs nicely (as per the TAG Heuer Aquaracer). I liked the strap but we both thought the oversized metal strap retainer was a bit too tall and chunky, it really doesn't need to be that big and they could easily have shaved 1mm off the depth and still fit the strap through comfortably.
I was amazed to find out that the case measures 44mm across, because I would never have thought Rich could have worn anything bigger than his 42mm Tudor without it looking ridiculous on him, but this definitely wears smaller than it really is. Yes the bezel is smaller than the case, but we measured that at 43mm too, which was very surprising.
The big selling points for this watch obviously are the dial, bezel and the lume (of which there is plenty). The dial is a beautiful metallic blue and the red on the minute hand and bezel really pops against that. I don't know how long the lume lasts, but it certainly shines brightly with a brief exposure to sunlight.
It was certainly interesting to take a look at another Seiko, I haven't tried one on since Rich and I visited the Seiko boutique near Harrods a few years ago. That time I picked out a very expensive 'Tuna' diver (£4000 or therabouts IIRC) whereas this one retails at around £400.
Rich was very lucky to find this on offer in a John Lewis for £200, and for that money this was an absolute steal. I believe the Crafter Blue rubber strap should cost around £70 but again jammy Rich managed to find one pre-owned for £30 on eBay.
I think I prefer the look of the watch on the bracelet, but as I said I couldn't do it up to get a feel for it. Rich tells me there are other, better bracelets available which Seiko enthusiasts buy and fit. I didn't think it was bad enough that I'd want to replace it, but each to their own I guess.
It's unlikely that I will ever add a Seiko to my collection, but for £400 this is very decent, and for £200 I think even I would have found it hard to resist.
No comments:
Post a Comment