2013 - The Year in Review

The year of 2013 is almost coming to an, and with 2014 dawning upon us in a matter of days from now, I think that a look at what happened in 2013 would make for a nice post.

What a year it has been; we've been through the inception of the The Watch Post, its near closure during the August period, and of course, a whole lot of watch-related content such as arrivals, departures and reviews.

This year, The Watch Post has seen the arrival of the Steinhart Ocean Two, the Kemmner Turtle, the Getat Luminor homage, a submariner homage, as well as a Seiko SNDC87P2. A few of these arrivals have for better or worse, departed the stable, and they are the Seiko SKX009, the Steinhart Ocean Two and the submariner homage, which I just sold off last week. It was quite nice, but sadly it never saw much wrist time and therefore I've let it go.

I want to give a big thank you to all readers of The Watch Post, for all the support you have shown, be it in the form of an email, a comment or simply just having passed by and deciding to read a post or two, thank you so much for passing by.

So what lies ahead in 2014? I did mention in a previous post that my love for watches is not quite what it once was, and that I would be bringing more non-watch related content into this blog. That still remains true, but at the same time I promise that there will still be quite a lot about watches as my interest has seen a small rekindling in the months of November and December.

I've managed to successfully go through the ordeal of ordering a watch from Getat in 2013, and managed to receive it in good order. Today it remains as one of my favourite watches. I think I may just order another another one from him as I think they are worth the trouble, in spite of the growing consensus on various fora that Getat is becoming increasingly unreliable. That's one thing you might want to look forward to in terms of updates next year!

As this post comes to a close, I'd like to thank you all readers again. Wishing everyone happy holidays and a happy New Year!

Catching Up - Covering Releases in my Absence

Welcome to another update on The Watch Post and today we shall be catching up on some rather exciting releases in the watch community in my months absent. I've been rather inactive since August and in the short few months that I've laid low, some rather brilliant watches have finally come to fruition. Today, we shall be looking exactly what we have been missing out in the last few months.

Let's start off with the offerings that Timefactors have put forth this year. It's been a very exciting year from Timefactors indeed, with the release of some five different models of watches alone this year. Eddie Platts of Timefactors is well known for deliberating a rather long time before each release, therefore the fact that we have seen five releases from him this year is a very rare occurrence indeed.

We shall start off with the Precista PRS-82. If you may recall, I did cover this watch before in one of my previous posts which can be found here.

(Pictures credit of various members from TZ-UK)

Inspired by military issue British dive watches of the 80's, the Precista PRS-82 features new old stock ETA 2781 movements, the PRS-82 exudes a vintage charm which is further accentuated by the use of vintage colored lume. Eddie usually interprets his homage watches with a twist of modern; a domed sapphire crystal in this instance. It measures in at 40mm in diameter and 47mm lug to lug, a nice size that stays faithful to its roots. I think Eddie hit the ball out the park here, this watch looks very retro which makes it quite a unique piece, excellent release overall. The PRS-82 goes for GBP 380 and can be found here. We move on to their next release, the PRS-21 Dreadnought Voyager GMT.

(Pictures credit of various members from TZ-UK)

I wrote about the upcoming release of the PRS-21 Dreadnought Voyager GMT here some months ago and yes, the GMT iteration of the Dreadnought was finally released in November! Of course, it's too late to get a brand new one from the Timefactors website itself now, it sold out within minutes of release for both the first and second batch. If you wish to pick one up you would have to scour watch forums for one now, just like you would the PRS-2 Dreadnought.

This is the watch everyone has been waiting for, having been in the making almost since the original was released. Featuring an ETA 2893 of Elaboré grade, anti-magnetic protection, and weighing in at over 250 grams, this watch is a complete beast, be it in terms of specs or in weight. I don't quite agree with the bright orange color of the hand outlines as it doesn't look quite as nice as the yellow of the original Dreadnought but well, that's how it was decided upon. Unfortunately, there is no longer any of it in stock but just for the record it can be found here, retailing for GBP 875, a marked increase in price over the original (GBP 475).

Precista did come up with the PRS-68 Smiths diver, the PRS-30 and the PRS-20C as well this year but the two I covered above were what I thought to be the highlights of Precista this year.

Moving on, we shall cover two releases from Dagaz; the Thunderbolt and the Aurora.

(Pictures credit of various members from WUS)

Let's start with the Dagaz Thunderbolt, which can be bought here. It goes for USD 375, which is tremendous value, considering the specs of the watch (Miyota 9015, double-dome sapphire, solid end links), plus the fact that it's on a bracelet! This is really a massive effort on Jake B's part on how he manages to balance quality and price. You will struggle to find any watch with similar specs going around this price range.

Of course, a watch is more than just its specs. Being impressively specced may not guarantee a watch looks nice. Fortunately, the Dagaz Thunderbolt does look as good aesthetically as its specs look on paper! Taking with it some Sinn-ish vibes, such as the H-link bracelet and visual cues from military field watches, the Dagaz Thunderbolt looks good indeed. I think the dial might have been better off without the tinge of red in the form of the logo and text but that's just me.

We arrive at the final watch in focus today, the Dagaz Aurora.

(Pictures credit of various members from WUS)

The Dagaz Aurora can be found here retailing for USD 495. This puts it quite a bit behind the Thunderbolt in terms of value for money but it's still a competitive price compared to other microbrand offerings. Like the Thunderbolt, the Miyota 9015 can be found ticking inside this watch. The Aurora is similarly impressive in terms of specs, double-dome sapphire crystal, solid end link bracelet with H-links.

While the Thunderbolt draws parallels with Sinn and military field watches, the Aurora does so with Doxa. The case shape does take inspiration from Doxa dive watches. Meanwhile, Jake B has added his own splash of color to the Aurora in the form of a colored ring consisting of red and white, reminiscent of roulette wheels. The Dagaz logo is not working for me as it a little small, leaving large empty spaces like as though something is lacking in the top area of the dial. Other than that qualm of mine, I do think that the Dagaz Aurora is a fine watch indeed.

So that wraps up today's update, thank you for reading as always, I hope you've enjoyed this post and be sure to come back to The Watch Post soon for more!

OMEGA Seamaster Bullhead - Love at First Sight

I've never traditionally embedded videos of watch presentations in this blog, but we shall have to do away with tradition today. I've seen a good number of presentation videos before, showcasing fancy contraptions such as tourbillons and minute repeaters but I never really felt compelled to post them here, impressive as they were. Today instead I choose to present a video of the OMEGA Seamaster Bullhead. Granted, it's not anything fancy at all if you were to compare it to something from HYT or MB&F, but still it remains as one of the slickest watch presentation videos I've seen; slick enough to deserve a place on The Watch Post. Enjoy the video and stay tuned for more updates, and as always thank you for reading!

A Diminishing Interest

Dear readers, it's been too long. The last post was made towards the end of August, and unfortunately, it wasn't even a watch related post. I shall have to further extend my apologies today as this post will not be breaking the trend.

I've been busy, but that hasn't been the main reason for the lack of posts lately; that would largely be due to a waning interest I have in watches. Perhaps it was a passing fad, although fad may not be the right word to use as it did keep me occupied for quite a number of months. So there we have it, the reason for the lack of updates.

What lies ahead for The Watch Post? I will keep updating it from time to time, perhaps with some content that isn't related to watches for now. We shall see if my interest in watches rekindles, because that is certainly a possibility. The Watch Post was never solely about watches, although the name may imply it to be so! If we go back a bit, you'll see I made a post here which shows some of the other things this blog encompasses.

I'd like to thank all readers for your continued support, please continue visiting The Watch Post, you never know what you might find here in the coming months. It might even be about watches!

A Short Hiatus

The Watch Post will be going on a short hiatus till the later part of September due to a recent spate of projects/exams in school.

In the meantime, for your reading pleasure, check out some of the reviews which I've done in the past:

Seiko SKX009
Kemmner Turtle
Getat Luminor Homage

Do come back to check for new activity in about a month's time. Thank you everybody for the support so far!

Review of Getat Luminor Panerai Homage

As promised in the last post, here is the review of the Getat Luminor homage which I received recently! Before we start, here are the specifications of my build again:

- Case Style: 44mm Luminor
- Dial: Sterile black dial

- Buckle Style: Pre-V

- Case Option: Brushed steel

- Dial Lume: Super-LumiNova C3

- Crystal Material: Sapphire

- Hands Color: Black with white seconds

- Hands Lume: Super-LumiNova C3

- Movement: Normal stainless steel

- Stitch Color: White

- Strap Option: Vintage wooden brown

I later changed the buckle for the premium style buckle as you will see in the pictures later. Allow me to also show you the timeline of events again.

21st June - Order placed, invoice received and paid for immediately

10th July - Tracking number received

23rd July - Tracking number starts working, status: "Item has been posted and is being processed."

24th July - Status: "The item is being processed for departure from Hong Kong."

25th July - Status: "The item left Hong Kong for its destination."

31st July - Status: "The item arrived at its destination country."

2nd August - Status: "Item was delivered."

From order to delivery, it took exactly six weeks for the watch to reach me. This is within the expected range of ordering from Getat, so I wasn't exactly lucky or unlucky. There are some lucky few who receive their orders in as fast as three weeks,  and unfortunately, some unlucky people who had to wait for as long as three months to receive their watches. As you can see, it's very much a luck of the draw thing.

If you do not have the patience of waiting months for your watch, all is not lost as there are a number of other sellers out there offering the same watch basically. Jackson Tse or Manbushijie (make sure to sign up to enjoy lower prices!) are reliable sellers who have the added benefit of being more responsive to your emails, unlike Getat, but keep in mind that neither of them will offer nearly as many customization options as Getat does. If you want customization, you'll have to wait.

As mentioned, this watch is an homage. It takes all of its aesthetic cues from the Luminor line of watches from Panerai. Some people are definitely going to have an issue with this but this is not what we are here for today!

Before we get on with the review, here are some things about the price to take notice of. Inclusive of the 10% summer sale which Getat was having for the month of June, I paid US$126 for the watch and later made a further payment of US$9 to Getat for the premium buckle, for a total of US$135. My conjecture is that the margins made on each watch is not very high, so there will be a certain amount of suspect QC especially when you consider that this is a custom job. You will be disappointed if you go nitpicking on a Getat watch with a loupe.

Now, onto the watch itself. The case which I ordered was a Luminor style stainless steel in a brushed finishing. It feels solid and has quite a good amount of heft to it. A surprisingly good quality case overall. For just an extra US$18, one can upgrade from mineral to sapphire crystal; a choice I took without having to think. The crystal is also slightly domed although there doesn't seem to be any form of AR coating on the crystal, but it does not really bother me.

Panerai is of course well-known for the sandwich dial, which is basically a dial split into two layers; top and bottom. The sandwich dial is present on the Getat, and is unique in that it is negatively textured; a fresh and refreshing departure from the usual textured dial.

Flipping it over to the back, you can see the nicely decorated Sea-Gull ST36 movement through the mineral crystal display back, beating away at 21600 BPH. There seem to be some who have gotten Hangzhou 9000 movements in their watches, but as far as I could see, I've identified mine to be a Sea-Gull ST36 movement. I came across a guide here which may be of help to you in identifying whether your movement is a Sea-Gull or a Hangzhou.

The movement is nicely adorned with blued screws (most probably chemically treated), swan neck regulator (although for decoration only as the screw isn't even touching the adjustment lever and is too short to actually work), Panerai-esque bridges, and Geneva Stripes which was of course, applied in China. I'm not complaining though, it is a pretty movement and I have no qualms at all that the decorations were applied by machine.

Further observation needs to be done to determine the accuracy at the moment, although it has kept time to the minute within a 24-hour span (It's hard to keep track of accuracy when the smallest division is five minutes!).

* Update *

Timekeeping has been absolutely fantastic so far, this watch seems to be losing one second every 24 hours! On a full wind which equates to a 57 hour power reserve, this watch lost just 3 seconds, simply fantastic!

We come to the crown guard, persistently an area of weakness for Luminor homages. The crown guard snaps back with a nice amount of tension but I can't foretell whether the amount of tension will remain tight and firm with frequent usage. When flipped out, the lever is quite floppy as many others have experienced. I'm fine with it personally as long as it's firm while locked in place. The dial moves a little when the crown is pulled out to time set mode, it is of no real issue to me but it serves to remind of the sometimes suspect QC that homage dealers are capable of.

I shall update this portion further after more rigorous usage has been observed regarding the crown lever but it is satisfactory for now. I should add that I wouldn't trust taking this watch anywhere near water as the crown guard assembly on these Panerai homages are to replicate the crown guard aesthetically, and not functionally.

I did mention my satisfaction with the lume on this watch in my previous post, although I left it to this review to determine the better of the two (as compared with the Kemmner Turtle). Fortunately, the C3 lume on my watch was applied clean and evenly, as some people had the misfortune of specks of dirt on the lume. It would seem that the Kemmner Turtle and the Getat are neck to neck in terms of lume intensity and longevity. Overall, the lume on Getat is very good; it wouldn't beat a Seiko Monster or SKX007/009, but doesn't lose by much too.

Moving over to the strap, I should add that this is an area where I was really pleased with. It is really thick and chunky, and the stitching is nothing short of fantastic. I really have to applaud Getat on the stitching, it is nice, clean and even. The strap has a good leather scent too, I can't find any fault with it really, good quality all-around! As you will see in the picture above, I opted for the premium buckle which is a monster of a buckle. Both strap and buckle really puts some additional weight on this watch. The buckle is screw-in type, and costs US$10 when paired with a strap/watch. This really puts some sellers of Panerai strap buckles to shame considering they sell similar buckles, only for US$30 or more.

+ Good overall build quality

+ Good lume

+ Nicely decorated movement

+ Excellent strap and buckle

+ Fantastic price

- Floppy crown lever

- Somewhat poor QC (Dial moves when crown pulled out issue)

- Waiting times

- Poor communication

The floppy crown lever and dial movement issue are minor to me, but I'll just put them as cons for the discerning buyer. There are some things one has to be ready for when buying from Chinese homage dealers; it may not always happen but be prepared for poor communication, long wait times and unfortunately from time to time, poor workmanship. 

Granted, $100+ is not a lot of money, but neither is it small change. It certainly is quite a lot to ask of potential buyers to expect the worst right from the moment payment is made. I myself wish that I could expect a certain guaranteed level of quality but sadly, this is just the way homage makers operate. Ordering from Getat is not an experience that everyone can tolerate, but if you can, then you are ready to make your foray into the homage scene!

In conclusion, I was fortunate enough to receive my watch in good order from Getat. The watch (less the service) has made me a satisfied customer of his and I foresee myself placing more orders with him, although the long waiting times and the sometimes shoddy build quality leave something to be desired. So that's it for the review of the Getat Luminor homage, thank you for reading!

Finally, the Arrival of Getat!

It wasn't five days ago I was still getting really riled up with our dear Getat. His lack of unresponsiveness and irresponsibility gives one the impression that he puts his watchmaking business behind everything else. Maybe he does, I don't know, but what I do know is that when Getat wishes to deliver, he can and will in a big way!

Of course, this drastic change in my impression of him has to have a reason behind; his watch was finally delivered today! Without further ado, enjoy these quick and dirty cell phone pictures!

A full review will come soon, meanwhile here are some initial impressions. Case is nicely machined and impressively finished with a nice brushed finishing all over. Caseback has a few rough edges, but they are nothing major. One of my initial concerns was that the crown guard would be really floppy, but I guess those worries can be put to rest as it is really nice and firm!

Moving on, the lume on this is really quite good! It is at the very least on par with the Kemmner Turtle, although I will have to conduct further observation to determine the better of the two. Lastly, let's get to the strap. It's thick and chunky, and although this isn't your Jules Verne or Ted Su strap, I think this strap will hold its own just fine. In a word, nice!

All this, for the price of a mid-range made-to-order strap. 

Getat is slow and unresponsive, his QC can be shoddy at times, and other times he would get orders done wrongly. Yet, when Getat wishes to deliver, he will impress you. Not forgetting that this watch costed all of US$131, let's just say I am really pleased with this watch. Final verdict, the wait was worth it.

So that's it, I hope you have enjoyed reading today's entry! 

The Ordeal that is Getat - My Buying Experience

It's been over a month since I placed my order with Getat and I still have nothing to show. I was of course prepared for a rather long wait but still, a month and a week is stretching it a little. Of course, all is not bad as I'm at the final leg of this endless wait; the tracking number has finally started working at the Hongkong Post website (after taking close to some two weeks to start working). That is a signal that the wait is nearly over and usually once the tracking starts to work the watch will reach the buyer within one week.

Here is a timeline of events in case you ever considered buying from Getat:

21st June - Order placed, invoice received and paid for immediately

10th July - Tracking number received

23rd July - Tracking number starts working, status: "Item has been posted and is being processed."

24th July - Status: "The item is being processed for departure from Hong Kong."

25th July - Status: "The item left Hong Kong for its destination."

* Latest update! *

31st July - Status: "The item arrived at its destination country."

It is a very long wait, to say the least. Let's hope it was worth it. For all future customers of Getat, take note that he is one of the worst communicators I have ever came across; I sent him around 10 emails spanning the course of one month and he never replied to a single one. I tried my best to maintain a polite tone in spite of my growing impatience and wrote those emails in Chinese to boot. I guess one shouldn't expect any replies from Getat once the money has been paid, it's mostly a fire and forget affair with him.

Will I ever order another watch from Getat again? I'd say that depends on the quality of the one which is incoming. If it is as good as what some people rave, then I will. The wait, long and arduous as it may be, would have been worth it. Anything less and it'll be the last time Getat ever hears from me.

Wearing Today

Personal effects for today.



Interesting, Upcoming Releases

I am most intrigued by the upcoming releases from Time Factors and Dagaz, such fine looking watches!

The Precista PRS-82, a 200m dive which will be powered by NOS ETA 2783 movements. 

There is no official designation yet, but it is known as the Smiths diver for now. It is an homage to the Seiko 6105-8110/8119 dive watch, which will possibly be powered by a Miyota movement. Not much more is known at the moment.

The famous Precista PRS-2 Dreadnought will soon be coming in GMT! The original Dreadnought, well-known for their extremely high resale value, was released some 10 years ago. People have since then been waiting doggedly for the GMT version, which has been in development for almost as many years. The GMT variant will be powered by an ETA 2893-2 and 100 of them will be made available in the first run, with the possibility of a second run if there is enough interest. Most of the 100 initial slots have already been secured, so do be sure to show your interest in the Dreadnought GMT to make that second run possible!

Before the PRS-2 Dreadnought was released, a watch that had so many features yet went for less than a grand was unheard of. Big and well-known watch companies would have charged exorbitant prices for such a watch. At the risk of sounding a little dramatic, Time Factors changed the game forever. Nowhere could you find a watch that had anti-magnetic protection, a German Fricker made case and a top grade ETA 2824-2 movement that had been professionally regulated to chronometer standards for such a reasonable price (GBP 450). That is, until the Dreadnought was released.

You could say that the PRS-2 Dreadnought sparked a revolution thereafter. People started to realize that they did not not have to fork out loads of cash to get a well-made, high quality watch that was packed with features; thus began the era of microbrands.

To this day, the PRS-2 Dreadnought is thought of as the grandfather of microbrand watches to many.

Dagaz Thunderbolt, a 150m military watch which will be powered by a Miyota 9015. Dagaz have been aggressively changing their market positioning of late, creating whole watches instead of mods based off Seiko watches. The Thunderbolt is a handsome looking military piece, 39mm in diameter, 46.5mm lug to lug and has a 20mm lug width. It boasts very impressive specifications: domed sapphire crystal with underside AR, triple sealed screwed-down signed crown, C1 lume for the hands and dial, drilled lugs and much more. Retail pricing at US$375, superb value in my opinion, given the specifications. 

Dagaz Aurora, an upcoming 200m dive watch which will be powered by a Miyota 9015. It will be 43mm in diameter and 45mm lug to lug, with 20mm lug width. Features are similar with the Thunderbolt: domed sapphire crystal with underside AR, signed crown, but comes lumed with C3 instead of C1 which I always prefer. Retail price will be around US$500, which is a very competitive price given the specifications. I'll definitely be keeping the Aurora in view.

The Time Factors watches can be found here when they are eventually released. The Dagaz Thunderbolt and Aurora can be found here.

Classics from Seiko

Since producing their first wristwatch in 1913, Seiko has went on to release countless models of wristwatches in every category. Dress, diver, aviator; you name it and they have produced it. They are a company loved by WIS all over the world, and I would proudly stand up and declare myself one of them.

All is not rosy for me however, as I have a big gripe with Seiko. They have a uncanny tendency to discontinue the best looking pieces in their collection, long before I can lay my hands on any of them. There must be some guy sitting in a Seiko office rubbing his hands in glee whenever he sees all the people which he has made distraught by discontinuing a particular model.

Besides the exorbitant prices which some of them go for now, they can be hard to find as well, appearing sporadically on eBay and watch forums. One has to be quick-fingered to find the desirable models as you are probably competing with Seiko lovers around the world. Below are the particular models which have made me drop a considerable amount of hair since attaining WISdom.



6105-8000/6105-8009 - The 6105-8000/6105-8009 is the brethren of the 8110/8119, the watch which Martin Sheen wore in the movie Apocalypse Now. I guess I am in the minority as many people prefer the 8110/8119 but I just prefer the symmetrical case shape of this particular version more. It also reminds me of the Ball Engineer Master II Skindiver, which is currently one of my grails. Therefore, I love both. A mint, original 8000/8009 can go for as much as US$1000 at the moment.

6306-7000/6306-7001 - This is the big brother of the 6309-7040/6309-7049. I call it 'big brother' because this version is capable of hacking, whereas the 6309 variants do not hack. Besides that, the physical differences between the 6306 and 6309 are minimal. 6306's are much harder to acquire as they are JDM releases so expect to pay more for a 6306; about US$500 and upwards for an example in mint and original condition.

6138-0040/6138/0049 - Also known as the Bullhead chronograph because of the pushers resembling bull horns, the 6138 come in a two different color schemes. Pictured above is the 0040, while the 0049 variant has a brown dial with yellow subdials. Unfortunately for Seiko lovers everywhere, the cheapest contemporary mechanical chronographs that Seiko offers is probably something from the Ananta collection which isn't affordable at all. Seiko should never have discontinued their affordable mechanical chronographs such as the Bullhead, but who are we to say otherwise?

6139-6032 - Pictured here is a 6139-6032, one of the numerous variants which the 6139 came in. During 1969, there was a race to manufacture the world's first mechanical chronograph and these watches were one of the contenders. The title would ultimately go to the Swiss watch manufacture Zenith, but the 6139 is still a fine watch through and through. Unlike the ETA Valjoux 7750 which is the most commonly seen modern mechanical chronograph, the 6139 used a column wheel chronograph! All that in a watch which would now cost you less than a Valjoux 7750 movement alone. Clearly, Seiko was way ahead of the game even back in the late 60's.

SNA139P1 - Probably the newest watch on this list, and one of the best looking quartz chronographs that Seiko has ever made in my opinion. The hands which resemble those from a Sinn 103 are a very nice throwback to old pilot watches. Oh, and it's discontinued, as expected from Seiko. Based on the 7T62 caliber, this watch features titanium construction.

So that was my list of favorite discontinued Seiko watches! As always, thank you for reading!

Review of Seiko SNDC87P2

It's time for a review, and the watch in question today is the Seiko SNDC87P2 quartz chronograph, which runs on the 7T92 calibre. The P refers to the type of strap which it came with, and the P2 variant is a black crocodile-embossed leather strap. This watch has 20mm lugs and is 40mm in diameter (without the crown), a nice size when everything seems to be at least 42mm these days. It features a Hardlex mineral crystal and a solid screw case back. The crowns and pushers are not screw-down but still the watch achieves a water resistance of 100m.

Firstly, a little background on how I acquired this particular piece. I bought this watch late last year as a present for a friend, way before I was a WIS. Looks like it never really did click with him because he proposed a trade last week; this watch for the birthday present I got last year, and that's how this watch ended up in my hands.

I still remember why I chose this watch as a gift. The splash of red on the crown and the chronograph hands accentuated the plain and simple white dial. I found it attractive even before I was a WIS and thought that my friend might too. Unfortunately that would not be the case but let's carry on with the review!

Lume shot - Rather sparse, but forgivable as this isn't a dive watch

So, we've established that I find this watch aesthetically pleasing but what of it's quality? I'm afraid that's where this watch doesn't live up to expectations. It might be hard to see from the photo but the dial is actually a sunburst dial, with all three subdials featuring a different sunburst effect from the main dial. The chapter ring is numbered one to twelve in a squarish modern font with a lume dot for each hour.

All the materials used in the dial suffer from one common problem; plastic construction, and it shows whenever you look at the dial. The dial and chapter ring look plasticky no matter the angle you try to view it from. The sunburst is a bane rather than a boon; only serving to bring the plasticky feel out more prominently than to display the interesting show of lights that sunburst dials were meant to achieve.

I got this watch at US$110 so I'm not expecting a guilloche dial but this watch would really benefit if the dial was executed in a dark color with a matte finish. Something like that would hide the plasticky look of well... plastic dials.

Case finishing is what you frequently hear about Seiko; very good for the price. The sides are finished with a polish and the top surfaces brushed. No machining marks could be found so that gets a thumbs up. Overall, the case is excellent and has a level of finish you wouldn't expect in a watch priced like this.

It comes with a crocodile-embossed leather strap which isn't pictured in this post. It puts the watch more towards dress, and would be if the sunburst dial was actually executed properly. However, considering the rather cheesy sunburst dial and the squarish, modern looking fonts on the chapter ring, this watch is left a bit directionless, not dress yet a little too formal given it's strap to be a sport watch.

There is not a whole lot to write about the 7T92 calibre. It's a basic quartz chronograph which keeps and records time well. There is a hand position adjustment mode in case the chronograph hands ever go out of alignment, which may be useful if ever the need arises.

Conclusion

The design elements are a bit incohesive and could have been done better but quality and construction is quite good, with the exception of the dial. This is a decent watch overall, but look elsewhere first before buying this watch for Seiko has better quartz chronographs.

A New Watch Box

My girlfriend gave me this watch box as a gift recently, which has made storing my collection a much neater affair. Quite pleased with it really, it isn't lined with genuine suede or nappa leather but it is a very meaningful gift for a WIS like me! Onward with the pictures!

Nice big window.

Looking comfortable!

How the watch wraps around the cushion.

Paneristi

I've never really taken an interest in Panerai till recently, when I ordered my first homage. I'm still waiting for it to arrive so I've been looking quite a bit at Panerai recently, to tide over the long wait. I must confess, the more I look at the offerings Panerai has, the more intoxicated I get with them.

The community of Panerai owners, known otherwise as Paneristi, is highly interesting; it is a closely-knit community and there is a profound love for building a collection of straps and regularly changing straps, much more so than for any other brand of watches.

In particular, I found this one really attractive.

 

Panerai Mille Metri -  c. 1988, these watches are now worth a very pretty penny, that is, IF you can even find one. Being a huge hunk of metal that it was, this watch had a water resistance rating of 1000m, hence the name Mille Metri.

Given the rarity and cost of the Mille Metri, it is almost impossible to acquire one. Luckily, there are alternatives; faithful homages such as the Esdee Mille Metri (made available in extremely limited quantities when released and long since sold out):

Esdee Mille Metri

There is also a brand known as Ennebi, which has roots linked with Panerai, that has offerings which are clearly influenced from the Mille Metri:

Ennebi Fondale

All of these will cost you a pretty penny as well, though you probably wouldn't need to sell your house for either, as compared to a genuine Mille Metri. So that's it for today's post, and as always, thank you for reading!