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.