Sweet Seiko Solar Chrono SSC103P1

Check out the matched colors to my shirt livery.

I actually bought this SSC103P1 in 2022. But I did not really write about it because it was a time when I got disappointed with Seiko's QC with my Presage and its repair. But this is a real surprise because this is a watch that has (quartz) solar, chronograph, sapphire, solid links, 100m WR. 

And although I thought 42mm case would be a bit (acceptably) big, it fits VERY well and comfortably. Considering that this is a Seiko from around late 2008s to 2010s, this is a Seiko from around the times when it's still very good and I believe they are known as the Criteria line. I had my eye on the Prospex Speedtimers, but I saw this and it was going for 50% off, and not only that, even without the discount it's still nearly 50% off of the Prospex Speedtimers it was a no-brainer. It makes the Prospex seem overpriced even... 

 2 years later, what do I think? Well. These are great! I love the SSC103P1 and have been looking for Chronos with a tachymeter and this ticks all the boxes. Does it redeem my views on my Seiko after my poor experience with the SRPD97J1? ..maybe, if we get an older Seiko? With the new ones I don't know you may still be getting a few duds every once, but for this era Seiko I think they are great.

Seiko Prospex King Samurai SRPF79K1

 

Solar Seiko SCC913 'Speedtimer' is Such a Beaut; I wonder About The Old Chrono Movements

 

 

  Seiko has left me feeling discouraged recently, due to their QC problems and poor service issues which I have personally experienced. However, despite this, I can't help but admire the stunning SCC913 Solar Chrono, which Seiko has designed to perfection. At 41mm, it is larger than the first batch of 39mm Speedtimer lineup, and its design appears to draw inspiration from the early speedtimer mechanical chronograph models.

  However, the main issue I have with the SCC913 Solar Chrono is its high price, as a Solar Quartz. The prices for them now are more than doubled what the older Solar Quartz movments used to go for retail. While I understand that the production of automatic chronograph movements is a complex process, I can't help but wonder why Seiko cannot reissue the original 60s automatic chronograph movements for production. While Seiko does have newer automatic chronographs which are pretty trick but thick, and they are expensive. The old vintage chronographs are thin and svelt by comparison.

Unlike car companies, who cannot bring back older engines due to environmental or emissions regulations, I wonder why Seiko couldn't bring back those 60s automatic chronograph movements, even if it is in the form of a limited production for a higher price, though a high production number version would be neat. (And with QC up to scratch, of course).

Seiko Quality & Service Malaysia (Thong Sia) is Not As Good As I'd Hoped

 I have the photos of the defects, but I have decided not to upload them, partially because the phone camera can't quite capture the marks and the misalignments as well but also I'm just really tired of seeing them.

In 2021, I had a bit of a good fortune with work family and friends, and to celebrate I got the 38mm Seiko Presage SRPD97 (Zen Garden) . It was not that much, but it's essentially my first "Made in Japan" Dress Seiko, at a very reasonable size and was eagerly awaiting to wear it.

(See here where I posted about the SRPD97)

What came then was complete utter disappointment with the Seiko Presage SRPD97 watch that I purchased in early 2021.

When I received the watch, out of the box I immediately noticed that the chapter ring was misaligned (by quite a large margin!), which was a significant quality issue that should have been addressed before the watch was shipped to me. All this happened on April 1st as well! April's Fool indeed.

As a result, I sent the watch back for repair or replacement, only having worn it just once. Sending it to the service center itself was enough of a hassle in itself, since it was bought online. But I'm not going to cover this here.

It took about 2 months for me to get it back. and unfortunately, and the watch came back with a mark at the 12 o'clock position, on the beautiful dial which was not acceptable. (Initially I thought it was a crease in the dial, but it turned out it was glue mark.)

I had to reject the watch and send it back again.

All of this was during the COVID-19 restrictions, and there was delay after delay, but it took until late January 2022 for me to receive a properly repaired or replaced watch. 

So a few things:

1. Seiko quality issues - ie chapter ring alignment : this is all true. I experienced it myself. The ring was off by almost 2 seconds and is completely unacceptable. A small barely perceptible misalignment I would have been disappointed with but not enough to bother sending it back, but a misalignment of this margin made me seriously question Seiko's recent quality.

2. Thong Sia, the service center and distributor for Malaysia, had disappointed me as well. The mark in the dial should've been spotted well before sending it back (very obvious to the naked eye, but can't quite be captured with a phone camera) - and so either they chose it was good enough (it was not), or there was nobody doing the final inspection. Sure, COVID may have a part in this, but I would've understood and been fine with it if they'd said "sorry, there will be delays with sending the watch to you while we do our utmost to make sure it returns to you in perfect condition." None of that happened, it seemed like they tried to pass it off as good back to me to quickly get rid of the problem.

3. It's obvious the seller (which is supposedly a Authorised Seiko Dealer) hid this from me, and wanted to get rid of it from their stock, even though I had specified to look out for defects before sending it out. So now instead of sending it back to Thong Sia and rejecting it, they SOLD it to me, which I then made a fuss about, then they sent it to Thong Sia, which then screwed up the repair and wasting time and money for all the parties involved. If they'd said this one goes back to Thong Sia before selling it, it would've preventing at least a third party (me, the buyer).

4. Otherwise, having worn it for over a year now (I started writing this post in 10th August 2021 after sending the watch in while awaiting it, but just finished the post in 24 February 2023 because I put it off for soo long - received the watch in its final form on January 2022), I quite enjoy the watch as it is, but am super wary of any next Seiko I buy. Also because of this, I hesitate to send any of my other Seikos for them to do any service or repairs. I'm essentially stuck of any service options for any future Seikos.

Overall, the watch came back still slightly misaligned if I am to really nitpick, it was now a very acceptable margin. It's off by 0.01 mm or so, but I just pretty much gave up at this point anyway.

It also seemed like when they replaced the dial, they tweaked the seconds hand upwards a little bit, so that the hands looked a bit odd, a very slight upwards angle. (The SRPD97's seconds hand is curved downwards to prevent parallax, so now it's looking like it's there is an odd curved up and then downwards again from the center.) I can't prove this as I can't compare to another version and I have no  good before / after photos, but it's highly frustrating and I don't really want to send it back only for them to say it is normal. At one point I considered selling off the watch.

I had high expectations for the Seiko brand and its products, but my experience has left me quite disappointed. It seems they have regressed in quality, and don't forget - this is a "Made in Japan" product.

I'm Blue (da ba dee da ba daa)

  Blue-dialed Seiko 5 SNK793K1 on a blue canvas strap. With my blue jeans. With my blue shirt. Been wearing the SNK793K1 a whole lot these days. Yes I did squeeze a 20mm strap into the 18mm watch, but, I'm kinda lazy that way. But fit it does. And blue it is.

  Nevertheless it matches everything on my outfit (it's accidental, I swear) but I'm not too thrilled with the outcome honestly, I had imagined it to look better, but it probably needed some other color combo to pop.

  There are several reasons why I keep going back to the SNK793 - besides the calming blue it gives me - the small size of the watch (36mm) meant it doesn't get in the way of anything - such as when I have to open gates or reach into drawers etc, it gets out of the way more readily than a big watch on my wrist.

  It's also light. For an automatic, it's lightweight again due to its size. The

  Sizing - my wrist isn't exactly big, at slightly bigger than 6 3/4 inches (depending on time of day and what I ate I think), the watch case fit just fine on my wrist. Any watch that is within 46mm to 36mm would look OK on my wrist I think and I'm fine with it.

You can read my previous review about it here.

Bund Straps RM61.65 8% Discount

The Beautiful Seiko Solar Chronograph SSC717P1 is on my Wish List

 I came across this and it just has to go on the 'To keep an eye on' list. Such beautiful combination of colors. The SSC717P1 uses the Seiko Calibre V716, which is a solar charging quartz movement. Featuring Lumibrite on the hand and indexes.

 Apparently the SSC717P1 also comes with Hard Coating applied to its stainless steel case. I saw this watch in person, it is a gorgeous watch - the photos don't do it justice.

 If you would like to buy this watch you can click here.

Movement
Calibre - Number V176
Movement - Type Solar
Accuracy - ±15 seconds per month
Duration - Operating for approx. 6 months (when fully charged)
Exterior - Case Material Stainless steel (hard coating)
Crystal - Hardlex LumiBrite Lumibrite on hands and indexes
Clasp - Three-fold clasp with push button release

Other Details
Water Resistance - 10 bar

Case Size
Thickness - 12.2 ㎜
Diameter - 43.2 ㎜

Other Specifications
Screw case back
Other Features Chronograph up to 60 minutes in 1/20 second increments
Date display
Overcharge prevention function
Stop seconds hand function

Seiko SNJ025 'Arnie' - the H558-5009 Reissue!

My friend Bryan's Seiko SNJ025 'Arnie' Reissue, with modern upgrades. Quite a substantial presence of a watch especially its crowns, and very old-school ana-digi style design. I dig it very much. A brand new version of the old 1982 H558-5009 worn by Arnold Schwarzenegger in 80s action movies, appearing on the several films from “The Running Man” to “Commando” and “Predator,” it’s one of the most iconic timepieces of the silver screen, with it's black 47.8mm case, polished lugs and black uni-directional bezel, the SNJ025 is the most faithful tribute to Arnie's watch.

Get your own 'Arnie' Seiko SNJ025 here.

I've been looking at this beauty lately. Seiko Presage SRPD97J1 "Japanese Zen Garden"

- Model : SARY147 / SRPD97J1

- Release date : 11 October 2019

- Movement : Automatic with manual winding mechanism

- Caliber No : 4R35

- Case Material : Stainless steel case Back lid: stainless steel and glass

- Band Material : Stainless steel

- Glass Material : Dual-curved sapphire crystal

- Drive duration : Approx. 41 hours

- Accuracy : +45 to -35 seconds per day

- Water resistance : 5 bar

- Clasp : Three-fold clasp with push button release

- Size : H43.6mm x W38.3mm x D11.2mm

- Weight : 121g

- See-through case back

- Screw case back

- Jewels: 23 jewels

- Stop second hand function

You can buy the SRPD97 here and achieve Zen from your own wrist.

Blue-dialed Seiko 5 SNK793K1 Review

It's time for a review of my Seiko 5 SNK793. If you love blue dials, this model has a very nice dark-blue dial with a sunburst effect in the middle section. Being a Seiko 5, this has the following features standard;

- Automatic 7s26 movement, 21 Jewels
- Day/Date
- Some lume
- Hardlex crystal
- Display caseback
- Basic water resistance


Having a width of 36mm in diameter, the case has a big polished bezel around the extremely nice blue dial. For those with 7inch wrists and smaller it would look OK provided the straps are the same width or you could get a wider strap but with notched ends and it would not look out of place. The sides of the case and its lugs is brushed metal.

The hour and minute hands are a sword-style, in polished metal with lume. The seconds hand is a very thin and painted white, and along with the white day/date wheel, and this white goes very well with the blue dial.

The crown is located on the 4 o'clock of the dial. Pulling out once changes the day and date by turning it clockwise or counter-clockwise. Being a Seiko5, the crown is unsigned, and far too small. I also find that because it is so recessed into the case, even pulling it out to change the time while the watch is on the wrist is hard to do. It would be easier to take off the watch and set the date and time from there.

I put a dark brownish-purple croc leather strap on it with a deployant clasp, and this made the blue dial watch look so much more casual. I think it would also look great with a tan strap as well. In fact - this would look great with almost any kind of strap.

It's very easy to see why this model is so popular. Did I mention the nice soothing blue dial?

You can buy yours here.

Leather Strap & Deployant Buckle here.

It's a Seiko 5 Kinda Day

Lovely blue dialed Seiko 5 SNK793K1

You can buy yours here.

Leather Strap & Deployant Buckle here.

Seiko 5 SNK793K1 - on crocodile strap with deployant buckle

Beautiful.

Gorgeous.

Seiko 5 SNK793K1 - on crocodile strap with deployant buckle.

  Yup, I went out and bought another Seiko 5. The SNK793K1 Blue Dial. I also got a deployant buckle for it, because why not. Well it turns out how wrong I was.

  I've discovered that a deployant buckle for a strap isn't exactly advantageous in any way AT ALL. Firstly, there's the cost of getting the thing in the first place. Then, the darn thing, when folded up, takes up at least 4-5 milimeters inside of your wrist, so an OK fitting strap becomes terribly tight fitting, or, if you use a looser slot, it ended up still too loose. Lastly, you'd still have to slot the end of the strap to the loop in the end. So you've just saved ZERO steps, while adding another (when clipping them together, gotta do one side before the other) so therefore in my honest opinon - deployant buckles are a complete waste of time and money. They do look cool though. So style points for that..

You can buy your Seiko SNK793 here.

Leather Strap & Deployant Buckle here.

Seiko 5 SNKK71

Stock photo

Yes, just joined to the Seiko camp by buying one, brand new. I got a SNKK71 for myself recently because I am bitten by the watch bug. The Seiko 5 series has the 7s26 movement with 21 Jewels, which is a very affordable and reliable workhorse movement. The SNKK71 has a black satin finished dial, and raised indices which are actually very beautiful and not captured by the pictures on the internet.


The caseback is hardlex and allows anyone to look into the 7S26 - which is nice, because this is the first time I owned a watch with a transparent caseback. And actually, even if they say it isn't decorated, the movement is finished in such a way that it still has some nice shiny bits to look at and admire.


I did not bother to get the bracelet adjusted, and immediately removed the bracelet and fit it with a leather strap as shown in my very poorly taken photo (sorry, this was taken at night, with room lighting:

Marvelous.

Old Seiko 6139-6012 Chronograph Automatic

Old Seiko 6139-6012 Chronograph Automatic. Using the Seiko date of manufacture calculator, this timepiece is actually manufactured early 1970s - May, 1970, to be exact.

(Watch belongs to my friend)