Horological Meandering

In two earlier threads I talked about this (click here and click here to see the posts), and finally I got one. I was in Tokyo earlier this year a few days before the official launch of this watch so though there were posters of it in several stores, no stock was to be found.

52 mm in ceramic and titanium. It is over the top but extremely cool. This is made in the same factory as the mechanical Grand Seiko watches and contains a near identical movement to the automatic Grand Seiko except this one lacks the decorative finishing and some other finer construction details. The case quality is superb, but the dial and hands are not quite Grand Seiko standard though more than enough for a watch of this price range.

- SJX

This message has been edited by SJX on 2009-09-12 22:59:58

But 52mm may be part of the fun, SJX.

Interesting watch, intrigant, enormous, dark but with these big luminous indexes and this small and large hands.

A bit if there was an  unbalanced harmony...

Enjoy and have fun!

Best,

Nicolas

...that's for sure!  Congratulations on the new watch, SJX!  I admire Seiko's build quality, and the uniquely Japanese aesthetic of their movements.  The Marinemaster looks like it actually belongs on your wrist underwater.  I could see wearing it with a wetsuit!  The height of the watch is a little intimidating to me in the pictures, as opposed to the diameter.  With short sleeves it clearly isn't an issue, but could you wear it underneath a long-sleeved tee without causing a bulging silhouette at the wrist?  Regardless, I admire the dial's legibility, generous use of lume, and the sporty materials of the case.

Enjoy your new acquisition!

Cheers,
Daos

I often ridicule people who wear watches that are clearly too big, the Panerai Egiziano for example, but perhaps people in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

- SJX

But it would be way to big for my wrist.

for it's original usage. But if u were to wear it on the streets, it's too big.

you will get used to it. my biggest is 54mm, and it has weapon like qualities.

 

congrats, i look forward to see it in the flesh....where to get one??

To purchase it, you might be bold enough to wear it on a shirt (black, white, green or red). After all it was made to wear on a wet suit

Looking forward to seeing it in the metal
Massi

This message has been edited by SJX on 2009-09-13 06:38:17

Thta is huge and you know conservative ol me, anything over 42 is too big.

I did not pull the trigger on one of these for my 36000 bph collection because I do try to wear every watch I own and at that size the asking price is too high for me to own it just for "completeness"    This model  is not the so called "GS hi beat diver"  - smaller case, rated to 300m, with gold markers, but the far superior, in my opinion, 52mm titanium case 600m professional diver.

The photo is from the internet.

Ginger

yes, this is an outstanding and classic vintage diver by Seiko.

in fact, i saw one with the older model (6157-7001) few months before from my local watch maker. he said it is his collection, unfortunately he will not sell it.

was told by him, the movement of this watch was the same as GS and made by GS, the caseback is one piece metal, very nice and solid.

congrats, you have a very nice one too.

stefan

If they used all that extra space to hold a large movement that will perform better than smaller ones, great. If not, it is certainly not necessary to build a watch that big to get that level of water resistance. That being said, at that price point it is not nearly as troublesome to me as the size discrepancy between some Patek movements and cases.

The shroud is what makes these watches so large. I agree that there's water resistance alone isn't reason to have such a huge case. Though, if you believe Seiko's tales the shroud was added as protection in response to criticism of their original 300m diver.

I love the Seiko shrouded divers. They were so ahead of the game, it's incredible.

I just couldn't wear one outside of diving. Waaay too big. I considered getting one as a part my my "collection' but if I can't wear it, I'm not buying it. In any case (pun!), I prefer the 811x and 704x cased models. Much more comfortable, particularly the 811x, which is superb for a 45+mm case.

The case is actually two piece, a monocoque inner titanium case surrounded by a ceramic outer case. Apparently the reason for this particular construction is a patented gasket system that prevents helium from entering the case during saturation diving, thus eliminating the need for a helium escape valve. In addition the ceramic is more scratch proof than steel.

While it is likely that today, in 2009, Seiko could easily create a diver's watch with those qualities in a much smaller case, the original (of which this is a modern copy) was made in 1975 and for its time it was the most advanced diver's watch.

- SJX

...is a front loader, as you say. The outer shroud bolts on to protect the bezel (and hence the crystal retaining structure) from side impacts as well as the case itself. The gaskets on the crystal are (relatively) impermiable to He. Which is a far more elegant solution than escape valves. Titanium, ceramic coatings, GS movement, fantastic watch.

Butt since the likelihood of ever doing Sat diving is about nil, I'm happy with my oldies. My bank balance is pleased with that, too.

Oh, and thanks for posting

Hi, would you know the difference between the two models?

and I noticed that you are saying the case is made of ceramic and ti, which parts are in ceramic and which parts are in ti?

would you mind to tell me a little more??

thanks

while the SBDX011 is automatic.

The inner case is titanium, while the outer case, known as the 'shroud', is ceramic.

- SJX

I love the value of Seiko. They almost always feel like a watch worth twice or three or four times their price. I love their spectacular lume. I love the overall quality. I own two Seikos at this time, both very low priced and wear them all the time when I need a watch that I do not feel protective of..... and I always feel I'm wearing something special.

Okay....... YES! 52 is too much!!!!

Plus, this 52mm Seiko will wear much smaller than a lot of other large watches since this watch has no lugs.

- AT

No message body

Look at the different styles of polish on the case and the bezel!

Although not a big fan of XXL watches, it is a fun watch for sure.

Seiko always has a special place in my heart. It offers very nice products and has very honest pricing.

Enjoy.

Jon

if you are comfortable with it.  why the heck not..

Tony

Yes, I think so.  I have a fairly large wrist (7 inches or 18 cm) and I would not wear a watch that big!  I might also add I like fairly large watches but ideally I prefer 42-44mm.  I will wear one as small as 40 and as large as 45 but that is pretty much the limit.  Beyond that it looks either too small or too large.  

This watch looks like a combination of Issey Miyaki trapezoid and omega Speedmaster Moonwatch “Alaska Project”.

Anything over about 46-47mm is too big.  My 1912 Omega pocket watch is 52mm and I don't wear that on my wrist.  It is just one more designer fad in order to push merchandise to make a profit.  The larger size serves no actual purpose.  The strap also looks out of place on that watch.  There is no continuity between case and strap.  A poor design a best, ascetically speaking.

I had a woman tell me the other day my Seamaster was a woman's watch because it was small at 41mm.  My mother used to wear a 33mm back when.  We then had quite the discussion about the as to when the design came out and for how long I had been wearing similar watches.  Too many people think they know things.