Blue sapphire Samurai
My pic:
Official image from Seiko:
(Photo album here, not my best work)
This is a review/post I’ve had queued up for many months, almost a year. As explained in my initial mech watch posting, I love Seiko divers. In 2005 or so, they introduced the SBDA series in titanium and steel, including the SBDA003 model in a gorgeous blue dial. I read some glowing reviews (1, 2, 3) of the series, liked what I read, but was reluctant to spend $250-300 on a watch with a mineral crystal and 7S26 movement.
On May 27th, however, Chuck (ttsugar) posted one where he’d replaced the stock crystal with sapphire, and I was in. I bought it and wore it until December of 2006, when I sold it to fund a Marinemaster, which I still have. This post is to cover what happened between those two dates.
My review of the watch
There’s a lot to like about the Samurai series. They have a bold, angular style that’s unique and appealing, with nice details everywhere. The knurled bezel and crown are stylish and easy to use, a rare combination. The movement is the tractor 7S25, a no-day version of the 7S26, which should last for many years of low to no maintenance. The lume is stellar, the face readable, and the hands excellent. I like blue dial watches quite a bit, and this one is a lovely shade, quite subtle and enjoyable.
It’s a great watch, really.
(Note that the sapphire was probably unnecessary, the crystal on the Samurai is recessed below the bezel and quite unlikely to be damaged. Live and learn.)
Why I decided to sell it
This requires some explanation now, doesn’t it? It boils down to a few factors that I’ll try and explain. Some of it is subjective, so feel free to disagree.
First off, I was unhappy with the accuracy of the movement. Mine gained around 20 seconds per day, within spec for a 7S but enough to be annoying. I took it to Asim Gunalpt, a local watchmaker, but he was only able to regulate it to +15/day. There was just too much positional error and slop in the movement. This really got to me, since it seems like a bad juxtaposition of nice case+hands combined with a cheap movement. Boo.
Secondly, I am starting to agree with Ludwig about this:
Just buy that Lange (or Patek, or Rolex, or Vacheron, or whatever your personal Grand Ultimate Fetish Object is) first, and save yourself some agony and expense. Once you’ve gotten The Best, you may be able to resist a lot of impulse purchases, and avoid cluttering up your house with watchwinders, cases, and so on.
It seemed foolish to purchase approximations of ‘nice diver’ and be unhappy with ‘em all. So I sold the Samurai, and a bunch of other stuff as well, and bought the Marinemaster. So far, it’s been an excellent idea; I have yet to want a different mech diver.
(The SD600 is another kettle of fish altogether, as is the X-33 and such, but stick with me here.)
Final thoughts
The Samurai is a great watch for what it is. It’s not an heirloom-grade piece, or super accurate, or expensive. It’s stylin’, tough, unique and reasonably priced. If you like those attributes, I can recommend it quite strongly. Me, I guess I got too picky.
Interestingly, mine changed hands again in April 07 - same reasons?
