3 Seiko Monsters Look Like Keepers

 

Jonny's trio of Seiko Monsters, or what I call Iconic Muscle Watches. I like all of them. 

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Comments

[jonnybardo]

Funny - notice that they all read a different time. Both the "true" Monsters stopped because they're autos, and the Milemarker needs a new watch - I didn't notice that in the listing, but it is a new watch that has been sitting in a box since 2005 - eight years - and it stopped. Hopefully it won't require a re-set, but I'm going to order a battery online (! and change it myself. Wish me luck.

[Angelo]

Jonny: Another thing I noticed about our collecting habits (based on this entry): You (and Jeff) will invest in high quality watches, even if you already own something similar----same brand, same finish, etc. I notice that although there are size differences here----the watches are all in the same general size category, all stainless, all with darker faces. There is a consistency to your collections that I don't have---again, probably because I haven't phased out some older, much smaller diameter watches----some were inherited, some were gifts----and also, I'm more willing to buy a cheap "fun" watch that's a throwaway (that I inevitably get attached to and don't throw away!) and my collection picks up more misfits along the way because of it all. By the way----it's funny, but I "forced" myself to wear an older, very small diameter watch (Bill Blass with a Movado black leather band) and really enjoyed it----and see that I can transition back and forth across the size spectrum.

[jonnybardo]

Yeah, I certainly don't have a wide range in preference in terms of size - I'll consider buying a watch in the range of 40-50mm, but my preference is 43-47mm or so (I think Jeff's range is a bit towards the larger side).

There is some variation in terms of colors, faces, etc in my collection (this doesn't include a few recent additions):

http://discipleofchronos.wordpress.com/2013/01/29/state-of-the-collection-taking-stock/

But by and large I prefer bracelets to rubber/polyurethane straps, which I in turn prefer to leather which I prefer to nylon. I also tend to prefer dark dials to light, blue to other colors, silver to white, etc. I used to greatly prefer chronograph but now most of my favorite watches are non-chrono. And so forth.

As a general rule, my favorite color combinations are all black bracelet, case and dial, or steel bracelet and case with dark or blue dial.

So I think you're right in that I do tend to have specific tastes, but there is some variation. If we were to depict my and Jeff's tastes in a Venn diagram, there would be a lot of overlap, but also areas in which we don't cross-over. I seem to like "urban metro" watches more - like my Citizen Nighthawk or my coming Prometheus Baiji - and Jeff seems to like some dressy watches that aren't as much to my taste (like the SSC139) and a few "manly" watches as well. There are a few other stylistic differences, but we do have a lot of crossover - we have a lot of the same watches, actually.

[Angelo]

Jonny: Why doesn't the Leviathan pictured on your blog have a bracelet?

[jonnybardo]

It is a bit of a story. When I got the Leviathan back in May of last year, I realized rather quickly that it was much too big for my wrist - it looked rather absurd. I looked around for a non-steel bracelet hoping that cutting down on the lug thickness would make a difference. I ended up trading the steel bracelet with someone online for a polyurethane one and a couple extra generic straps. The problem is that the polyurethane strap still had metal connecting links to the lugs, which didn't give a smaller visual size. So I ended up selling that strap and taking the Sea Spider strap and attaching it to the Leviathan - it looked really good. But recently I decided to put the Sea Spider strap back where it belongs, so the Leviathan is now strap-less.

I'm not really sure what to do with the Leviathan. If it was a 47-48mm case size I would love it - it would be one of my favorite Invictas and a keeper. But it is just too big for me, even when I put on the Sea Spider strap (although that changes it from looking absolutely absurd to merely kind of silly). But without a bracelet I don't think I'll get much for it...maybe $75 at best, and it might be worth keeping for that price.