A reader wanted me to recommend, or not, the Seiko SKA427 and show some shots. I had to tell him I sold mine. While I loved the look of it, the gunmetal and contrasting bright lume markers and the overall no-nonsense tool look of it, it had two features that made me ultimately sell it.
One, the SKA427 is a kinetic, unwinding watch, relying on movement to feed the battery. If you don't wear this watch every day, you risk depleting the lithium battery sooner than you want. Because I have a big collection and rotate my watches, keeping the SKA427 was impossible.
Two, and this was not a deal breaker for me, but I should mention it: The lume markers blend too much with the minute and hour hands so that it's difficult to read the time in a dark environment.
Too bad. I really miss this watch.
I recommend the second generation Seiko Black Monster or the Orient M-Force as better alternatives for the reasons mentioned above.
That watch is still on what could be called my "deep wishlist." Nothing pressing, I probably won't ever buy it, but I'd like to own it.
As for the battery draining, this doesn't bother me - assuming its not going to cut down the life of it by 80% or something. But if it reduces it from 10 years to 6 or 7? I can live with that - I may not be wearing any of the same watches in 7 years.
Posted by: jonnybardo | July 26, 2013 at 07:54 AM