Comparing My Holy Grail Watch, the Seiko Tuna, with the Seiko Second Gen Black Monster

Playing like a 46mm watch, the Seiko SBBN017 is my favorite watch ever, my grail watch, the watch that has compelled me to sell dozens of my watches and streamline my collection to eleven.

At a grand, plus an aftermarket Super Engineer II bracelet, it's not cheap. I was happy to sell an equal amount in fashion watches (goodbye, Las Vegas) to essentially trade for the Tuna.

At $245, the second generation Black Monster Seiko SRP307 is in my opinion the best watch for the money. It doesn't play much smaller than the Tuna, maybe 3mm in case size.

Both have professional grade lume. Both are keepers.

There are some differences. The Tuna has a 5-year quartz battery; the Monster has a self-winding, hacking automatic movement.

I love them both. If I had to, I could be happy with just 3 watches, the two featured here and my Seiko Sumo.

Related articles

Buying My Grail Compelled Me to Sell a Huge Part of My Collection

After a Bump in the Road, the Quest for Authentic Manly Watches Continues

My Seiko Tuna SBBN017 Is in Limbo

If the Seiko Tuna Is What I Think It Is, I May Trim My Collection

After the Dust Settles, the Watch Collection Should be at 12

Comments

[Paul]

RadioShack shortwave Radio on sale this week for $70
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=21589936

Fill out the form at bottom of this page and get a $10 off coupon, making it $60 before tax
http://www.radioshack.com/category/index.jsp?categoryId=23784746

[jonnybardo]

Really nice, Jeff. I love them both. Both look great on the Super Engineer.

You and I both wondered whether I would end up being vicariously satisfied by your Tuna purchase or if I would end up wanting my own. The answer is both. I'd like to get a Tuna someday - and it is still on my wishlist. But your purchase, and enjoyment of it, allows me to sit back and wait on it.

[herculodge]

Same with your OSD. If you could find me a used one for 750 in a year . . .

[jonnybardo]

I tell you what - I'll start looking when I sense the first inkling of your interest in a new watch.

That last one, by the way, was 1st gen. I'd definitely recommend 2nd or 3rd for the updated (hand-winding, hacking) movement.

[herculodge]

Yeah only hand winding motion, maybe in two years.

[jonnybardo]

Two years now?! Better stop pushing that date back otherwise your readers will be teasing you in X months when you're off on another grail quest.

I do think its pretty awesome that you're enjoying a watch that you've been wanting for, what, two years? That's a big deal.

I don't really have a comparable situation. I mean, the OSD was similar in some ways but I had only known about it for a few months before purchasing it.

Given my relative newness to serious watch collecting (about two and a half years), my comparable experience may be years away. For me the watch that comes to mind as a possible "complete experience" is the Seiko SBDB001, but given the price tag--around $4K new, $3K used--its going to be at least three years before I could buy that, and probably longer (if ever). Maybe that will be my 50th birthday present.

[herculodge]

While I love the OSD and the Oris Aquis, my Tuna seems to have put a protective force-shield around me regarding the desire to pull the trigger for those coveted watches. I watched too many episodes of Lost in Space as a kid.

[jonnybardo]

The question remains how long that force-shield will hold. Knowing our similar obsessions, I think anything more than 3-4 months is a lot to ask. I'm not saying you won't make it longer, just that more than a few months is too far to predict.

Another way to look at it is to use the analogy of a meal - and how satisfying it is. The Tuna is a nutritious, balanced, tasty meal that lasts you longer than a bag of potato chips or a Happy Meal. But you're bound to get hungry again. This is why I'm advocating (at least for myself) the approach of a new watch once per season. That seems like a healthy pattern. Even if the four average $700 each, that's probably less than a year of binging and purging.

Its just a healthier mentality and the best of both worlds: still enjoying buying new watches, but really appreciating what you have. I can't tell you how many times I've bought a few watches within a week or two span and had a hard time appreciating all of them. I won't do that again. There should at least be a gap of a few weeks (or preferably months) between purchases.

[herculodge]

If I'm well behaved I might get this Oris Diver in a year: http://www.jomashop.com/oris-mens-watch-733-7533-4154mb.html

[jonnybardo]

That's the best price I've seen for that. Usually its $40 more. It does show up used in the $700-800 range.

[Angelo]

Jonny: Even one watch per season adds up though. If you don't sell a couple off every now and then, you're soon back up to a number that Jeff has indicated he doesn't want to manage. It truly does appear that a key component of this is actively selling every now and then. In my case----some of the impulse decisions (or even not impulsive----but willingness to purchase and wear something like the Womage Faux BMW watch, the Shark Diver, Dan Wesson Firearms licensed face watch, Ohsen digi-analog----all of them easily sub $30.00)----those purchases really shouldn't even count. They are akin to disposables. When watches are that inexpensive, you have a decision to make when the battery needs to be replaced----if you're going to replace the battery, keep the watch in a drawer, throw it away, give it away, donate, etc. I'm actually considering separating these from my watches that sell for over $100.00...not even keeping them in the same place. Opening a cigar box and seeing all of these watches makes me think I'm overstocked, when in reality, I'm not insanely overstocked with legitimate watches----just with novelty ones perhaps. Even the ones I consider to be my higher end watches sell for less than $300.00, with a few exceptions (a vintage Omega and Movado Museum come to mind---those have a value that might exceed that number). But I thought about this----with my personality type, would I want to sell off a couple Aeromatics or Tauchmeisters, my two Invictas, maybe the Renato I just bought----would I want to sell half a dozen watches or more, make a thousand bucks and buy something really special? I concluded that for me, the answer is no. I like quantity over quality I guess. Some people (including my great, late wife) liked simplicty. A few really nice, expensive things and no clutter. I'm the opposite. Instead of seeing chaos in clutter, I find comfort in it. I do need to declutter as far as radios go----I have too many of them in too many rooms/too many places, but the watches can be contained---and I like the drama of having to decide which one I'm wearing.

[jonnybardo]

Yes, Angelo, I will continue to sell watches. As I wrote about in one of my long-winded blog posts, I see watch collecting as a kind of alchemical process of ongoing refinement.

Seeing as "watch enthusiasm" is an ongoing, changing affair, I'm curious to see if, after whittling my collection down to about a dozen, I'm happy there and then fluctuate in the 10-15 range for years to come. Or will I continue to refine and eventually reach a 6-8 range? And maybe someday 3-5? Will I continue to the natural end of this trajectory and end up with one watch, perhaps a Seiko SBDB001?

Here's a fun question - which maybe I'll write a blog post about. If you had, say, $10,000 to start over with a new collection of watches, what would you buy? You are starting with zero watches and you must spend all $10K. You can buy new or used.

I'd be tempted to buy just three watches:a Seiko SBDC001, an Omega Seamaster chronograph, and a (probably used) Breitling Blackbird, or maybe a Kobold (which are kind of the ultimate of toolish divers). Yet while I like the aesthetic of having just three high quality, quite different, watches, I'd miss the diversity of having a few more watches, in particular the rugged toolishness of micro-brand divers.

Instead I might swap out either the Breitling or Omega for 4-6 watches in the $500-1200 range, like an Oris, Zixen, Tempest, Orient Saturation Diver, etc.

But my point is, either way I'd probably go for either a "Holy Trinity" approach or a "Sacred Seven," both of which would be veering on the side of quality over quantity. What about you, Angelo? What would be your strategy?

[jonnybardo]

I went a bit nuts, but here's a post discussing this at (absurd) length:

http://discipleofchronos.wordpress.com/2013/10/06/if-you-had-10k-to-build-a-collection-and-a-philosophical-meander/

[Angelo]

Jonny: I commented about this on your blog. Basically, here's what I'd do for starters: I'd replace some of the watches I own now, maybe with updated models. I'd get a new Movado Museum watch with black leather band. I'd get an Aeromatic (with crowns everywhere) and an oversized Tauchmeister. I'd get a basic black Casio G-Shock----something nice, but the quintessential black rubber, built like a tank. I'd get at least one large, bold Invicta. That would be for starters. I'd strongly consider a Rolex too. And my question: How long would I have to spend that 10K? Could I spread out the purchases over years, or would I need to go on a shopping spree to get rid of the entire ten thousand bucks?

[Gary]

Jeff,

This one reminds me of the Imperious Gearhead you had awhile ago.

http://www.ablogtowatch.com/giuliano-mazzuoli-trasmissione-meccanica-watch-review/