Manly Watch Wish List: Seiko Solar FieldMaster with Sapphire Crystal

 

The itch is back. I've focused on 3 watches, 2 Seikos and an Eco-Drive Promaster. Here's the Seiko Solar FieldMaster SBDL021 with sapphire crystal and 48mm bezel. Very toolish with the Tuna-like shroud. At half the price of the Seiko Golgo and having sapphire unlike the Golgo's mineral crystal, it's more appealing in those regards.

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Comments

[jonnybardo]

That's a nice piece. I like the idea of a Tuna-esque watch with chronographs. Not sure how I feel about the bezel changing color.

There's a whole family of Tunas out there, from ~$200 to ~$2000.

[Angelo]

Maybe I've been sleeping through all of this----but country of origin, China? I thought it was still Japan for the more expensive Seikos?

[herculodge]

Is it made in China? Or is it delivered from China? I didn't know a Prospex line was from anywhere but Japan.

[Angelo]

Usually, country of origin implies that's where final assembly or manufacturing was completed. It would be odd for the watch to be made in Japan, finished----then shipped to China to be shipped to end users. Maybe it's an error on Amazon? But it's a bad one because I think people associate the Japanese watches with excellence and the Chinese watches with trying to make it at the lowest cost (even if the product is still good).

[jonnybardo]

I'm guessing the Prospex watches - which is short for "professional specifications," and implies a certain level of quality - are made in Japan. I can't see the Japanese, especially a proud company like Seiko, trusting anyone else to assemble their higher quality watches.

[jonnybardo]

The other thing is that the "made in China = bad" thing is overblown. Let's remember basic logic: A lot of crappy stuff being made in China doesn't mean that all stuff made in China is crappy.

[herculodge]

Right. Deep Blue has good made in China watches. My aftermarket bracelets from Strapcode are topnotch.

[Angelo]

And Apple Computer sells some outstanding, high quality products made in China too. In fact, some automotive writers have stated that the Buicks made in China for that market---are actually manufactured with superior fit and finish to Buicks made in the U.S. Warren Brown of the Washington Post wrote a few years ago----from the Bejing auto show---that he was actually angry when he saw Buicks in China that were every bit as well made as a Lexus---while Buick's here were still suffering quality issues. But I guess the grievance with a Made In China Seiko can be the same as the issue some people have with Aeromatic/Tauchmeister not being "truly German." Some people have faith/confidence in Seiko in large part, because of their tradition of exceptional Japanese precision. The Seiko name is synonymous with that. So by moving production to China---even if there is equally strong product quality and quality control---some people would fell misled. In the case of Tauchmeister/Aeromatic (Called "E-Bay Brands" in one of those reviews, by a supposed diver who didn't even seem to know that some divers bands are longer to fit over wetsuits), if the movements are Japanese or Swiss and the watches are assembled in Germany---is it true that we're being misled since they are not in keeping with the true German watchmaking tradition? I don't know. The way I look at it, they are very nice fashion watches with some function too---and the names were chosen for marketing purposes. So what? The watches look like they might have been worn by pilots or in submarines, perhaps during the World Wars. The brands have now been around for a few years and they don't seem to be going anywhere. "Tradition" has to start somewhere/sometime.

[Tom]

Hm interesting watch, I know where to find cheaper price - http://www.guardssale.org/winner-fashion-skeleton-dial-men-steel-leather-strap-automatic-wrist-watch.html

[Angelo]

Tom: I like the silver version and the black version. From the same page, I found this one for under ten bucks!
http://www.guardssale.org/fashion-swiss-army-stainless-steel-men-sport-quartz-fabric-wrist-watch.html

[Tom]

I bought these one: http://herculodge.typepad.com/herculodge/2013/11/manly-watch-wish-list-seiko-solar-fieldmaster-with-sapphire-crystal.html with 20% discount . You just need to like watch or tweet.