I read on message boards that the Seiko Sawtooth has the greatest of all Seiko lume, even greater than the Black Monster's. Combine that with aggressive Tuna-like shroud and it's been on my wish list for some time.
The rubber strap is comfortable, but part of me wants to put a Super Engineer II brushed steel, with 20mm lugs, on it. Another part of me says I've already got the bracelet on my Tuna, my crown jewel, so the rubber strap on the Sawtooth differentiates it from the Tuna in a good way. But I continue to waver and am a bit intimidated about a bracelet swap after reading that a watch guy had to buff the bracelet down and fiddle with it for quite a bit. My watch guy had the same struggle putting the 22mm bracelet on my Seiko Tuna. Also, my wife, when posed the question of a bracelet swith or not, said my Tuna and Sawtooth look so similar that I should keep the rubber strap on the Sawtooth. Good point, but I think I prefer the feel of steel to rubber.
Like the Seiko Tuna, the Sawtooth plays like a 47mm and appears to be 46mm with my tape measure.
I wonder if my watch guy can take my Tuna and Sawtooth to his specialist and put sapphire in them to replace the Hardlex crystal. We'll see.
No lume test yet. I hope it's the Holy Grail Lume Tool it's supposed to be. We shall find out soon.
I'm particularly fond of it with the brilliant blue face (SHC057). Great way to bring a bit of color to a watch collection.
Posted by: Dan | January 02, 2014 at 08:47 AM
Jeff, I'd keep the strap for variation, although I'm wondering if, in the end, you'll find that because of its overall lesser quality to the Tuna, and because it's too close in vibe without "its own thing" to differentiate it, you won't wear it much no matter what you do with it. I could be wrong and don't want to be a downer - and I do reall like this watch - but for those reasons I predict you'll be selling this one in a few months.
I love the blue version too, Dan. It really pops and suits the style of watch.
Posted by: jonnybardo | January 02, 2014 at 10:09 AM
It's a different vibe than the Tuna. Less fancy pants. Today I'm really feeling my M Force Beast.
Posted by: herculodge | January 02, 2014 at 10:32 AM
I've seen some interesting mods of that watch, such as swapping the black bezel onto the blue face. The only Sawtooth variant I'm not crazy about is the orange face, and the black face/black bezel is still in the "maybe" pile. I agree that it is a poor-man's Tuna and I'd say it's quite desirable if you like the grab-and-go quality of a quartz movement.
Posted by: Dan | January 02, 2014 at 01:06 PM