Keeping the Seiko Tuna SBBN033 and SBBN031 But Giving Up the Tuna SBBN017

The older I get the more I prefer a smaller watch collection. Less is definitely more. I currently own three Tunas, and I'm finding it's just too much for my mind to process. The Tuna is one of my favorite watches of all time, but it's not a perfect watch. It wears small owing to its lack of lugs. Its absence of lugs is such that the case doesn't cradle the wrist. The Tuna is very expensive for a quartz watch with no sapphire. The Hardlex crystal is Seiko's way. As I took photos of the 017, I found I HAD to take photos of the 033 and 031 as well. I get the impression that most Tuna fans prefer the sandblasted case of the 017 to the polished case of the 033, but I prefer the polished case. It gives the Tuna more pop on the wrist.

The 031 photos show it on the stock bracelet, which looks good but the thin plates dig into my wrist, so I changed it to a Super Engineer and now wears a lot more comfortably. My wife and I prefer the Tuna 031 to my Orient Saturation Diver, but the OSD is sapphire with an automatic movement, so I'm leaning toward keeping it. My ambivalence about keeping the OSD stems from fact that both are divers with black bezel, giving them similar, overlapping styling cues.

I will miss the 017, but having the 033 and 031 will be ample consolation. My current collection is now thus:

One. Seiko Tuna 033

Two. Seiko Tuna 031

Three. Seiko Sumo

Four. Seiko SUN023 Kinetic Diver (arrives tomorrow, a birthday present)

Five. Orient Saturation Diver

Six. Citizen Grand Touring

Seven. Ecozilla

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Comments

[Gary]

Another Kinetic? How long till it's up for sale?

[herculodge]

You could be right, Gary, but I've read people getting 10 years of battery life and this watch has sapphire. I wanted a rubber strap sport watch with sapphire and I love the look. The all steel version fit my wrist in a way that the crown dug a hole in my lower hand. With daily wear at home, I should be able to keep this going. My more refined Sumo, my current default watch for the home, will be saved for other occasions. But we shall see. I wish Seiko made a solar watch with sapphire that like, but nothing is as appealing as the SUN023.

[Gary]

You can always try a toothbrush induction charger if charging becomes a chore. There is a big thread about this on the Watchuseek Seiko & Citizen forum.

[herculodge]

Good idea. I looked into it before without confidence, but I'd like to try that again.

[Lee_K]

The over/under has the SUN023 sold by Valentine's Day. :)

[Angelo]

Sometimes I think less is more and sell off a few watches. Then a month later, I buy more than I sold. Of course, I'm playing in a league where watches are in the low hundreds or less, not the high hundreds or a grand. By the way----don't look now, but Chinese Sea-Gull is making rapid strides in quality and desirability. We've seen it in cameras and cars----American/European challenged by the Japanese and laughing it off at first, then trying to play catch up. With watches, we saw Japan successfully challenge the Swiss and take a nice chunk of business, with some collectors actually preferring the Japanese movements at this point. Sea-Gull has slowly and steadily improved and refined to the point of making some really nice movements at a value price, absolutely challenging Miyota. Like Hyundai/KIA of Korea arrived late but are no longer a joke----I see that same thing unfolding for Sea-Gull in the coming years.

[herculodge]

I have to assume Chinese quartz is as good as it gets. Luxury watches are already built in China. They have the exact machinery used for Swiss watches. It shouldn't surprise me that Sea-Gulls are getting close. Next quest is cars made in China.

[Angelo]

Sea-Gull automatics are gaining quickly too. I don't know enough about the inner workings of mechanical/mainspring/automatic watches, but the layman view is that the Sea-Gull movements LOOK more robust----seems like more layers of metal around the rotor, more weight, for whatever that is worth. I have a Stuhrling Tourbillon built by Sea-Gull and it's a very accurate watch----very precise and intricate build. At the very least, they are showing that they have a grasp on watchmaking and definitely have the million dollar equipment to manufacture it.

[Angelo]

On cars----Buicks built in China for the Chinese market were actually better than American made Buicks, as recently as 2006. The auto scribe was amazed at the quality of the Chinese Buicks, with fit and finish as good as Lexus, well ahead of the American General Motors cars of that vintage. I think we've closed the gap----but the fact that we had to close the gap with Buicks made in China is ridiculous. Apparently, the new Volvos being made there are coming out of the factory with fewer quality issues than Volvos made in Sweden. Indeed, they are catching up or have caught up.

[herculodge]

Shouldn't surprise me since the machinery is the same.

[Jake]

Nice article! Well written with very good pics to match! Lately i’ve been strangely drawn to marinemaster tunas and i’ve been reading online reviews about the new models. I’m contemplating on getting one and ive decided i’ll pair it with a black isofrane strap. My dilemma now is what model would the black rubber strap better.. the black or the stainless steel bezel? The black bezel would be a classic diver look and would make the dial seem larger. On the other hand, the stainless bezel would standout more in my opinion because the dial and the shroud will make the watch “pop out” more in contrast to the black dial and strap. What are your thoughts? Any suggestions? Thanks in advance!