In yesterday’s post, I started giving you my thoughts on the classic Seiko Orange Monster. Today, we’ll wrap things up. We left off yesterday with what struck me first – its size and heft. Now, on to the other observations that surprised me.
Been a Seiko kick here for a few days, so I thought I’d keep the ball rolling with a review I’ve had kicking around for a few weeks now. Now, given that I’ve told you it’s a Seiko, and Orange is in the title, 99% of you have figured out we’re talking about the ultimate entry-level automatic dive-watch, the Seiko Orange Monster. (For the other 1%, just look over there at the picture.)
If you’ve been looking to slap a little E-Ink on your wrist and didn’t want to go the Phosphor route, Seiko has the watch for you. The Seiko E-Ink watch is essentially a high-tech LCD watch using E-Ink as the display medium, thereby reducing battery drain.
Read more…
Seiko held a contest last summer asking folks what they thought of Seiko watches. Here, friends, is the winner, a charming young lad from Singapore who likes long walks on the beach, Iron Maiden, and mountains. Good on you, sir. Good on you.
This watch is the right tool set for me; HH:MM:SS and date, a second time zone, and an alarm that can be used as a timer. The 100mm water resistence is another requirement, and this makes that gate. The 5T82 movement is a little large at 40mm w/o the crown, 44mm w/, and 10mm thick, and not quite as easy to use as the earlier and now discontinued Seiko SEL series with the 5T52, but I like it. Especially useful is the second time zone, as the bezel has markings to indicate the second time zone, and you can change it with the buttons. Unlike the earlier movement you have to take the watch off to use the alarm/timer, and it has to be reset for each use, but it is not that difficult to use. Yeah, the face is a little busy, but until Seiko has the wisdom to re-release the 5T52 movement or comes up with one that is as easy to use, this will definitely do.
The only mechanical that comes close is the Panerai PAM 98 with the second time zone and an alarm, but that remains out of my reach for the foreseeable future. And given the price of that fine timepiece, I wouldn’t wear it for travel in more interesting (and less safe) parts of the world. The Seiko is only a quartz, but does what I need it to, especially when traveling.
Louis at www.Watches88.com was great. Very responsive, answered questions quickly, had good prices, shipped promptly, and provided all the documentation. Thanks again, Louis!
# Seiko’s new Direct Drive Kinetic movement. The watch can be charged manually by hand winding it, and it charges naturally as the movement of your arm rotates an internal rotor.
# Anti-reflective sapphire crystal.
# Date at the 6 o’clock position, and a retrograde day indicator.
# Stainless steel case and bracelet.
# Three-fold clasp with push-button release.
# Very bright LumiBrite paint on the hour hand, minute hand, and on the hour indices.
# Recessed reset button in case the integrated circuit ever needs a quick reboot.
# Automatic hand alignment which ensures that the power indicator hand is always accurate (calibration occurs every 24 hours).
# Water resistant to 10 bar, 100 meters, or 330 feet.
Review of the Seiko Velatura SRH005 – Watch Reviews, Information, and News
Umm? Amazing? True? Dangerous?
Last night, when I was brushing my teeth with my sonicare tootbrush, I thought of using the charger to charge my watch. I said, what the heck, my watch is 7 years old anyway and I put the watch on top of the toothbrush charger. I left it overnight and lo and behold this morning , it was at full charge. The only thing I noticed is that the watch is a bit warm and I thought it might have been overcharged. Up to now, the watch is in full charge. It would have been better if I had monitored the charging until it was full charge or used a timer to avoid overcharging.
I don’t even know how this sort of thing happens, but it seems someone is faking Blue Monsters now. I suppose there’s a market for them, but it literally looks like they molded the entire watch and just recast it. Very strange.
Nice new Seiko caught over on WatchReport.
The SBHL003 is an interesting new addition to Seiko’s Ignition line. There are two things which differentiate it from other Seiko Ignitions. First, while the watch uses a classic analog display to present the time, the inner dial is an LCD used for timing and alarm features. Second, the stopwatch has a very precise resolution of 1/1,000th of a second (like the Seiko Sportura SNJ005 and the TAG Heuer Microtimer).
The Seiko Ignition SBHL003 [Watch Report]
There is no better way to jump into classic watch collecting than with the Seiko classics. These movements – and watches – come in multiple forms and flavors with different complications and cases. Based on Seiko’s workhorse base movement, these watches have been running consistently and constantly since the the 1960s and are still available online for a pittance.
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Dan found this pitted Seiko at the bottom of the ocean while diving. He hasn’t fired it up yet, but looks like the mineral crystal got quite a beating from Nemo.
Close up… [Seiko & Citizen Forum]
What is this, Monster Day? Bob creates these custom monsters with different faces for Monster lovers around the world and this is one of his creations, the Green monster. Read on to see the Red monster.
Beware the Green Monster [Seiko & Citizen Forum]
Some great shots of an entire Seiko Monster family cavorting on the wrist of a Seiko & Citizen forum member, badern, including a few modded models with strange faces.
A family of Monsters for your viewing pleasure 
[Seiko & Citizen Forum]
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. For those of us who love us some Orange Monster, the Blue Monster is a tough purchase to stomach. Why improve on perfection? Why spend a few hundred on a new diver when old faithful will do? Well, friends, the Blue Monster aka the SKZ213K1, is a limited edition beast with a mission – to make you part with a few hundred bucks to own a limited edition diver with charm, pedigree, and definite bulk.
A Yaoed 6309 goes on a busman’s holiday. Quite nice.
First off Thanks Mr.Bill Yao for your work in producing
these awesome parts, they when put together make a great
watch for keeping track of time on the bus
A 007 +yao dial + yao ploprof hands = a great watch for telling time on the bus [Seiko & Citizen Forum]
