Today, we come to the end of the current trio of PADI special edition watches we had come in from Seiko. They’re all dive watches, of course, but they approach things quite differently. We had the purpose-driven mechanical and the solar-powered dressier option. That then leaves us with the Seiko Prospex SUN065, which is unlike both of those that preceded it on our pages.
Editor’s note: today, we’ve got a reader-submitted review of the Seiko SARX035, which just recently hit his wrist. Read on to get Mr. Jose Contreras’s thoughts on the watch! And, if you want to submit your own, drop us a line or talk us up over in Slack.
The “Baby Grand Seiko” – A Value Proposition
Have you ever wanted a Grand Seiko, but just could not justify paying Rolex money for one? Many face this commumdrum, as they love the design, aesthetics and smooth sweep Spring Drive/Hi-beat movements. But when you are spending three to five thousand dollars for a watch, more “prestigious” options are available. This makes aquiring a Grand Seiko seem almost irresponsible. Enter today’s watch, the Seiko SARX035.
Spoiler alert – that’s going to be totally in the eyes of the beholder. While we here at WWR are ardent supporters of the Seiko Monster, and most of us have our own (first gen) ones, I cannot say as I’ve followed the evolution of the line all that closely. That is, until I came across the third generation, aka the Seiko Prospex SZSC003.
When it comes to classic, vintage looks, Hamilton seems to have a good handle on locking in that vintage, sometimes Americana, sort of a look. While the Hamilton Boulton is a little outside the style I’d normally be drawn to, there’s something about that art deco look that just speaks to me. So, we requested a loaner, and in one came.
When it comes to watches, we all have our own varying tastes. Sure, we can appreciate merits of certain watches, but it’s rare – at least in my experience – to run into another person who has as visceral of a reaction to a watch as I do. Take my buddy (and fellow WWR editor) Victor Marks. We can appreciate what the other likes, but our tastes are a bit divergent. At least, until I ran across the Steinhart Ocean Titanium 500 GMT Premium. It immediately became a synchronized chant of “DO WANT” in our messages back and forth.
Quick – when you think of Bulova, what style of watch are you thinking? Perhaps a hyper-accurate quartz chronograph? Or something of a dressier nature? Yes, those are great candidates to think of with Bulova. But what about a dive watch? It seems like just about every brand had a dive watch of some sort in the 1970s, and Bulova was no exception. One of their most popular was known as the “Devil Diver” (for it’s water resistance being listed as 666 ft, instead of 200m, on the dial), and we recently got to spend some time with a new watch inspired by the original, the Bulova Oceanographer.
Back in March of 2017 Seiko released the SRPB11 and SRPB09, Turtle and Samurai variants of what would affectionately come to be known as the “Blue Lagoon” in the ever-popular Prospex diving line. The instant I saw the Blue Lagoon I wanted the Turtle version. That vibrant blue dial, subtle yellow index highlights, and gorgeous two-tone blue bezel – well – let’s just say that it had me at hello! At the time, financially I wasn’t in a position to spend $500 on a watch, and so it remained just out of reach. Of course I came to regret the decision not to purchase one as new ones now regularly trade for well over MSRP online. Opportunity lost. Or was it?
While I may have started leaning towards thinner, more dressy watches, in my own watch preferences, I still find myself drawn to divers. There’s just a go anywhere sort of an attitude to them, and on a bracelet, you can certainly get away with trying to pair them with a suit (just make sure you’ve got wide cuffs). If you find yourself rowing that same boat, then you may want to have a look at the just-announced Orient Triton Diver.
We all have brands that we look forward to seeing new releases from, and NTH (part of Janis Trading, as we all know) is one of those very brands. So, when Chris “Doc” Vail reached out and asked if we wanted to take a look at some of the newer models he’s releasing, we of course said yes. Victor will have a different one in a review soon, but I took a look at at the NTH Näcken Renegade.
We here at WWR have long been fans of Seiko. In fact, our default recommendation, when someone asks for a watch suggestion, is to check out the Seiko Monster line. It’s got classic looks, amazing lume, and the robustness that a dive watch brings to the table. Now, if you ever wondered what would happen if the Monster got into body building, well, wonder no more, as the Seiko SRPA83 seems to answer that question.
