My 9 'not so grand' Seikos with various Seiko calibres-updated @ March 2014

[JOS2012]

Although I focus mainly on Grand Seikos, JLC and GO, there are also some odd pieces from other brands that I've also liked & acquired e.g. Omega, IWC, Damasko, Tudor, Erhard Junghans, etc.

I dun believe in being a fanboy of any brand, as I only find a few pieces that I would consider acquiring from some brands, the rest being of no interest to me..

Having said that, I've bought a lot more 'not so grand' Seikos' comparatively, which I liked for their design. Of coz the 'in-house' Seiko movements can also be regulated to within COSC, if not GS standards.

These are a few pieces that I've hardly ever worn and some of which I've not even taken a picture of previously to post...so taking the lead from my good friend in photography & watches, davidtth who previously posted his Seiko 9s, here are my other regular Seikos...

I'm tempted to do something similar on the Grand Seikos after this..take such pics , not adjusting them..I mean..


My main travelling watch for the last 8 years, whenever I backpack to dodgy places....Seiko Military cal 7S36-the timekeeping is quite impressive abt + 25-30 secs after a week, not bad for a watch below RM 500



My 2nd Monster watch after I sold off my 1st Monster cal 7S36 that was monstrous at timekeeping  (+25 secs/day). This improved hacking/windeable cal 4R36 has been calibrated to< +5secs/day, not bad for a watch below RM 1K



I just liked the look of this Monster cased Field Master model cal 4R35B also and it has been calibrated to <+4secs/day, not bad for a black PVD coated cased watch under RM 1.5K



The Limited Edition 100th Ann Presage cal. 4R36 so hot in demand throughout SEAsia..these 2 white/black dial cal 4R36 were also calibrated to < +6 secs/day




Ananta Naoki Sakai Limited Edition (Japan only) with a cal 6R21 and keeping good time of < +5sec/day, no calibration needed



My latest favorite Prospex Spring Drive Marinemaster Limited Edition tuna cal. 5R65, which is an unbelievable < +2 secs per WEEK.....I just love this watch for after office hours..

[sidestreaker]

Great collection! I like the Military and the LE 130th(s). 

[dennis.T]

Nice collection... Any service been done on seiko military since is 8 years old watch

[dpkong]

Did you make the adjustments yourself?

[JOS2012]

yup..but it took me weeks per piece as I didn't have a Timegrapher or Witschi..
so I have to adjust, let it run for a few days, and keep on fine tuning..
A hit n miss affair.
Sometimes I got it to within +3 secs/day but I tried to make it even better, the next adjustment slower would push it out by another -8 secs..
So back to trial n error again..
Its very very trying actually without the Witschi but it feels real good when you get it to within COSC for such cheap watches....

Did you make the adjustments yourself?

Thanks..
When it costs <RM 500, I'll run it to the ground or keep adjusting the timing as it gets slower n slower..

Nice collection... Any service been done on seiko military since is 8 years old watch

Thanks..
Something must be wrong with my taste or choice.. you and Dennis like the cheapest < RM 500 & the RM 1.2K watches vs the Ananta & Spring Drive that cost RM 8K & RM14K respectively..
Actually I bought the military solely as it was the cheapest automatic Seiko for those dodgy trips where losing it would be painless.

Great collection! I like the Military and the LE 130th(s). 

[bezelnut]

Something must be wrong with my taste or choice.. you and Dennis like the cheapest < RM 500 & the RM 1.2K watches vs the Ananta & Spring Drive that cost RM 8K & RM14K respectively..

Ok, I'm here to prove this statement wrong. The Ananta is absolutely gorgeous, love the multi layered dial, screws on the power reserve indicator, & the 6R21A winding rotor is a piece of art.

I'd already praised your Gold Tuna Marinemaster once, so I'll do it again. 
Absolutely beautiful, very nicely photographed too.

[jason_recliner]

Great collection and lovely pics - thanks for sharing.

 

[dennis.T]

Nothing wrong with you but just wish to study the 5 year service mist…

I didn’t send my Pam 111 for service when it was about 5 years old which is “technically” due for service.

Happily wear it to phuket and dip it with salt water and there is where the nightmare start. After awhile I found that there is fog on the crystal then took out the loupe and see….

Bingo!!! Spotted water underneath the crystal, dial start peel off and water mark on the hands.

No choice but have to send it to Richemont for spa because of the dial issue. I guess Radiomir are better water resistant than luminor since it got the screw in crown system

[chrisyen]

U r a seiko man !!!

Love the ananta unique crown...

Feel like robbing the tuna... U guys grabbed all so fast

[JOS2012]

  Discounting my schooldays where I wore whatever my older siblings had, when I first started buying my own, it was mainly TAG in the 1980's then to Rollie in 1990s before finally switching over to JLC & Omegas from 2000 onwards and adding on GS+GO+pieces from various manufactures thereafter....so not really a 'Seiko' man per se..

The Ananta must be seen in the metal to be appreciated. The multi-layered dial, the hour and minute markers are not printed but raised indices,  the Seiko, Ananta name & 5 to 35 minute markers are printed on the inner sapphire top crystal making it look as if its floating and adds to the '3D-ness'. Finally the proprietary black coating is executed excellently.
Naoki Sakai is a famous Japanese industrial designer who designed not only 2 watch models for Seiko but also for Nissan, Olympus and many top Japanese factories   

No need to rob..1 more SBDB008 in Singapore Thong Sia but selling at full RRP SGD 6.9K now no more 15% disc. AFAIK only 4 MWF members have it out of 100 worldwide and 200 in Japan market.
davidtth can help u..

U r a seiko man !!!

Love the ananta unique crown...

Feel like robbing the tuna... U guys grabbed all so fast

Good thing abt Seikos (not GS) is that its very easy to open up and regulate and to change gaskets and even the crown. I will do self service of all the basic Seikos.

Nothing wrong with you but just wish to study the 5 year service mist…

Thank you. If you are in KL, Malaysia, it would be good to view your collection of Seikos/GS too. I've seen your posts and your pics rock..

Great collection and lovely pics - thanks for sharing.

Thanks for your moral support..

Ok, I'm here to prove this statement wrong. The Ananta is absolutely gorgeous, love the multi layered dial, screws on the power reserve indicator, & the 6R21A winding rotor is a piece of art.
I'd already praised your Gold Tuna Marinemaster once, so I'll do it again. 
Absolutely beautiful, very nicely photographed too.

[chrisyen]

u r evil. i dont sleep well now.... knowing i have no more budget for this....
rob bank is not the only option.... i might rob u...
'hing dai mai yuk, yiu biu ng yiu qin, seiko tung tung lo sai lei'

Discounting my schooldays where I wore whatever my older siblings had, when I first started buying my own, it was mainly TAG in the 1980's then to Rollie in 1990s before finally switching over to JLC from 2000 onwards and adding on GS+GO+pieces from various manufactures thereafter....

The Ananta must be seen in the metal to be appreciated. The multi-layered dial, the Seiko & Ananta name printed under the sapphire top crystal making it look as if its floating adds to the '3D-ness' and finally the proprietary black coating is executed excellently.
Naoki Sakai is a famous Japanese industrial designer who designed not only 2 watch models for Seiko but also for Nissan, Olympus and many top Japanese factories   

No need to rob..1 more SBDB008 in Singapore Thong Sia but selling at full RRP SGD 6.9K now no more 15% disc. AFAIK only 4 MWF members have it out of 100 worldwide and 200 in Japan market.
davidtth can help u..

U r a seiko man !!!

Love the ananta unique crown...

Feel like robbing the tuna... U guys grabbed all so fast

[JOS2012]

Just received this Snow Monster a few weeks back but had no time earlier to take pics..

If you google for Seiko 'Snow Monster' you will find that it was launched by Seiko Thailand in 2011.
Seiko Thailand regularly launches various Limited Editions of the Monster.
Another famous version of the Thailand issued limited series was the multi colored Zamba Monster.

http://www.monochrome-watches.com/weekly-watch-photo-seiko-snow-monster-thailand-limited-edition/
http://www.watchesbysjx.com/2013/05/wotd-seiko-snow-monster-and-seiko.html

A total of 2,555 pieces of this 'Limited Edition Snow Monster' was released at a relatively high price of USD 700 which was about 3 times the price of a regular Monster.
This is the only Monster which has a bead blasted case, bezel, a sapphire crystal with a magnifying cyclops (quite ugly, if you ask me).
It is however running on a standard 7S36 non-hacking, non-winding movt.

The 'Limited Edition Snow Monster' that I ordered is a further customized version of the Thailand issued 'Limited Edition Snow Monster'.

The sapphire crystal has been replaced by another sapphire crystal without the magnifying cyclops.
The crown has been replaced with a nicer looking Seiko Superior crown with a 'S' engraving, which is also bead blasted.

The most important upgrade however is the replacement of the 7S36 movt with the latest 4R36A hacking and winding movt.
This movt has been further finely regulated by the custom shop to run at +5sec/day.
Over the last several weeks, I've further fine-tuned the regulation to now run at +3secs/day (static). It was partially a bit of luck that I managed it.

On another note, I wished someone had a Witschi so that I could put all my 'not so grand' Seikos to verify their accuracy.
Based on time checks, they are all running with an accuracy ranging from +3secs/day to +6 secs/day.
I absolutely can't stand watches that run slow, even -1 sec/day.
 
The front dial which comes untouched from the Thailand 'Snow Monster Limited Edition'


Nicely bead blasted case and bezel


A rather crude looking case back signed Movement Malaysia, Cased in China and funnily the calibre is listed as 7S26 whereas the dial shows 7S36.
Funny that the other 'shark' Monster that I have doesn't have the Movt Malaysia, Cased China words.
Probably sold in different markets and the custom shop used a mix of parts from all the watches they have in their inventory.


The upgraded 'S' signed crown which comes from Seiko Superior models and bead blasted


The opened case back showing the upgraded 4R36A hacking and winding movement, regulated to run at a very creditable +3 secs/day static currently


The custom shop is supposed to send me a custom leather strap made by a custom leather shop.
Its a white specked blue leather strap to match the dial and to depict the snow landscape.
That strap already cost Euro100.

This is the only other customized Snow Monster I know of, owned by another MWF member who had referred me to the custom shop.
The strap in this pic is what I am supposed to receive.



You can see slight differences, evidence of customization by a small artisan shop.

[TheHobbit]

Interesting. Is it still available?

[kenixck]

truly Asia watch ... japan -> msia -> china -> thailand -> back to Msia. (the watch traveled more than me in 1 year).

ok, maybe it never touched Japan 

[JOS2012]

Got this Golgo 13 - 400 pc Limited Edition cal. 6R15 end of 2013 but forgot to update…

The front dial of Golgo 13 Fieldmaster.









The signed caseback indicating the 400 piece Limited Edition Golgo 13




An unusual combination of a Fieldmaster watch in a tuna can.The Seiko propriety black coating is very well executed
I love the recent tuna-cased watches esp in black.




The S signed crown signifies the Superior range


Cute tuna can case design

[JeepWH]

OMG, all looks soo nice. (Drooling on the keyboard)

Great collection.