Very neat watch SC!!! Where did it come from? Did it take a long time?


Well gents Hamilton has decided to update their khaki scuba diver for 2021. Overall I think Hamilton did a good job. The water resistance increased (finally!) the bezel insert received a lume pip and the dial got a refresh that has it looking more like Tissot’s new Seastar. This makes sense as Tissot and Hamilton are both owned by the same parent company. The size of the case also increased from 40 to 43mm. I’m not thrilled about the size increase but it’s not a big deal.

The old 40mm Khaki Scuba


The new 43mm Khaki Scuba



I wish Tissot had made the top tier Seastar smaller. 48mm with two large crowns is too big. Had Tissot made this watch in 41-44mm it would have been absolutely perfect. It’s a damn shame about the size because it’s a major turn off for many. This watch has some seriously cool innovative design elements going on. The quick release bracelet design is genius and the locking bezel/helium release valve is pretty neat.

It looks like you could fit an entire Seiko Samurai inside of this Seastar case.

^^^^ Wow, that's a good comparison photo Stickman, it makes the Samurai look tiny!

I actually prefer style of the older Khaki with the bar indicators, over the dots; but could do without the date window between 4-5.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Very neat watch SC!!! Where did it come from? Did it take a long time?

Thanks!
It came out of Moldova. It took right at 4 weeks to make it here.
I bought it May 10th. It came yesterday.

Now I have all 3 "space watches".

SC, when you are able to can you post up pics of your three space watches?

What does the 9 o’clock crown do on your Russian watch? I love the case shape and dial on that watch. Can you tell me more about it? It look like a VERY interesting watch.

Went to the Omega Boutique again yesteday. I called and the manager I worked with last time told me that had a 2020 Tokyo Seamtaster that came in the previous day, so I had to go take a look at it.

Some things I can confirm from looking it over in person: The shade of blue on the bezel, hands, and indices is indeed the exact same shade of blue as those on the gray dial version. However, the blue on the hands and indices is very, very subtle. Maybe it was just the lighting in there, but unless you catch them in the right light, they appear black. Very subtle. From many angles, it looks a lot like a white dial variant with black hands and indices and a blue bezel. Side-by-side with the regular white dial variant, it looks less stark, but also has less contrast between the dial and the rest of it. I'd imagine a lot of this would change in direct sunlight, and the blue would be immediately obvious, and eye-catching. Compared with the silver dial 300, the Tokyo looks like a more polished, complete package, as the silver dial seems to blend in with the bracelet. The red tip on the second hand of the standard white dial version is sadly not present on the Tokyo because of the blue hands, and I think this is a little disappointing. That extra bit of contrast would have worked really well on this edition. One thing that surprised me was comparing the lume of the Tokyo and the gray dial version, it was immediately obvious that the lume on the Tokyo was brighter. This was after a quick charge with a UV light and just cupping my hands over them to look at it, so hardly a scientific test, but it sure seemed brighter. I mentioned this, and the manager said he wasn't aware of them doing anything different, but that didn't mean they didn't.

One thing the manager clarified for me was that these will be a limited run, not a limited edition. So, instead of 2,020 being produced and that being it, they're going to probably produce them through the summer and stop once the demand subsides. That way, if it's a successful model, they can make enough of them to satisfy demand, and if it isn't, then they don't make so many that they'll have them sitting in inventory for years. He mentioned that they still have a 2016 Rio in stock at that boutique as an example.

Now, if I thought it was going to make things easier for me, this was not the case. If anything, I'm more torn about what to do. The Tokyo is only available at Boutiques, not gray market, so I'd be paying full retail plus tax - 10% in Washington state. That's right around $6,100 out the door. If I went with a gray dial from Jomashop, it'd work out to around $4,395 before shipping. That's a substantial difference for what amounts to a different colorway. After comparing it in person to the gray and white dial versions, I'm not sure it would be worth it to me. I really like it, but I'm not sure I like it nearly $2,000 better.

I also saw the 2021 Beijing model, and the dial is, in a word, stunning. Pictures and video of it simply do not do it justice. It's a deep ice blue and the laser-etched waves combined with a very active, vibrant sunray is absolutely captivating. The Yachtmaster styled bezel insert is a perfect match for the watch. Where it falls down for me is the Olympic colored indices, the solid caseback, the much higher price than the Tokyo and the fact that it's for the Beijing Olympics. Fuck China, in short. It's a shame that dial is going to a limited run rather than being added to the standard Seamaster lineup. The sunray effect is like the one on a gray dial times ten, it's really amazing.

In conclusion, I think the best option for me is actually to buy either the gray or white dial on Jomashop. I'll pay tax either way, but from what I've read, you would sooner get free food at a Chinese buffet than any kind of meaningful discount at an Omega boutique (don't even bother asking on a limited edition or run the risk getting laughed out the door) and Jomashop's prices are a fair chunk of change lower. I love looking at the gray dial, but in the mirror, it almost looks like a toy watch with the dial blending in with the bracelet. I imagine on a NATO, this would be a different story, but if I'm buying it on the bracelet (and I will, because) it should look good on the bracelet. I love those blue hands and indices, though. However, the white dial makes for a much more readable watch, instantly at-a-glance, both with the Tokyo and the standard model, but more so with the standard model with the black hands and red-tipped second hand. I've eliminated the blue and black dials from the running. The shade of blue they use doesn't do it for me, and the waves on the black dial are kind of off-putting for me. The blue bezel on the Tokyo and gray dial doesn't bother me, though.

Anyways, tons of text, but not without pics!
The 2020 Tokyo

Trying to get the colored hands and indices to show up in the picture wasn't easy. As I said: subtle.


Left to right: Gray dial, 2021 Beijing, 2020 Tokyo with two different exposures.


One with my 42mm Glycine Combat Sub thrown in for comparison.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: P220 Smudge,

That gray face model looks fantastic

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
SC, when you are able to can you post up pics of your three space watches?

What does the 9 o’clock crown do on your Russian watch? I love the case shape and dial on that watch. Can you tell me more about it? It look like a VERY interesting watch.

I'll take detailed photos when I get more time.
The crown on the right side turns the inner chapter ring.

That new Olympic Seamaster dial is sweet! It’s a shame it didn’t become part of the regular line up. P220 Smudge did you see this? The latest white dial Seamaster super clone vs real deal. Can you pick out the fake? This is a neat video. (Sorry I don’t know how to embed it anymore)

https://youtu.be/nOCKwImuFRo



I have to give Tissot some accolades. I emailed them a question today and within 25 minutes I had a detailed response. That was damn fast Tissot!

The French GP at Le Mans is this weekend and it’s likely going to be raced in the rain. My Tissot Seastar is already dressed for this weekends race.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
That gray face model looks fantastic

I agree. Even for my lighthearted ding saying it looked like a “toy watch in the mirror,” it’ll probably be the one I end up getting if I do this at all.

Stickman, that video is scary. It’s the prime reason why the guns and guitars I’m selling locally won’t be listed with trade possibilities in mind. The secondary market makes me nervous. I managed to guess correctly which one was the fake initially and then second-guessed myself when he showed the movement. I fell for the same thing Mr. X did.

Years ago, when I was still at the music store, we had a guy walk in one day wanting to trade or sell us an Ibanez Jem. It was in pristine condition, and it played great. I looked it over and was excited to see one in the wild. He looked around and was eyeballing some of our $5k Taylors. I forget what he wanted for the guitar, but it was a fair asking price for that guitar in almost mint condition. Then, as I played it, a few small things caught my attention. A few things that seemed “off.” Over the course of about a half hour or so, I went from interested in this guitar for trade or outright purchase to interest in this guitar as the best fake I’d ever seen. The guy went from being interested in everything he could trade it towards to intently watching me eyeball his fake. Finally, I told him I would like to take some pictures of it, and then he wanted to get out of there in a hurry. I told him I had to regretfully decline the trade, as I was unfortunately very sure he had a fake. He didn’t act like someone surprised he’d been taken in and screwed over, he acted like someone antsy to get the Hell out of there because he’d been caught trying to screw us. Never saw him again. Thankfully, pretty much all I’d owned or played up to that point was MIJ Ibanez guitars, and that alone saved me. I’m not doing that with a watch.

P220 Smudge, once you experience a VERY good quality fake it changes your opinion of them a bit. It makes you VERY reluctant to purchase rare or highly desirable watches online. I went from thinking fakes are all trash to realizing that some of them have a ton of effort and actual work invested into making them appear real.

That part in the video where he talked about the brush work and polishing and how it would be one of the best $400 watches on the market if it wasn’t a damn fake watch was quite interesting. It’s a testament to how far some people will go to fake a luxury watch.

That "fake" video was interesting.

I did get it right, and for me the bracelet was the giveaway. The real one's bracelet was more dimensional. (I do have a Seamaster Pro, so I have spent a lot of time looking at one.) The font on the bezel was not quite right.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
This is a neat video. (Sorry I don’t know how to embed it anymore)

Use this https://imaginekitty.com/karma.php . Thanks to mark123

I watched the video and picked it right. The big thing that gave it away for me was the color of the word Seamaster on the dial and the adjuster lever on the balance.
There are other good videos on how to tell the difference between counterfeit watches and the real thing.

Counterfeit watches are a big problem, and it is not just watches. If someone made it someone counterfeited it.

It is not just people buying a counterfeit for them self because of the price, it is when unscrupulous people try to pass them off as authentic when selling them.
I have seen on a watch forum I am on an experienced seller reselling a watch they bought being fooled. He had purchased it from someone and then resold it.
The new owner post pictures on the forum and he started getting comments it was counterfeit. One person posted picture's of the real movement vs the counterfeit movement. I think it was a similar as to what the video talked about with the movement.
In the end the purchaser got his money back and the seller contacted the person he bought the watch from to try to get his money back. Not sure how he made out.
In this case it looks like the watch had passed through several hands before being discovered as counterfeit.

Either way it is still illegal here in the United States. Counterfeit good including watches fund criminal activity in the country's they originate in and here in the U.S.
Customs and Border Protection dose a good job of stopping most of what comes here illegally but a lot still gets through.

Basically people are stealing others intellectual property.

As said in the video there are a lot of homage watches that are very good out there Steinhart being one of them. Good quality watches that they may look like one of the big brand names but they put their own name on it.

So far all of the watches I own have come from Authorized Dealers or dealers I have done business with for many years and trust. It cost to much money to take a chance. This is what keeps me from buying from the internet or dealers I do not know.

This is just my opinion and not meant to criticize anyone here.

I don’t know how good of a job customs is actually doing. I’ve only had legit watches get hung up in customs. Most recently it was a Geckota from the Netherlands. It’s still in customs purgatory.

Before eBay recently cracked down hard on fakes I managed to get a damn good clone of the Rolex Explorer I from China. Eta clone movement that keeps infuriatingly good time, correct lume, engraved “Rolex” rehaut and no dead position for the day/date position. The seller used at least a whole roll of packing tape to wrap the watch. I was shocked at the amount of effort it took to get to the actual watch when unboxing it.

I find clones to be intriguing. Some of my lower quality clones will be my Guinea pigs as I teach myself how to remove hands and dials on automatic watches. I’ve already broken two ETA 2824-2 clones trying to learn how to take em apart. It’s been challenging but fun.

Want another Bolex Stickman? I have one I bought years ago, stopped wearing it after the chrome started coming off the pot metal case. I tried to open the case to look at the movement but I do not have the proper tool. It is an automatic movement, very close to the real deal

Geckota isn't a brand I was familiar with, so I decided to have a look. They make Fliegers! Only gripe I have is the sunburst dial. Why is it that nobody seems to make a legit Flieger for an affordable price? There's always some new twist on it like a date window, or a brand logo, or a sunburst dial, or everything's right visually but it's got a quartz movement and it's $500, or it's totally correct and has an automatic movement and it's $1,200.

I'd be all over this if it had a matte dial.
https://www.geckota.com/geckot...ta-2824-pilots-watch

On a related note, my wife behaved in a way I've never observed when I told her the price range of the Omegas I'm looking at. She doesn't get the concept that I'm selling five inheritance guns to turn them into one watch, she's fixated on the idea that nobody needs a timepiece that costs more than her $40 fitbit, let alone a hundred times that and more. I can do what I want, of course, but let's just say that might make it difficult to enjoy it. I guess maybe a Sinn 104 on a fine link bracelet and something else would be more practical for the money. I don't know.

BigSwede, yeah man that sounds like a great candidate to tear into. I’ll shoot you an email later today.



P220 Smudge, I understand completely. My wife thinks no watch is worth more than $250.

If all else fails you could try the “it’s an investment in the future” argument.

Oh, I have, and it is. That's my intent, anyway. Something like the Omega isn't really at risk of losing value, long-term. I also wonder if a Sinn or two wouldn't be an equally good investment.