Thank you Stickman, much appreciated. John.

The dial on that watch is stunning.

Pickle Rick, you’ve got great taste! I’ve been sooooooooo tempted to pick up one of the baby tunas that has that dial. It was inspired by and is pretty darn close to one of Grand Seiko’s masterpieces. I’m holding out hope that eventually this dial finds its way onto a turtle though it wouldn’t be too hard to swap over an entire dial/movement from the baby tuna into a Turtle so that is my plan B if Seiko doesn’t ever make one.

quote:

Originally posted by stickman428:
Pickle Rick, you’ve got great taste! I’ve been sooooooooo tempted to pick up one of the baby tunas that has that dial. It was inspired by and is pretty darn close to one of Grand Seiko’s masterpieces. I’m holding out hope that eventually this dial finds its way onto a turtle though it wouldn’t be too hard to swap over an entire dial/movement from the baby tuna into a Turtle so that is my plan B if Seiko doesn’t ever make one.

Would be stunning in a Tuna. That Grand Seiko is a work of art. You can't tell from pictures my Baby Tuna is sporting a Strapcode Engineer brushed and my Monster is sporting a polished Strapcode Engineer. They look FANTASTIC in person. Thanks for the help and the compliments. Fellow Seiko lover. John.

Great day, Stickman!
I saw that pic and without reading the text I wondered if you had sprung (snicker!) for a Spring Drive Grand Seiko!

Pickle Rick, that Monster is treat. I've seen that model in person. The dial is a beauty.

quote:

Originally posted by Snapping Twig:

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:
Are any of you fellow watch nuts members at Watchuseek?

Yes.

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Originally posted by rduckwor:
Yes.

Thank you, gents. I may be in touch. I've found a Seiko there that I'd like to find out more about... evidently as a recent join I don't have privilege to post yet.

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SKZ323K1

I watched a couple YouTube videos on this one earlier and it lost the sheen for me. Non-hacking movement and the back-play on the bezel was awful.

Back to the drawing board. Maybe I need to quit screwing around and just get one of these:

P220 Smudge the Stargate II is a 4R36 so it has hacking and handwinding. The first Gen might have been a 7S26 but the second Gen is definitely hacking and hand winding. The dial is also slightly different on the Stargate II with what I consider to be improved indices and a very clean look especially since that big Prospex “X” isn’t on the dial. The Stargate I & II are part of the superior line so they didn’t get branded with that X.

For what it’s worth the bezel action on my example is damn good with zero back play. Unfortunately Seiko is across the board a bit sloppy with QC. I’ve read a few discouraging reviews of the Stargate myself but I’m glad I pulled the trigger. The case shape is one of the most comfortable in my entire collection.

I’ve heard the lume pip inside the bezel on these watches can come unscrewed so I put some locktite on the screw and cranked it down. My only complaint so far is that the bracelet while beautiful feels a bit cheap and rattles more than someone who owns a few Seiko divers would come to expect.

That jibes with what the guy was saying about the movement. I guess I’ll keep researching.

I have my Glycine soaking in the solvent tonight. Face-down, just enough to bead up to the outer edges of the bezel. We’ll see how it looks tomorrow.

Sweet!!! I can’t wait to read how things go. That solvent trick seems pretty neat! I’m really into modding my Seiko watches right now but if that trick works it’s going to open the door to me modding Steinhart watches. Modded Steinhart watches are sort of rare compared to Seiko because parts are harder to source and there is not nearly as much aftermarket support. As luck would have it I have a contact for OEM bezels and inserts made by Steinhart. Steinhart won’t sell you them directly but I found a way to get them. This avoids the need to buy two watches and tear into one for its desired parts.

I’m thinking I might swap the bezel insert on my wife’s Steinhart to blue ceramic. I think a gorgeous white Mother of Pearl dial with a blue ceramic insert will look great. She hardly ever wears the thing so I’m contemplating modding it and wearing it since her beloved eco-drive MOP dial watch never leaves her wrist.


*** update on the Seiko Stargate II***

After being worn for a day which saw the watch riding along as I did a ton of yard work I can happily report my Stargate is keeping great time. It’s running about 3 seconds slow a day when worn for an entire day. I’d rather it be running fast but 3 seconds a day I can deal with. It’s keeping better time than my brand new SRPH11 (blacked out Samurai) which is probably still breaking in but currently running 7-10 seconds fast a day.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

Back to the drawing board. Maybe I need to quit screwing around and just get one of these:

Hey Smudge, you won’t regret getting a Sinn 104. I got mine about 2 years ago and consider it one of my best watch choices. I’ve got a couple dozen autos and it gets more wrist time than any of them.

Thanks, Tooky. I keep getting interested in other watches that I think I would enjoy, but I have little to no doubt I would absolutely love a Sinn 104. Maybe by the end of the year. I think the limited editions with blue and green dials look nice, but there’s just something about the black and white dials. So stark, so clean.

Anyways, I couldn’t wait 48 hours. I couldn’t even wait a full 24. I think it was right at 20 hours when I had to pull the container down off the bookshelf and see where I was at with the bezel insert. I wiped away the solvent, tapped on the insert, and was rewarded with a hollow sound. I took a sharp knife and gently inserted under the outer edge of the insert right by a ding on the bezel (in case I scratched it, which I didn’t), and gently pried. Bezel insert lifted easily, and I pulled it free. I dipped a paper towel in the solvent in the container and used it to clean out the bezel track. The remains of the adhesive, which I’m pretty sure was the exact same stuff I used to put the new insert on, removed easily and stayed in one piece. THIS is the way to remove bezel inserts. Forget prying and scratching cases and bezels. A short while later and I had my new insert installed, and I have to say, I really like it so far. Because of the light distortion at certain angles, it was actually kind of tough to get it lined up, and I feel like I’m a few thousands of a millimeter off counter-clockwise, but for now, I’m pleased. It’s no worse aligned than the factory insert was.

So, Stickman, this is your method for your Steinhart mods. No question, this is the way to do it. Today, while my Glycine was soaking, I wore my Casio Duro to work and put three good scratches in the crystal and bezel. So I’m going to engage in some turd polishing next. Sapphire crystal, hydro mod, and a new bezel insert for starters. May fiddle with the lume, we’ll see. Sky’s the limit.





The lume shot is at a weird angle, and this is the only one that didn’t blur like crazy, but it shows the lume matches nicely, both in color and intensity.

Excellent work!!! I’m glad to see that your adhesive remover did the trick! I will definitely be taking advantage of this technique in the future.

Thanks for the update!

I’ve been tempted by Doxa for a while now. Today during my daily watch research online I stubble across a watch called the “tactical frog”. Interesting name eh? It’s an obvious homage of the Doxa Sun 300t but when I look at its components I like what I see. Sapphire crystal, Seiko NH35A movement, a decent looking bezel and priced at $179. It almost seems too good to be true. Now I’m wondering if it’s legit and if so maybe Seiko is beginning to over price their watches.

I can think of a few micro brands who use Seiko movements along with superior materials to Seiko and still manage to cost significantly less than Seiko.

Don’t get me wrong. I am not bashing one of my fav watch manufacturers but rather wondering if they are slowly becoming over priced when you consider what you get for your money compared to what the micro brands offer. Seiko doesn’t offer sapphire on any of their entry level divers. It’s more around the $1000+ range that you start to see that upgrade from Seiko.

I’m tempted to pick up the aquamarine dial version if these are legit. It would cost me over triple their price to build my own quality Doxa homage and even more if I have Yobokies build me one which they can do. I’m going to buy a real Doxa after I build a few custom Seiko’s and funds are available but in the meantime this is mighty tempting. Especially considering the entire watch costs about as much as a Doxa style case and bezel/ bezel insert would cost if I were to build my own from aftermarket parts.

I like the Tactical Frog in Turquoise and Yellow.

That Blue dial/orange hand looks fantastic, to my eyes.

My Seiko Stargate is fricking incredible. I reported it running a little slow when worn 24-7. When I take the watch off my wrist at night if I leave it crown up it will continue to lose about 3-4 seconds over night. If I leave it crown down it will however run faster and make up enough time that I can just about keep it within atomic time by how I position the watch before I go to bed.

It’s right now +5 from atomic time and will only get closer to being dead on throughout the day.

I know we have some hardcore Seiko fans here, but by and large, their designs just aren’t my thing so far. The Stargate 1 I posted on the previous page is nice, but for a daily wear, I think I’d be afraid of bashing it up. I very nearly won one of these on the evilbay earlier today. Whiffed it in the last ten seconds and got outbid by four bucks. Almost had it for $154. I really like this shade of orange. Orient has some designs I like, I just wish it was a little easier to get ahold of one with a dial other than blue, black or red.

This one would just need a nice double domed AR sapphire, pop it on a NATO and it would be a watch I’d love to have in my collection. 41.5mm diameter, 12.5mm thick, 22mm lug width… perfect.

That Orient is beautiful!!! I’ve always been fond of orange dial divers. Other than tiny crowns that can be a little difficult to grip there are very few opportunities for improvement when it comes to Orient. In my experience they make damn good watches. Orient’s quality control is very good and is IMO something Seiko should strive to emulate.

You haven’t found a Seiko you fancy P220 Smudge!? They only make a bazillion different watches. When you consider the stuff you can do with mods & aftermarket parts the options are nearly unlimited.

Mostly because of its super comfy case shape my Seiko Stargate II has yet to come off my wrist. It’s beginning to threaten my beloved Turtle as my favorite Seiko.

A really cool watch that doesn’t get nearly enough credit is the Orient Triton or Neptune as it has now been renamed. This watch has a case that is quite similar to a SKX but it has hacking, hand winding AND a power reserve! The bezel action on this baby is perfect, butter smooth and zero back play.

I cannot fathom why this diver is not a lot more popular. It beats the snot out of similarly priced Seiko divers. I believe Orient has made the latest version without the power reserve so if there were people who were holding out because they didn’t like the power reserve and how it looks on the dial even that issue has been addressed. Personally I like the reserve and how it shows me the rate at which ordinary movement throughout the day will power up the reserve.

Recently acquired Citizen.