Tour of Seiko Factories and Museum and Interview with Mr. Shinji Hattori

James Dowling of TimeZone recently toured and documented his tours of the Seiko Morioka and Shiojiri factories and Seiko museum as well as conducted a one on one interview with Mr. Shinji Hattori, CEO & President of the Seiko Watch Company.

These factory tours are valuable sources of information of Seiko manufacturing and history as Seiko's public relations machine has not promoted these aspects of the company to the enthusiast audience as much as would would like and less than other manufacturers.  Enjoy!

Seiko Morioka Factory Tour

Seiko Shiojiri Factory Tour

Interview with Mr. Shinji Hattori and Tour of Seiko Museum

Orient Star Somes WZ0221EL Review

There's been at least 4 iterations of the Orient Star Somes model and this one having a center seconds hand and a traditional dial layout is by far my favorite.  The Somes models characteristically have a retro styled cushion case with a fantastic leather strap manufactured by Somes.  Once again, the Orient Star line impresses me with its incredible value for the money.

Review Seiko Sumo SBDC005

Seiko Sumo models SBDC001 black, SBDC003 blue, SBDC005 orange. Released in 2006 and still remains a fantastic option for a commercially manufactured larger cased ISO diver. Doubtful there is any better bang for your buck model out there. The TL;DR summary is that the Seiko Sumo case finishing is on a level of its own, but overall at the expense of other attributes of the watch. Also the large size of the case is beyond the limit of many potential wearers.

New Citizen Signature Diver Spotted 2014

A new model of Citizen Signature Diver has been spotted.  I love these Signatures and I'm excited to see the line continued.  This one looks like an evolution of the Grand Touring line to make it diver styled.  I really like it and look forward to seeing more.

Review of Citizen Signature Diver BL1285-53L

The Citizen Signature line continues to be a great option for those looking for a watch with high end features that don’t break the bank. The Courageous Diver models were released a few years ago in 2011 in a variety of dial and movement options. They have since been reduced in selection, but price wise remain the most affordable option of the entire Signature line. There is a trade off in quality on the Diver model relative to the more expensive Signature models, however, the Divers still represent a good option for something nicer than an entry level Citizen or Seiko.

With the discontinuation of the Signature Chronograph, the Diver model (located in the Courageous line) is the only remaining sport Signature. Unlike the Chronograph model, much of the intricate work on the case and bracelet are lost on the diver, but the Diver still carries much of the Signature DNA.

Seiko 7A28-7040 Quartz Chronograph

A friend sent me his 7A28-7040 to bring back to life.  Having never seen one in person before, I was happy to help him out.

Seiko Caliber V158

One of the few unfortunate things associated with the more reliable quartz, solar charged watches is that pictures of the movement are rare simply because there's hardly ever any reason to open up the watch.

I previously wrote about the Seiko solar diver model SNE107 HERE which uses the V158 caliber inside.  A friend was kind enough to open up his Rail Road approved model which happens to contain the same movement and shared a picture with me.  Looks like a nice construction with a metal top plate and 2 jewels.

Recall -- Seiko Solar Chronograph Diver

I noticed on the Seiko Japan site there is a recall on the bracelet models of the Solar Chronograph Diver models.  Apparently the end links can deform from violent force.  The notice is limited to products with V175-0AD0 and V175-0CF0 stamped on the caseback.  Owners are encouraged to contact their local customer service.

Original Link

G Shock on Gear Patrol

Gear Patrol recently published a nice article on G Shock.  Check it out HERE.

Seiko 7C43-7010

If you think this is an SKX007, you'd be sadly mistaken. It’s something so much better.