M**Z
I'm happy with this watch
After 8 days of use, I'm happy with this watch. It's lightweight, accurate (gained 3 seconds in 8 days), with fit and finish exceeding most other watches at this price. The titanium looks good. When I received the watch, I put it in direct sunlight for about 4 hours for an initial battery charge and that, along with daily exposure to ambient light has kept the battery functioning fine, at least for the past 8 days. I have two minor criticisms: 1. Sizing the band involves fiddling with the pin and collar system and as always, it's a pain in the neck. If you're impatient, take it to a professional. 2. The rotating bezel is sensitive. If you push down, even a little bit, on the bezel while rotating, it's hard to turn or it won't turn. It took a while to develop a good technique. While avoiding any downward pressure, you can only rotate the bezel about 70 degrees and then you have to re-grip and carefully rotate another 70 degrees, etc. With practice, it works.
A**S
Thiswatch has everything I wanted in a
This watch has everything I wanted in a watch: titanium, rotating bezel, and day of month. The solar power feature is a bonus.Construction:The watch and bracelet are made of titanium which makes it very light-weight when compared to stainless steel watches, and this particular watch is also very comfortable to wear.Bezel:The rotating bezel can be used for timing dives so you don't get the bends...not that I would take a $340 watch diving; I have a much cheaper watch for that. With that said, rotating bezels are a "must have" on my watches because I use them to time every day things—even stuff as trivial as laundry or cooking. The bezel rotates smoothly and easily, while at the same time, resists accidentally rotating if you bump it or whatever. My previous watch was much stickier and I had to take it off and sometimes rinse it with water to turn the bezel.Bracelet:My previous watch (a Wenger...do yourself a favor and never buy one) suffered from multiple bracelet problems. The springbars would break constantly (once not even surviving a full day). This would cause the watch to fall off my wrist unexpectedly, hit the ground, and break. Other times, the clasp would just pop open unexpectedly, as would the diving extension. I haven't had my Seiko very long, but the spring bars look quite thick and sturdy, so I'm hoping this will not be a problem. The clasp has two small tabs on either side that you must press to open. They lock it in place so the clasp will not just pop open on its own. A previous reviewer mentioned that a tool was needed to open the diving extension, but this was not my experience. The owner's manual mentions that it takes a little bit of force to open it, and that's true, but no tool is needed, and within 3 tries, it was more or less second nature to me. It's design also prevents it from popping open unexpectedly. I was able to size the watch myself using a watch repair kit. If you plan to go this route, the link pins are a two-part assembly, with a long pin driven into a smaller sheath (sorry, I don't know the technical name for this type of pin). Just be careful to not lose the small part if you're resizing it yourself. I didn't have any problems with that.LumaBrite:The glowing dots are very bright. I can even see them in lit rooms if the watch is in a shadow. Seiko's LumaBrite is one of the best types of luminiscent paints, and the instruction manual claims that when the LumaBrite is charged for 10 minutes by being exposed to a light source, it should last 3-5 hours, though will dim over time. I found this to be accurate, with the glow lasting 5-6 hours. Though dim after 5-6 hours, it was still readable in a lightless room.Solar power:This is a very interesting feature. I've never owned a solar watch but this time around, decided I either wanted a solar or kinetic powered watch. Kinetic-powered watches advertise that they lose accuracy by +/-20 seconds a day (or more in some cases). This Seiko solar watch advertises losing accuracy by +/- 15 seconds a month. So far, I've found it to be very accurate. In addition, the battery is advertised to last (on a full charge) for 10 months in total darkness (I have no intention to test this). A nice bonus feature is that the second hand will advance two seconds every two seconds (instead of one second every second) if the battery is low. I presume this feature is a way to save power, but as a bonus, it lets the user know when it needs charging. I have no tested this feature and have no plans to do so.Misc:The watch looks slick as hell. The construction, face, material, etc, is beautiful.There is one confusing thing in the owner's manual that says the watch should never be used for diving if it is keeping accurate time, if there are no scratches on the crystal, if the crown is locked securely in place, or if the bezel is rotating smoothly. I assume something was lost in translation because it's basically saying you should never dive with it so long as it's operating correctly...and that can't be true.I wasn't able to find a retailer selling this watch with a manufacturer's warranty that was valid outside of Japan, which is why I bought it on Amazon; at least I get a seller's warranty.
A**N
small watch- perfect as a womans watch
small watch- perfect as a womans watch. Slightly smaller than SKX171 or SNE107 but if your ok with that it's VERY LIGHT. I wish it were a bigger watch because the titanium looks nice and having almost no weight would make this great to wear. The bezel doesn't feel as smooth or precise as those mentioned either. I don't like a 3 o'clock crown but might not be bad on a light watch like this one. It's much too small on my wrist so going back.
I**N
Darn Near Perfect Watch
This, as the title says is just about the perfect watch. I have been a fan of the Eco-Drive watches that Citizen makes for years. However I have a small wrist (6.5/8") and they seemed a little big on me especially the dive watches. This watch has a 39mm case diameter which looks great and it is also titanium which is quite a bit lighter and really good for the usually heavy dive type watches which have more metal in them than do the regular dress watches.The thing is a solar watch. Which means that the sun charges its battery which then drives the quartz movement. This means the watch is always charging the battery as you ware it and that you won't have to get into the watch periodically to change the battery. Thus running the risk of goofing up the seal and loosing its water-proofisity. The battery will last more than ten years in this watch.I kayak and am in the water a lot as well as need a pretty husky watch as I am doing outdoor activities a bit. I do snorkel some but don't dive so the 200m dive limit is plenty. I have used the adjustable bezel from time to time but it usually serves to protect the crystal which is of a mineral type and has a slight curve to its outer surface. The crystal remains below the rim of the bezel which protects it from the glancing blows which normally scratch a curved crystal as it has in my Citizen dive watch.It is all titanium. The band was three links too big for me, I removed the links and then tweeked it with the adusstable holes in the clasp.It has the extension for use over a dive suit. Or over clothing if you ski or snow board. It has very good luminosity. The back of the second hand has a round luminescence which is clearly visible in the dark. (Pretty handy) It is easy to set. The date position on the crown works well.Accurate? So far it gains around a second every three days. I can live with that.It is said that this watch (Japanese made) is only sold in Japan and there for has a generic type warranty state-side. This is all right with me.If you need a good dive type watch, check this thing out, it's really a great value
Trustpilot
1 week ago
4 days ago
