September « 2014 « AZ Fine Time Blog

At one point and time, many had hoped to see one of Seiko’s greatest innovations in one of their most coveted dive watches. The thought of a Spring Drive movement in a Tuna Can body came to reality in a limited edition model labeled the SBDB008 in 2013. Sadly, this piece was limited to only 300 pieces for the world and was sold out incredibly fast. There were rumors that the SBDB008 was going to be the one and only Spring Drive Tuna, but thankfully those rumors turned out to be false. For 2014, Seiko introduced the SBDB009 an all black version of the LE Spring Drive Tuna.

The dial of the SBDB009 is deeply recessed, with the center of the dial deeper then the outer ring for the indexes and the chapter ring on an impressive deep slope. This allows for a very thick sapphire crystal to help in its 600m water resistance. The crystal has Seiko’s proprietary 99% clarity coating for anti-reflective purposes and the large hands and indexes on this piece offer incredible legibility. The minute and second hand reach out far to the seconds/minutes track on the chapter ring adding even more quick glance visibility. All hands and indexes are applied heavily with Seiko’s LumiBright luminescent material with the exception of the whole seconds hand. It does make up for it however, by having a luminescent dot for the tail.

The outer case or shroud on this model is DLC (Diamond Like Carbon) coated titanium. This shrouded design was actually inspired by a letter Seiko received in 1968. The letter was from a professional diver who lived in Kure, a coastal city near Hiroshima. This diver worked in depths as deep as 350m and needed a watch that could resist not only the depths, but also the strong shock of being beaten against rocks on the ocean floor. Seiko’s team was shocked, and went to work on creating a piece that could survive these harsh conditions. After 7 years, Seiko introduced their first 600m diver watch, the 6159 in 1975. This watch was the first to use a titanium shroud, which added greater shock resistance as well as being light weight and corrosion proof. Most importantly, the watch could not be penetrated by helium and the new accordion style strap that remained tight on the wrist, even when the wet suit shrinks due to the pressure at great depths. This new SBDB009 utilizes the same design elements as found on the model from 1975.

The bezel has some very special features to create a beautiful feel when in operation. This “Triple Safety Rotating Bezel” is achieved by a special lubricating material between the case and bezel, the shrouds design that protects the bezel leaving it only slightly open from the 12:00-3:00 and 6:00-9:00 area that also allows for easy turning, and a special structure that allows the bezel to only rotate counter clockwise, ensuring the bezel will not move clockwise at all. The shroud is made of Seiko’s proprietary Bright Titanium with DLC coating, while the inner case does contain some stainless steel. The possibility of achieving a 600m dive watch with no helium release is reached by utilizing a special rubberized material called “L-Shaped Packing Material” in the case structure, giving it complete air and water tightness. The result is a 50.7mm wide by 16.2mm thick Professional Specifications piece, that sits great on the wrist due to its virtually non-existent lugs making the lug to lug length only 49.6mm. A piece of this size only weighing 126g certainly adds to its comfort.

I mentioned the design of the strap and its use on the 1975 diver the 6159. This is still adopted in the Tuna’s design today. Many may remember last years SBDB008 coming with the same polyurethane strap as most of Seiko’s divers. While this was some what of a disappointment, it was still very functional for diving. The SBDB009 however did feature an upgrade on the strap, now utilizing Seiko’s Extra-Strength Silicone material providing about four times greater tear resistance, superb flexibility and an ultra smooth and soft feel. The accordion style design is still there, providing the same functionality on the polyurethane with the inside of the strap gripped to hold onto your wrist.

Inside this insanely sealed case lies one of Seiko’s most innovative movements, the Spring Drive 5R65 caliber. This unique mechanism uses a mainspring as its sole power source with both hand-winding and self-winding capabilities. The energy from the mainspring not only moves your traditional gear train, but also powers an electronic regulating system that would replace a traditional escapement. The frequency from a quartz crystal (of which Seiko grows in-house), is almost 8,200 times faster then that of a common escapement, making it of course substantially more precise. The frequency from these crystals goes to an integrated circuit (also developed in-house) that translates that frequency to an electromagnet. The electromagnet basically regulates a wheel that turns freely in one only direction (unlike a balance wheel that rocks back and forth on a hairspring) telling the wheel to only turn 8 times per second. This makes the mainspring unwind at an unbelievably precise pace and move as fluid as time itself, creating a second hand that glides as opposed to a sweep. This smooth uni-directional motion allows for the smooth gliding second hand, incredible accuracy and a significant reduction in stress on the movement. Seiko’s proprietary alloy Spron 510 that is used for the mainspring material also provides a 72 hour power reserve off only one mainspring, which can be monitored on the dial. The display of the power reserve will reflect tightness of the mainspring, with a full power reserve expressed with the hand all the way down showing tightness, and all the way up in the red section meaning it is near fully expanded.

As a great dive watch should, the SBDB009 provides excellent legibility in the dark. LumiBright’s glow can last up to 10 times longer then conventional luminous paints, has a stronger glow intensity, is non-radioactive (so safe for people and the environment),the quality of glow can be sustained over a long period of time.

The Seiko Prospex Marine Master Professional 600m Spring Drive Tuna Can SBDB009 retails for $4,200. It can be viewed on the AZ Fine Time site HERE and can be ordered by calling us at 1-800-486-3996.

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Seiko Astron GPS Solar Chronograph Limited Edition SSE001

It was 2012 when Seiko first introduced their new interpretation of the Seiko Quartz Astron (the worlds first Quartz watch in 1969), introducing the Seiko Astron GPS Solar, the worlds first GPS controlled solar watch. On September 19th, Seiko Watch Corporation had the official launch of the new variation, the Seiko Astron GPS Solar Chronograph, bringing not only new functionality to the Astron, but also reducing its size roughly 30%! Today we are proud to bring you our first review of the new Astron GPS Chrono’s, featuring their 8×82 caliber.

Seiko Astron GPS Solar Chronograph Limited Edition SSE001

The SSE001 will be the 1st in the series and limited to 7,000 pieces world wide. The first thing people may notice is that this is the only Astron GPS to have a white dial. Thanks to a more efficient way to convert light to energy, Seiko was able to achieve new dial colors for the Astron GPS models. The SSE001 will also have a few distinct differences compared to the rest of the chronograph line up, including a faceted bezel design, unique crown and a case width of 45mm. The titanium bracelet on this model will also have ceramic center links, with titanium for the rest of the bracelet and case. This limited edition will also include a black leather strap with three fold deployment buckle.

Seiko Astron GPS Solar Chronograph SSE005

The rest of the silver toned titanium collection will include SSE003 (black dial), the SSE005 (blue dial pictured above), and the SSE007 (black dial with yellow gold accents). These use Seiko’s proprietary Bright Titanium which is 40% the weight of stainless steel, just as hard, and is capabale of receiving a unique finish. All models in the Astron Chronograph collection will be finished in Zaratsu polishing technique, giving it a distortion free mirror finish and then a special hard coating (known as DiaShield) is applied. DiaShield can increase the scratch resistance to nearly twice the hardness of stainless steel and protects its beautiful finish.

Seiko Astron GPS Solar Chronograph SSE009

Other models in the Astron Chronograph line up will have a black hard coating process as seen in the SSE009 pictured above. Along with the SSE003, 005 and 007, these will have a rounded bezel as opposed to the faceted on the limited edition. These will also have city code indicators engraved into the bezel, making for easy manual timezone adjustments if necessary. Another new feature in these new Astron’s is the addition of an electronic crown. The electronic crown makes it easier to manually adjust timezones by pulling out the crown one click, the seconds hand will point to the current city code you are set for, and you turn the crown to the new desired timezone. The hands from there will adjust themselves. For daylight savings adjustment, all you need to do is hold down the upper left hand button for about four seconds with the crown out one click. This will turn daylight savings either on or off.

Seiko Astron GPS Solar Chronograph SSE011

Not all of the new Astron Chronograph’s will be titanium. They have also introduced several models in stainless steel, that also use DiaShield. The SSE011 is the first in the collection with black dial, stainless steel bracelet and a red accent at the tip of the second hand. The pushers for the chronograph on the right hand side are different in design then the titanium models but do function the same. The chronograph functions as most do, using the upper right hand button to start and the lower right to reset. Those two buttons do not have any other function aside from working the chrono.

Seiko Astron GPS Solar Chronograph SSE013

The SSE013 will have a black hard coated stainless steel case and bracelet and blue accents on some of the indexes. The bracelet for the steel models differs from the titanium, using a 5 piece link bracelet, versus the titanium’s 7 piece. The weight difference is pretty substantial with titanium pieces at 110g, steel on bracelet at 175g, and steel on rubber at 125g. Another interesting note on the stainless models is that these will have a ceramic bezel with engraved tachymeter as opposed to the city codes. This allows to measure time and distance with its 1/5th of a second chronograph. The ceramic bezel still maintains its purpose as on the orginal Astron GPS models, with the in-house developed antenna ring underneath. Airplane mode, which turns off the GPS receiver, is much easier to do on the chrono’s. Just hold down the lower left button for four seconds.

Seiko Astron GPS Solar Chronograph SSE015

There will be 2 models in the line up featuring an extra-strength silicone strap. SSE015 (pictured above) and SSE017 (black dial, black hard coated case, and orange accents). These will both have a 3 fold deployment clasp and is extremely comfortable to wear. The SSE015 has a great sporty feel to it with white chapter ring and silver/white sub dial rings. It is very easy to distinguish all going on within the three sub dials. The 10:00 sub dial will measure your actual running seconds. Once GPS satellite connection is initiated by holding the upper left hand button for six seconds, the hand will indicate how many satellites you are connected to as well as if you received successful connection pointing to “Y” for yes and “N” for no. Your 6:00 sub dial show your current power reserve (which still maintains the 6 month power reserve running, or up to 2 years in sleep mode), unless you are connecting to satellites or running the chronograph. The hand will point to the “1” if the upper left button is held for three seconds. This means you are connecting to one single satellite for an accuracy update (which this also does automatically when exposed to bright light). When held for six seconds, the 6:00 hand will point to the “4+”. This is to pinpoint location and adjust the hands to that timezone, using multiple satellites. When running the chronograph, the 6:00 hand will measure up to 6 hours and your 2:00 sub dial is used to measure minutes. Your center second hand will only be used for measuring up to 1/5th of a second, only when the chronograph is running.

Seiko Astron GPS Solar Chronograph Limited Edition SSE001

The crowning achievement in the new 8X82 Astron GPS Solar Chronograph series is its size. At 30% smaller then the originals, the chrono’s are much easier to wear for dress or casual. Measuring at 45mm on the Limited Edition, and 44.6mm wide on the rest of the series, these pieces are much more wearable and compare to a typical self-winding chronograph at only 13.3mm thick!

Seiko Astron GPS Solar Chronograph Limited Edition SSE001

The prices in stainless steel vary from $1,825 on strap to $1,875 on bracelet. The titanium models are all $2,450, with the limited edition SSE001 at $3,300. You can view and purchase and of the new Seiko Astron GPS Solar Chronographs HERE, including three new limited edition models SSE019 in all black hard coated titanium with rose gold accents. The first ladies Astron GPS with white ceramic, mother of pearl dial and diamond markers labeled SSE021. Finally, the new Novak Djokovic Limited Edition SSE022. These three models are scheduled for November delivery.

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See our video review below…