Horological Meandering

Happy New Year!

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Richard.

I like the display and graphics, not the same feeling about the exterior design.

 

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

 

 

Vte

Is it in full PVD as I thought the back was in steel color?

Thanks and congrats.

PAt

Not a great photo, but let me try again..

....on a very useful modern toolwatch. But you need a window

How's the battery life?
Best
Hans

...and answer is here: home.watchprosite.com

No need to change the battery forever.
Solely solar power.
Once fully charged, it lasts for 9 months.

Ultimate "eco" watch, isn't it?

Ken

All Citizen and Casio solar watches have secondary batteries that are recharged by the solar cells. I would expect that this Seiko watch has the same kind of design, given that there is a 9 month power reserve. Casio has only one solar watch with no rechargeable battery installed, instead using some kind of capacitor that is never replaced, but can hold only 14 days of charge without light.

I mentioned a few times like "when fully CHARGED" and that implies there is a rechargeable battery inside.  I DID mention "no need to CHANGE the battery" - "CHANGE (=replace)", not "CHARGE".  "Solely solar power" was used in the context of the source of the power.

And here: home.watchprosite.com  , I wrote "the battery can be charged by the normal fluorescent lights and the charge time is so short..." that also implies there is a rechardeable battery inside.

I do not even dream of the watch lastin 9 months without rechargeable battery inside.

Am I clear enough now?  To avoid the doubt, if you are asking whether there are TWO batteries inside, I don't have the answer.

Welcome to PuristS, by the way.

Ken

Thank you for the welcome, Ken. Your review of the Seiko SDGA003 attracted me here.

My response was based on your statements from the earlier message titled "Forgot to mention in the first post..":
"No need to change the battery forever.
Solely solar power.
Once fully charged, it lasts for 9 months."

I understood that to mean that there's no battery inside to replace. Also, saying "solely solar power," suggests to me that there is no battery at all. So, it is indeed not *solely* solar power, but instead a solar cell recharging a secondary battery.

These secondary batteries do wear out over time, despite watch marketing by Citizen and Seiko saying "never needs a battery". Some may last up to 30 or 40 years. Casio uses a solar rechargeable battery (the CTL1616 capacitor) that lasts about 20 years maximum (older versions wouldn't last more than 10 years).

Anyway, I do appreciate how it is a very long time until the next battery change. I am very impressed with this model Seiko. The matrix display is truly amazing. I hope I can own one someday.

~Gary

I am extremely interested to acquire one. However, it is only for domestic Japan and not available in HK. However, it would be amusing if it is MADE IN CHINA and shipped to Japan. Now Seiko in HK doesn't offer one!

I actually quite like the Gold tone, it's quite different and very retro. So is S/S and PVD. S/S being best. What's your take on S/S v PVD as I have not seen it in person? I think it is fairly rare but I do find it on amazon.co.jp only that it doesn't ship to HK?

Black and Champagne are the same price while SS is a bit cheaper and looks cheaper....
About the availability, I just fount that "Breitz" line is offered in Taiwan and a few countries, but not in many other parts of the world.  It is interesting....  SEIKO is just starting to expand the distribution network and availability of other brands of SEIKO....

Ken

The watch is MADE IN CHINA and yet ironically not available here locally, sadly speaking. Amazon.co.jp would not ship to HK.

BTW, not that it matters. I use an iphone4 and it is MADE IN CHINA but for SEIKO, with history and legacy and the title of the oldest Japanese watch making company, I would find it more exotic if it is all made in Japan.

Then again, MADE IN CHINA is reality for almost all until RMB appreciates to a point which Geitner thinks the Americans would get back their jobs... you find AUDI, BIMMER and soon MERC to be MADE IN CHINA.

Thank god Ferrari is still MADE IN ITALY... but for how long...

I ordered one through a friend living in Japan and he will mail it back and should arrive by 23rd so I heard. I ordered PVD black. Hope I won't be disappointed. How's the workmanship? I am usually the PAM guy but find this digital watch (a first for me for god knows how long) amusing.

BTW, then again, I ask myself, sure EPD and e-INK, very cool, but then I look down at my iphone4 with super retina display and the clock, then I suddenly feel a bit odd for buying this. Heck, the iphone 4 super retina display has way better looking clock and yet cost < 1000 bucks USD. Oh well...

This is not the Top of the Line of SEIKO.  Grand Seiko is all in-house made in Japan.  Most of higher-end Credor is made in Japan.  Shizukuishi Watch Studio and Shiojiri factory are not in China.  Come on, this is LCD DIGITAL - the consumer line.  Lexus is made in Japan.  Higher-end Nikon bodies and lenses are made in Japan.  There are many other quintessential made-in-Japans.  And, then, again, there are many things made in Japan which are not available for sale for Japanese market.  Same thing.  There are even overseas only models from SEIKO or Citizen which are not available for Japanese Market.  It's just a choice of manufacturer and the local distributor which products goes where.   Particularly, Asian market distribution has been apparently done by a third party partner, not SEIKO.  I do understand what your beef is.  But congrats on your purchase.  It is not USD10K watch, it is USD1K watch or less.  Hold your expectation level there.  You may be right.  Your iPhone 4 may be way better cost-performance. This message has been edited by KIH on 2011-05-12 16:23:45

Certainly, Seiko has some watches made in China, or some parts made there used for watches that are mostly made in Japan. It all depends upon the product managers and budgetary constraints.

I have not seen the case back of the watch, so I don't know if it is stamped made in "China" or "Japan". But it does not matter. Much of the watch production is automated. They use robotic equipment, constructed and configured to SEIKO standards. Their quality assurance policies are strictly enforced, no matter the location.

If a company like CASIO can make a watch in Japan and then move production to Thailand or Taiwan and achieve the same indistinguishable level of quality, certainly SEIKO can do the same.

As for purists... well, that's their prerogative. They miss out on enjoying variety, because they dismiss what they've prejudged to be inferior. This is not an LCD watch. It's EPD, a very different kind of display. The only thing I've seen that comes close to it is a dot matrix LCD display watch, by MetaWatch. But the E-ink technology is more appealing to me, better refinement of curved portions. About the casing coloration, I think it's all about personal preference. The black is very striking, but I've heard the PVD isn't very scratch proof. The bare stainless steel has a very classic look about it, though. If the gold is very light, as the name "champagne" suggests, that could be a very nice option. A gold plated effect would be too much bling, IMHO.

you have to see the display in real life. Photos don't accurately reflect how avant garde and clear the display is. Everyone at work is amazed! Clarity similar and better than ip 4's Retina Display to me.

 

 

Hello Ken. I just read your detailed review of the Seiko SDGA003 watch and in that review you state that that watch's ability to receive the time signal automatically is not so good. I must disagree because I recently purchased a pre-owned Seiko SDGA003 watch and it has consistently received the time signal from WWVB each night with no problem at all. You might know the answer to this question. I recently saw a photo on a website of a version of Seiko's SDGA series of digital, radio control, solar power watches in which the version of the watch in the photo has a current weather conditions feature/display screen and a calculator feature. The title above the photo erroneously refers to that version of the watch as an SDGA003 watch which it is not because my Seiko SDGA003 watch does not have those two features. Do you know what is the model number of that weather conditions and calculator version of that watch?..........Best Regards, Mike.