carlottt
3T WIS
| Joined: | Sat Jan 24th, 2009 |
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| Posts: | 107 |
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I recently acquired this watch from another Forum member, I specifically got it with the purpose of using it for a custom project. I actually have been fascinated by these so called "boutique divers" that are 45-47mm big and can dive to 1,000 meters, but these also have "boutique" prices which translated means not affordable for me, at least not at this time. This watch started life as an Invicta, it has the Seiko workhorse 7s movement in it, the same one used on all Seiko 5 and SKX line, including the Seiko monster and basic divers.
I wanted to try a watch like this, to see how the size and weight would be on my wrist. This is a pretty big watch, somewhere around 47mm in diameter and being all steel it is pretty hefty. Here is a comparison shot with a smaller Seiko 5 which I believe is about 37mm.
I had a totally different type of work in mind but when I got the watch I found out that the dial being around 33 mm was too big for any standard or aftermarket dials as they usually are around 28.5 mm. I ended up using another dial that was bigger and had to trim it down to fit. A royal pain in the rear... but through persistence and hope for a good result, I made it. Here are some more shots of the looks. Not perfect, the minute numbers around the dial are half covered ... oh well, I guess I'll survive.
The back is also kind of nice, you can see the movement which is not bad looking. The case is actually really nice, surprisingly better then I ever imagined. The crown is not screw down and in fact this Master of the Oceans is only water resistant to 100m. However the crown was one pleasant surprise, it is nice, big and eary to handle. The top is protected so you need to pull it from the bottom, but it is solid and works well, exactly like any other Seiko Divers I handled.
The original lume was nothing special, the current one isn't either but it is a major improvement. The luminova in the hands is brighter then the dial, but both lasts well into the night and up to the morning, meaning several hours. This isn't a Seiko Monster but it is enough to tell the time whenever you need it.
This is a big watch but the nice contour of the case make it fit well on the wrist. Here are a couple of shorts of the watch on my 8 1/4" wrist, maybe you can't see it but this fits perfectly on it. Probably the best fit of any other big watch I have seen, thanks in big part to the curved lugs that literally hug my wrist. The bracelet by the way is nice and heavy, long enough for at least 9" wrist, solid links and 24mm lugs. One could even install a nice handmade leather strap on it.
This isn't really a divers watch but it looks like one, and for 95% of the people who buy boutique divers but never use it even close to the water, this would be just fine as it looks like a million bucks without costing it... As a matter of fact I really like the case of this watch, I wish there were more parts as one could make some cool projects...
Overall a successful project that however missed the mark in terms of achieving the original purpose as I had to use a different dial and hands that I planned. But I achieved one goal which was to establish how one of these big divers would fit and feel on my wrist and this went well overall. Unfortunately I will probably have to sell this anyway as I need some extra funds to finance my "grail" project which is next on line.
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