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3T WIS
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It was my wife's birthday this weekend, so I did what any good WIS would do. I took her shopping. And you know, if I were to happen to find a watch or two, well that'd just be how it goes. 
And gosh, wouldn't you know it, we stumbled upon a Seiko outlet store. Who knew there'd be one of those here? ;) They had a few pieces that were notable to me, including a white Sammy, a Monster, and the watch I ended up snagging -- the white-dialed Velatura "Yachting Timer" SPC005P1.
I've actually had kind of an on-again off-again fascination with this one. There is no practical reason for me to have a watch with these features. I don't even have a dingy, much less a yacht. But man, the dial on this thing just sings to me.
So I got a rippin' deal here -- we're talking better than Ebay prices including an extended 3-year warranty. How could I say no? Frankly, as I explained to the birthday girl, it would just be irresponsible to pass it up. She acknowledged this by rolling her eyes and shaking her head, which I've concluded means "you're pathetic, but go ahead because you'll have to make it up to me later."
So anyway, here's my little review of this snazzy Seiko.
Case
It may have been the dial that first caught my attention, but it's the case that has really grown on me. I've come to appreciate the look and comfort of cushion-shaped cases, and the Velatura's is right up there with the best I've tried. It's similar to my Doxa SUB750T, but rides a little more firmly on my wrist.
But it's the use of finishes and materials that really makes it standout. The most obvious is the use of Seiko's TiCN finish on the bezel, but that's not the best part. The case is brushed ss, but there are polished faces in the cleverest places. It gives the watch a great sense of depth, with sharp glints of light punctuating the smooth grandient finish of the brushed parts.
To help illustrate this, I've outlined all the polished sections in the image below. Talk about obsessive levels of detail!
The case is universally well made. I can find no rough spots anywhere on it. Even the forged caseback is excellent. It's one of my lighter watches, which is a nice change of pace compared to some of my heavier divers. If you like that "it just becomes part of my wrist" feeling, you'd like this one.
Bracelet
The use of different materials continues in the bracelet design. The inner links feature flat black carbon center links trimmed in polished steel. The outer links have brushed faces, while the outer edges are polished. Even the clasp follows this -- featuring a brushed face with a Seiko logo and polished edges!
The weight of the bracelet is a bit lighter than I prefer. I suspect that the center links lack the heft of your normal solid steel variety. But the workmanship is great -- each link has slightly rounded edges, and I have yet to find a hard/sharp edge anywhere on it. The clasp is solid steel that is sculpted smooth and works flawlessly.
Now there are a few design choices I don't love. Spring bars, pushpins, a pretty significant taper, and the lack of a diver's extension. I understand that the Velatura isn't a dive watch, but these are simply nice features to have regardless.
Dial
Where to begin? There's a lot of functionality packed into this piece, and somehow I still find it beautiful. The top third of the dial is dominated by the mode selector arc. This is where you select the various yacht timer functions, standard chrono, alarm, or the "local time" mode -- which is basically a 2nd time zone (cool).
The bottom 2/3rds features a raised gillouche wave pattern that lends a bit of elegance to an otherwise very sporty dial. The two subdials have spiral patterns that work nicely with the rest of the dial. What's interesting to me is that these spirals are not identical -- the bottom dial, which contains more markings, has a finer pattern. I suppose this is done to enhance its legibility. This bottom dial also serves to add two splashes of color that really solidify the sophisticated yet sporty look of this watch.
The hour markers are round lume pips inside polished rings, and come in two sizes. Those at the 3 and 9 positions are tiny. There are no markers at all at 12 and 6. I wish there was something at the 12 o'clock position, even if it had to be put on the chapter ring. The lume is standard Seiko, which is to say its excellent. But there just isn't enough lumed surface area to make this one a standout in the lume department.
The chapter ring adds a little confusion to this one if you're not paying attention. The inner portion of the ring has hour markers that line up with all the pips. This is great. However, the top is used to indicate minutes for the Yacht-timing functions, and is numbered from 1-15. Accidentally read one of these numbers when you're checking the time, and you'll think it's 8:00 when it's really only 6:00. Still looks cool though.
Hands
There are several different hand designs featured on this bad boy, and they all line up exactly where they should. The hour and minute hands are of a sharply elongated sword design -- almost like a pair of jagged diamonds. The second has has a similar diamond shape at its base, but is otherwise an elegantly thin straight line. Sadly, there is no lume on it. Anywhere. The mode selector and subdials all contain separate hand designs, including a dagger, an arrow, and a pair of more conventional tapered hands.
The final oddity is the date window, which is located at 4:30, not 4:00.
Functions
Probably one of the more interesting things I've noticed is how the main chrono hand behaves differently depending on the function. In chrono mode, it goes through 5 small ticks each second. In timer mode, it holds at each second marker for 1/2-second, and then glides to the next second. It's really a cool effect. When switching modes, all the hands do a smooth glide to their new positions -- including the subdials. For example, when switching from chrono to the 2nd time zone mode (loc), the bottom subdial's minute hand will spin around multiple times as its hour hand rotates into the right spot. It's just cool.
Overall
I love the balance of sportiness and luxury that the Velatura delivers. It doesn't look or feel to me like a sub $500 watch at all. It is extremely eye-catching due to the depth of the dial, the polished hour markers and case accents. But it doesn't look too blingy to me because the shiny bits aren't overused. It is extremely easy to wear, is at home with dress shirts and t-shirts, feels great on my wrist, and has a bunch of fun little complications to play with.
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Thanks guys. Hope this was at least entertaining.
