 |
PM |  | |
Quote | | |
Reply | | |
Full Topic | |
| Joined: | Sat Jan 24th, 2009 |
| Location: | |
| Posts: | 107 |
| Status: |
Offline
|
A couple of months ago I decided that the Seiko Monster was too small for me, so sold the two I had, at that time I bought the parts for the Sumo project I did. However I was still looking for another 44mm divers watch. I had the SRP043 which I think is perfect in just about every sense, looks and functionality. But I wanted something else, or "one more watch"... I like Seikos so I was trying to find something from them. There are of course the "boutique divers" which are nice watches, but at $500 a pop they are a bit expensive to me, I can't easily afford them yet. Then I found a watch I had seen before. This was a Kinetic watch. I was kind of taken back by the fact that it is Kinetic (quartz) and the looks of the hands (skeleton) which I was not particularly fond of. But, neccessity is the father or invetion and I had an idea.
I found one of these watches from another WIS who was selling it on a forum and got it. Then I researched what I could do, after a few set backs, I finally came up with a decent possible solution. I contacted Rob from Monster watches and after a couple of weeks I had the parts needed. I did the job as soon as I could and here is the result.
This watch by the way is actually a really nice watch, it is well made, solid, and hefty. At 44mm it is as big as the Sumo and the SRP043, and in fact it is the same size as several other boutique divers. However it fits well on wrist and sit comfortably on top of it, hugging it gently but securely. The bracelet is aftermarket and while a bit wide it fits well. It does not take the fat spring bars though but it is not a problem.
One of the things that make this a very functional watch is the fact that it has drilled through spring bar holes on the lugs. The width is 20mm so one could potentially even use a Nato. I tried but it seems to me that the strap was a bit too skinny for it. I tried also a leather band and it was not bad, but again the bracelet, in my opinion is the best solution for this watch. By the way, these cylinders you see in the outside of the lugs seem to be simply aesthetic only as I can't tell that they have any function. They seem to help in not making lot's of scratches when changing the straps though.
The bezel is excellent, tight and solid. Aligns well and clicks firmly. It is not easy to move it by mistake. The glass is hardlex. The screw down crown is really smooth and nice. One of the best for action and positiveness. Ot os also pretty big and it is very easy to operate. The adjustment is also easy, and surpise (at least to me), the movement hacks, meaning the second hands stops when the crown is pulled out all the way.
The movement is Kinetic which means that is ha some sort of electrical storage (not sure if it is a battery or capacitor) and charged with the movement of the hand just like an automatic watch. It has a rotor just like one. The button above the crown is to test the charge. This was one thing I did not care for, but I guess it is not that bad, it does not bother me too much. Yes, it has the seconds hand that ticks once every second. At first I thought it would drive me crazy as I am so used to the nice steady flow of an auto, but it is not that bad. Fortunately also, even without me paying attention to it, it clicks just about over each second mark which is great.
The hands by the way are from a Seiko Velatura, they are therefore original Seiko and they are as brightly lumed as the indices. Lume is great in fact and lasts all night. This is the main trademark of Seiko and I like and expect on my watches. The seconds hand is from Yobokies, I had bought it for another project but I thought it looks good on this.
Please enjoy the photos, sorry for any dust or lint.
