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stew77 Admin 
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Well...As you guys know that have been watching the daily deals by some of the watch discounters, new Seiko Monsters (SKX779 aka "Black Monster" & SKX781 aka "Orange Monster") have been offered on the very nice monster stainless steel bracelet in the range of $144-159 shipped lately!!! I have read about these watches, looked at the pictures, and finally decided to bite...so this past week a Black and Orange Monster arrived!!! Needless to say, I will be keeping both as adds to my small collection!!! I don't think I'm offering a whole lot of new information here, as the standard saying by the great crew here at 3T seems to be, "You can't go wrong with a Monster"...and I agree 100% after receiving these two. I'll offer my impressions anyway in the hopes that it may be helpful to any that are thinking about taking the plunge. My impressions: These are simply fantastically built watches for the money $$$ (I own a Seiko Sumo that is a fantastic piece and also highly recommended, but these Monster are selling for much less $$)...in fact, there are many more expensive watches out there by various makers that have a whole lot to learn from what Seiko is able to build here...I'm shocked at what you are getting for what these discounters are selling them for.:shock: Great bezel action (with a little gentle wiggle room - not slop...but gentle wiggle between the 120 click indices)...one of the smoothest bezels you will spin around a watch dial...nothing cheap feeling about it. The Monster is 42mm in diameter excluding crown and 12mm thick. Lug width is 20mm, but the ss bracelet flares to 23mm at the lugs and tapers to 18mm were it attaches to the nice Seiko double-locking clasp with diver extension. This bracelet is really nice and looks great on the Monster IMO (I would recommend buying the bracelet version at these prices as the bracelet on it's own seems to be selling for about $50 bucks and you can always pic up the venerable Seiko rubber strap for pretty cheap). Oh...an extra note for those that have never owned a Seiko ss bracelet...most of Seiko's bracelets (including the Monster bracelet) use a pin/collar system to lock the links in place. This system is fine and easily executed for sizing the bracelet if you know that it uses the pin/collar system...just go slow, use the right tools, and don't loose those tiny collars.;) I have been reading people describe the monster as a "large" watch, but I was somewhat surprised by the rather non-imposing size...I'm definitely used to wearing some larger pieces, and so the monster seems easily wearable, and very, very comfortable while still having good wrist presence. A monster looks like a monster looks like a monster, and I don't think it can be mistaken for anything else (one of the big reasons I'm very happy to be adding these two to the collection!!!). Screw down crown is very smooth and has great action (high quality feel better than the price of entry). Bezel slopes down from outside diameter to dial providing very nice protection for the standard Seiko Hardlex (a Seiko special hardened mineral crystal if you will). Would I rather have Sapphire?...well yes, but at the price of entry...hey, it's all good. Powered by Seiko's 7s26 21 jewel automatic movement which is supposed to be very dependable and durable...my Black Monster is running ~ +8 seconds per day out of the box over the past few days. The 7s26 in neither hand windable or hackable. Would I like it to be?...well yes, but at the price of entry...hey, it's all good. You can easily "back-wind" the seconds hand when setting the time if you really want to nail the seconds exactly...don't know if this would be bad for this particular engine over time or not. It doesn't take much effort to bring this movement to life...a few shakes and it is up and running, and appears to wind easily with wrist movement. That great Seiko Monster Lume is fantastic and lives up to it's "torch like" reputation. Well...not much more to say...if you like the Monster styling, I would say just go for it and pick one (or two) up...these Monsters are really a no brainer and easily offer more quality than the price of entry by alot!! As many at 3T like to say..."You can't go wrong with a Monster". A few quick pics:  The Orange Monster is my first Orange dialed watch and it looks way sweet!!!...just a fantastic looking orange.    Last edited on Sun Dec 6th, 2009 02:53 pm by stew77 |
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OldeCrow 3T WIS 
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Congratulations! There is nothing better than reading a review from a new Seiko convert! happy1.gif |
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Nabco 3T WIS 
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Big congrats, Seikos are one of the best buys in watch collecting today woohoo.gif |
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DM71 3T WIS 
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Big congrats Chris for your nice pair of Monsters! I think these are absolute must have for any watch collector, just like the SKX007 or 009 are. You have pointed out all the great aspects of these watches and yes, it's a lot of a watch for the $. It took me about a year to get one just to see by my self. When I got my BM, I understood that you have to hold it in your hands to appreciate... Then I was in Havana, Cuba, when I saw the orange one "live" for the first time. I didn't need more to get one. Like you said, this orange shade is really, really nice! Now, if you remove the bracelet, you will also see some of the biggest spring bar of the watch industry!!! Quite impressive for a timepiece of this price range! My two monsters were at +25 sec a day out of the box, which was way to fast for my taste. This movement is kind of a pain in the butt to adjust but after many tries, I managed to bring them under 10 sec a day, which is acceptable. If yours was at +8 a day out of the box, that's great! Anyway, thanks for sharing your first impressions on those two Seiko icons Chris, I'm sure they will serve you well bud! hand6.gif Last edited on Sun Dec 6th, 2009 03:58 pm by DM71 |
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stew77 Admin
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OldeCrow, Nabco, and Dan!!! Dan - thanks for pointing out the detail on the spring bars...I forgot to mention that, but did notice the spectacular beefiness of the Monster spring bars!!!  Slim-to-no chance that those bars would bend or break causing you to loose the watch!!!I also like the look of these on the various Nato and Zulu straps I've seen them on...so I may have to pick up a few. |
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chris s. 3T WIS 
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Congrats and welcome to the club They are my go to watches !!  |
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Tony Duronio 3T WIS 
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Excellent Stew congratsperfect.gif |
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Paladin 3T WIS 
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Congrats Stew on your new pair of Monsters! |
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stew77 Admin
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Chris, Tony, and Paladin....Gentlemen Chris...nice Monsters...I guess I'm a slow adopter as it has taken me quite a while to come around and finally pick these up...I guess a WIS is always getting distracted...;) |
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scottran 3T WIS 
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for a great duo! |
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Jeep99dad 3T WIS 
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Congrats Chris!!!hand6.gif Cool review and pis, thanks for posting. Now i knew you had gotten the orange one as you and I discussed them but wow you got both at once! You don't mess around!! You're an addictI so regret selling my Black Monster now, It was a great watch. I will b uy another one as soon as I find one of those deals. Like you I ahd no seikos and became convert recently after reading so many rave reviews on the forums... I had to try them and make my own opinion. I absolutely love my Seiko 009!!! I have an orange monster too, trying to decide whether to keep it or not... Orange is a bit weird for me to wear... not that it is not a good looking watch, just not used to this orange for me:)! |
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stew77 Admin
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Scott & Brice...thanks for the continued congrats!! Yes...I probably did go a little overboard getting the Black and Orange Monster at the same time...I'm pretty sure this WIS thing is a disease...at least some would say so.... Likely my last purchases of the year, so I guess a nice duo was in order...:D Brice - every WIS needs at least one Orange Dialed diver...right?? The orange may not work for all occasions, but it is nicely sporty and unique. I'm growing more and more fond of it!! |
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Graham 3T WIS 
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Congrats on getting those babies! Seikomania is an ongoing disease, but fortunately treatable................by buying another Seiko! |
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bigrustypig 3T WIS 
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Big Congrats, Chris! You'll be surprised that the Monsters tend to hold their prices in the secondary market. That's a good sign about its collectibilityhand6.gif Wear them in good health (one on each wrist is ok) |
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stew77 Admin
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Graham and Jeff for the kind words and congrats!!! Graham - :D ...Yea...unfortunately, my wife does not understand the treatment is a real and necessary part of facing this widespread disease!!!;)Jeff - One of the photos I was trying to stage was the "opposing wrists side-by-side" pose that I've seen you do on occasion...OM on the right wrist and BM on the left, but I didn't have a tripod and there was no one home at the time to take a shot over my shoulder!!!!:cool: ...eh...maybe next time...:D |
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Paxman 3T WIS 
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Very nice! 'Bout time you got something with an orange dial!:dude: |
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ivster 3T WIS 
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Great review and pic's. I am jumping on the Monster thing too, got a Orange Monster and a Land Monster comming as x-mas presents.  |
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teddyhanna Guest
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Chris concrats on your Monsters......... |
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stew77 Admin
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Pax, ivster, and Teddy.... Thanks guys! Pax - this is my first, but won't be my last Orange dialed watch...very cool. ivster - you will love the Orange Monster...I haven't heard much regarding the Land Monster...I'd be interested to hear your impressions after you have a chance to survey it!! Teddy - thanks, you've been heavily tempting me with your Cave Dweller II pics...I'm trying to be good the rest of this year and not buy anything else |
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SHADY 3T WIS 
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I miss my SUMO..congrats on your Monsters from a true Monster. |
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afc14284 3T WIS 
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Stew... I must say great choice!!! I myself was hanging around the face at the beggining of the year deciding whether or not to buy a moster, if you're a watch lover there isn't a thread you read about good quality watches in which the monsters aren't mentioned! Once I decided on getting one of them I was waiting for good deals of the BM to pop up and once I even had everything ready to pay for one but as I was going to push the complete checkout button the damn computer froze  .. As I looked around the sales forum I suddenly found a OM on a maratac elite strap that blew my mind,,, then in a span of 1-3 minutes I did it!! Bought myself the OMwoohoo.gif...Now it's been around 10 months and have loved every minute i've had it... buying a monster is the easiest purchase on WIS can make...hand6.gif Here's my OM saying hello...  |
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philip1 3T WIS 
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face4.gif I like those a LOT but I'm not biased to Seiko no not at all..... OK I am. |
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ibme61 3T WIS 
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I kinda wish had not sold my Monsters... I'm a big Seiko fan, love all the Mod stuff available. |
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