Seiko SBDB001 600m Spring Drive Dive Watch

[redwatch]

This watch was pointed out to me in another posting and it was love at first site!!! This is one amazing looking watch!

Here's one for sale on the bay

A few pics to wet your appetites! If anyone has one of these, please show us some pics! A wrist shot would be greatly appreciated!!!

[Toadtorrent]

Spring Drive engines are awesome...that's a great looking watch, but I haven't seen one in person yet...looks burly!!

[Ronin]

Great watch. I have played with some spring drives (the Anata). Honestly, these are probably the best mechanical movements made to date. The "Sweep" of the seconds is TOTALLY smooth since the watches don't tic-toc. The balance (if you want to call it that) spins one way non-stop. This puts to shame 28.8 and even 36k bph movements. It is also the most accurate. 72 hr (3day) Power Reserve.

Here is the video on the technology. Spring Drive starts at 1:22 in and at 4:00 the in depth tech, in case you want to skip to the good stuff:

[redwatch]

Cool watch and amazing movement technology!!! What else could a watch enthusiast ask for???

Cool vid...thanks Ronin!

[geo1nah2a]

I have been eying this one for a year now. Tried it on in an airport. It is tall (think SDDS) but with a smooth case and considerably lighter (Ti). There are a few debates going on on the interwebs about the caliber. Some believe it is a quartz and is not worth the money, some claim it is the next gen of mechanical and worth more than Seiko is charging for it. For the precision of it, I would be happier to get a high end quartz, and for the mechanical/diver cred I would chose a second hand sea dweller. Still, the Value is in the eye of the buyer.

PS: Some nice offers pop up from time to time in watch u seek.. and there seems to be a liquid market for them, so one could buy second hand and flip at no loss.. here is a tempting example: http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthread.php?t=322707&highlight=sbdb001

[LapTime]

Wow, super cool movement, that. Waaay out of my price range, but something to aspire to for sure. I would imagine that the Spring Drive movement probably has longer service intervals than a traditional mechanical movement as well.

[Ronin]

Just in case--

This watch should NOT be confused with a battery operated quartz or a kinetic/eco quartz.

This is a mainspring driven automatic mechanical watch. Instead of a traditional escapement/balance, the mainspring is regulated by the quartz/IC which applies a "brake" to how quickly the mainspring unwinds. That is it. There is no battery, it is just like a traditional automatic.

As for the diver, and the cost, keep in mind the Spring drive is available in dress watches, GMTs, divers, etc. Something for everyone.

[omegaunit]

I have yet to hold one. Awesome technology, a wee bit overpriced though.

[cornerstone]

It's an amazing watch.

[mikellem]

I would love to own that Seiko watch one day!

[Ronin]

I have yet to hold one. Awesome technology, a wee bit overpriced though.

I feel like the Seiko defender here. I know we are used to dealing with Rep prices, but as a wishful WIS I like to remain objective.

This is not overpriced in the least when comparing the technology, accuracy, durability, etc. (One Second Per day, 72hr Reserve, hand assembled, smoothst sweep of any mechanical watch)

I held and played with the Seiko Ananta GMT. http://www.seiko-ananta.com/ At around $6000, this watch literally destroys my Gen Rolex Explorer II or GMT IIc at a similar price point. My Explorer II feels like a cheap chinese rep compared to the Seiko. In a toe-to-toe battle on mechanical merit, I fail to see anything close in this price range. (You can own a Spring Drive just under $4000 new).

I think the hang up here is with the "Brand Name". If these were coming with a Rolex crown on them, they would be sold out and you would be paying $20,000 for it. So in a way it is a value in the world of high end timepieces.

[redwatch]

It's sort of like the new Hyundai Genesis. It's an amazing car for the money and definitely gives Mercedes, BMW & Lexus a run for the money, but so many people are turned off by the car just because it's a Hyundai.

Anyways, so does anyone actually own one of these beasties?? I would love to see a wristi

[Ronin]

Exactly Red! Also reminds me of when Volkswagen launched the Phaeton. Great car, but who is going to pay $100k for something with a VW badge on the grill. Put the Audi badge on it (same company) and you will get people to buy.

That just made me think of Tudor. Tudor is to Rolex : as : VW is to Audi | Toyota is to Lexus | Nissan is to Infinity | Honda is to Acura.

Seiko just kinda out there, like your Genesis point.

Interesting to think about.

[redwatch]

Good points Ronin!!! That Phaeton was an engineering marvel of a car!!! Draft free Air Conditioning, massage capable seats, Air Conditioned seats, etc.... But, as you pointed out, it's sales were poor solely because it was a VW (basically just a re-badged Audi A8).

Good point about the Tudor's as well. An amazing collection of watches, made by Rolex, but more affordable. And yet, you meet a WIS while wearing a Tudor, and they will turn their nose up because it's not a "Real Rolex". Quite silly really!

[ken fingerlove]

The reason I don't like the spring drives is because every one of them has the most ghastly power reserve indicator. If they lost that (and the big allen bolts on the SD600) I'd be interested. Although I have a marine master 300 and it is enormous. This is much bigger than that!