Help me choose between Seiko and Citizen Watch, please! Questions for watch lovers!

[harliquinnn]

Yeah, I'm ordering from PrincetonWatches, and I'm gonna ask them if I can order an extra band as well.

 

[Nismo]

I was interested in an automatic dive watch as well. My local clock/watch repair person does NOT recommend the Citizen Automatics. He says the Eco-Drive is good but the Automatics which use the Miyota movement now popular in the Invicta watches are poor. He does like the Seiko Automatic movement. The Seiko Automatics are very robust and need minor servicing every 3 to 5 years.

I bought a St Moritz Aquamatic II. I absolutely love it. Uses the Swiss ETA 2824 movement. Very robust and keeps time a little more. The local watch guy really recommends these watches. If you pay MSRP, the Seiko is not much less.

If you want battery powered I really liked the St Moritz Storm. Very nice looking, styled in the traditional diver watch. Good price too.

I've been told to stay away from Invicta. There prices are very good. However the automatic movements are not regulated well, and the customer service hardly exists. If you get one that runs well, you make out like a bandit, but otherswise it's a poor watch and you get what you pay for.

Try for a swiss watch, but the Seiko automatics are very good and priced well on Amazon.com

The Seiko movement is the 7s26, if you wish to look it up, there's a lot on the net and it's all good. Just does not have some minor features the swiss has. I am thinking of getting one of these as well to compare the Swiss to the Japanese.

 

[IceBergSlim]

Thanks so much for the picture! Seeing it on an arm is great.

Will the Seiko work well with a dry suit?

That is always my issue with watches. Between the diameter of my naked wrist, wrist with wet suits and wrist with drysuit I have never found a good compromise.

The metal bands most watches come with are not nearly large enough to go from a wetsuit to a drysuit.

If the watch is for diving in varied conditions you would be better off getting one with a rubber band and replacing that with a big velcro strap. But of course that never looks as good on the surface.

As said, most people use a computer or two so the watch is usually a backup timer. Therefore it could be stashed in a place other than a wrist.

 

[harliquinnn]

Is Watches - Seiko, Citizen, Casio, Bulova, Movado, Swiss Army and other Fine Watches a good reputable dealer? I was thinking about buying from them.

 

[Nemrod]

Thanks so much for the picture! Seeing it on an arm is great.

Will the Seiko work well with a dry suit?

WARNING Will Robinson, danger--danger--danger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IMO, never use a dive watch with the standard stainless bands while diving. You should replace the band with a NATO type nylon outdoor band which CANNOT pull free from the watch and which has dual buckles. These are easy and quick to install with a watch like the Monster whcih has push pin holes for the pins. The Monster has heavy duty pins and heavy duty stainless (or rubber) band but I feel much better with a NATO band when engaged in vigorous activities.

The other watch in my pic is of course the legendary DOXA Sub. A Swiss watch, automatic and costing much, much, much more than the Monster. The Seiko watches, Automatics or their Kinetics are awfully sporty.

N

 

[james croft]

WARNING Will Robinson, danger--danger--danger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IMO, never use a dive watch with the standard stainless bands while diving. You should replace the band with a NATO type nylon outdoor band which CANNOT pull free from the watch and which has dual buckles. These are easy and quick to install with a watch like the Monster whcih has push pin holes for the pins. The Monster has heavy duty pins and heavy duty stainless (or rubber) band but I feel much better with a NATO band when engaged in vigorous activities.

The other watch in my pic is of course the legendary DOXA Sub. A Swiss watch, automatic and costing much, much, much more than the Monster. The Seiko watches, Automatics or their Kinetics are awfully sporty.

N

Good Advice.
I replaced the bands on my Citizen with a similar nylon band that goes through both pins and has a double buckle. On two seperate occasions I have bent a pin and would have lost an expensive watch but it was held on by the second pin. The only times I have had a pin bent was underwater, go figure.

 

[harliquinnn]

Thanks for the advice! Now where could I get those NATO bands?

 

[HenrikBP]

I just picked up one of these bands from County Comm:

NITROX

Plenty long for the biggest forearms in fully inflated drysuits The short version (about 11 1'/2") is good for everyday wear: zulufourringindex

I had originally bought the Waterborne version of this, in short standard length and really liked it. However, on side-by-side comparison, the County Comm straps are much more finished and comfortable. I also bought one of the Nato straps, in the James Bond colors of course , for everyday wear:

zulu

The straps are very soft and comfortable. The edges are perfectly woven without sharp/uncomfortable notches and the holes in the straps are probably laser cut = perfect with no melted "nubbins".

County Comm is a dangerous place for gadget freaks like myself:

CC Signal Mirror
fox40

No affiliation or kick-back.

I bough a Citizen Aqualand Duplex Ti:
Citizen Aqualand Duplex Dive Watches, JP1040-09E, JP1031-00E

for myself and love it. It is my backup depth gauge/bottom timer and logs max depth and bottom temp as well. The ascent rate alarm can be a bit temperamental if you raise your arm too quickly, but when diving I wear the watch on my right arm, so raising my arm to dump air on ascent is no longer an issue.

I shopped around a lot before I bought it and ended up buying from Gem of the Day(tm) . I called to make the purchase and got a great price - better than Leisurepro or any other advertised price. They are authorized Citizen dealers, so I'm covered with warranty as well. Again no affiliation etc. etc.

Henrik

 

[patek philippe]

Both of those watches look nice, I'm sure you would be happy with either.
Factoring in that the Seiko is so much cheaper, that's the one I'd personally go with.
I personally really like the Patek Philippe Vintage watch. Pateks Watches look neat when you look at them (the Seiko has an exhibition case back so you can see the movement on the back side). Plus the second hand sweeps across the display smoothly instead of ticking, which is cool. I personally enjoy setting the watch, and it sounds like you'll be wearing it every day anyway, so probably doesn't matter anyway.
Hope that helps!

 

[ajduplessis]

You are nearly 7 years late......