Feiko

Last weekend Rob Minuteman stopped by our local weekly flea market for a browse. This flea market features tables selling everything from tube socks to pet rocks to wall clocks. Maybe six or seven of the tables are dedicated to selling watches, all kinds of watches. There are the dubious assortment of Gee-Shoks, Tag Hoyers, Sitizens, Ohmayguhs and Roleks. You know somethings up when you can buy two G-Shoks for $8. Anyway, one table had a display of Seiko 5 watches selling for $40 apiece. To the naked eye the watches looked right and the price was excellent. And here was a fifteen or twenty year old Seiko with the legendary 7009 movement in perfect condition. Ahhh, buy them all before someone else does.

What a brilliant use of psychology in marketing. Price the item low enough to make it irresistible yet not low enough to raise suspicion and, bingo, another Feiko finds a customer.

The Feiko seems well made and solid but close examination reveals the differences between it and the real thing. Click on the images to enlarge them and you'll see that the printing of the hour and minute markers are fuzzy. The words "Automatic" and "21 Jewels" are also fuzzy. And, correct me if I'm wrong but, didn't the 7009 movement have 17 jewels. The metallic SEIKO located at 12:00 looks sloppy. The "5" underneath the word Seiko looks more like an S than a 5. At 6:00 the text "Made in Japan 7009-0464 R2" are partially hidden under the inner bezel. The crystal above the 6:00 is etched with a fake Seiko 5 logo.

The back of the case is another dead giveaway. The stamping of the serial number and all other text are crude and indistinct. The sixes look like eights and the depth of the stamp is uneven. A real Seiko's caseback text is crisp and highly legible. The serial number also indicates that the watch was made in October of 1987 or 1977. Besides the fact that the O in the serial number looks exactly like the zero, how can a classic watch that is a least twenty three years old look brand new and cost only $40?

And now the movement. A real Seiko movement will be engraved with such text as "Seiko", the quantity of jewels and the caliber of movement. This movement has none of the above. In fact, this movement has nothing, absolutely nothing engraved in it.

Overall the watch feels solid and actually runs well but the devil is in the details and the details are lacking. Seiko would never in a million years allow something like this to roll off it's assembly line. Unfortunately, Seiko's reputation could suffer if anyone looks at this watch and determines that Seiko's quality is second rate. Damn you, Chinese knockoffs, damn you all to hell. Ooh look, a Pathetic Philippe.

I'm Having a Bad Day tona

As you know, in a previous post, I've had only good things to say about the Alpha Watch Company. They produce a line of homage watches that can't be beat at least not when it comes to price. My own experience with this company and it's products has been a positive one so I'd have no problem recommending them to anyone.

One of their products is an automatic version of the Daytona chronograph. Not that it's really a chronograph, the extra dials are for day of the week, day of the month and 24 hour time. Supposedly the watch is made entirely of stainless steel. My brother-in-law (former Army Ranger) ordered one on-line after I extolled the virtues of this miracle watch company. He's admittedly rough on his watches and this one was no exception. He wore the watch for about a year before the hands fell off. No, really! The hands fell off two of the dials. The odd thing is that he doesn't remember what he did to cause this to happen.

Did you spot the AWOL hands between 8:00 and 9:00?

Signs of wear and tear. The plating has worn off of the "day of the month" pusher.

A shot of the back.

I must admit though, the watch is still running and keeping good time. So, now we have a watch that we could: a) Throw away, b) Throw in the drawer and forget about, c) Try to fix ourselves, or, d) pay someone else to fix for us. I'm afraid that d) would cost more than the watch itself. And I know that I can't bear to throw away anything let alone a watch so a) is out. That leaves b) and c). Unfortunately I don't have the proper tool to open this kind of watch case back which makes b) Throw it in the drawer and forget about it, the winner, Yay!

But seriously, my brother-in-law is pissed.

Orange Mako

1933 - 2006

No, not that Orange Mako, the other one, as in Orient Orange Mako Model #CEM65001M.

I have to admit that up until a couple of months ago I would never have considered buying an Orient watch. Maybe it was the name or maybe it was the look of the watches. I also didn't know anything about them. All I know is that one day I woke up and decided that I could no longer live without an orange faced watch. I knew I didn't want to spend a lot of money but I still wanted something decent. I found the watch being praised on several fora and finding out that Seiko is the parent company of Orient gave it more credibility and made the choice easier. I found out that Orient is also the #1 selling watch manufacturer in Asia as well. Hmmm, the plot thickens. Orient seems to be making a run at the North American market as well because there is always some kind of a deal going on on the company web site. Now, depending on when you visit the site there may be different deals in place. At the time I purchased the Mako the company was offering 30% off the retail price of the watch plus free shipping, plus a bracelet link removal tool plus a double watch winder. I'd have to be an imbecile not to buy this watch. So I did.

I have to say that, aside from some minor cosmetic complaints, this watch seems to be well worth the money. It's solidly built and has good weight to it. The mineral crystal is slightly raised and the beveled edges are polished. Nice. The 22mm bracelet has a double push button fold over clasp with a safety and is well made and comfortable. The case measures 41mm x 13mm thick and is about 46mm from lug to lug. So far the watch has been on the automatic winder for over a month and hasn't lost or gained enough seconds to warrant adjusting the hands. Excellent. The movement is an "in-house" design with 21 jewels that I admit to knowing nothing about. My guess is that it's a variation on a Seiko design. Much like many Seiko movements this movement does not hack.

And now the complaints:

a) The unidirectional rotating bezel is too dainty and the edge treatment is over designed. This is just my opinion.
b) The numbers on the unidirectional rotating bezel are a bit anemic. Also, just my opinion.
c) Why is the arrow head tip of the seconds hand red? It's almost invisible, therefore not a good color choice. This isn't a problem with the black or blue faced version of this watch.
d) Is it me or does anyone else find it odd that the day function on this watch requires it's own pusher button?

So maybe it wouldn't be my first choice for s.c.u.b.a. diving but that shouldn't take away from the fact that it's an excellent watch with a look that's all it's own. I would, if asked, recommend this watch to others. In fact, I wouldn't mind adding the Mako's big brother, the CEM75001B to my collection.

Overall a nice profile. The day function pusher is on the right.

Double push button clasp with the engraved Orient logo.

The case back sports a hologram sticker over another engraved Orient logo.

You've got to admit, this watch looks killer on an orange Nato band. Yeah, this baby's goin' for a swim this Summer.

One final note with all due respect: Makoto Iwamatsu passed away on July 21, 2006 of esophageal cancer. His last film was TMNT where he provided the voice for the character Splinter. The movie was dedicated in his memory. He was an icon in American cinema and will be missed greatly.

Thanks for reading.

Seiko Atlas/LandShark

Seiko SKZ211 Atlas/LandShark.

This past December saw the arrival of a brand new bouncing baby Seiko "5". The Seiko SKZ211 a.k.a. the Atlas, a.k.a. the LandShark was one of those watches that caught my attention years ago and one that I couldn't get out of my mind. I don't know why I never got one except that I had just gotten the Seiko Diver's SKX007 and didn't want to overdo it on the Seikos. Since then I've learned that there is no such thing as overdoing it, especially with Seikos. Considering the price to quality ratio of most of the watches available today Seiko represents a super value. The Atlas is no exception. In fact, I was surprised at the quality of this watch. It's a solid watch with a stainless steel case, case back and bracelet. It's a relatively heavy watch that wears so comfortably that I often forget that it's there. And it has the serious look of a watch that does more than just tell the time.

The five attributes of a Seiko "5" are (1) Automatic movement, (2) Water resistant, (3) Shock resistant, (4) Date display and (5) Day display.

The stainless steel bracelet.

One of the selling points is the rotating compass ring on the face of the watch. If you can locate the sun then you can determine your direction. It's actually very simple and once you get it you really don't even need the compass function anymore. But it's a neat feature to have and one that I'm going to test for real in the field someday. I would use it in conjunction with a map by placing it on the map after locating my north and orienting the map accordingly. No different from using a magnetic compass except that it requires your input. The advantage is that it cannot be influenced by other metallic or iron bearing objects which might throw off a magnetic compass. One of the two common complaints I've read about this feature is that the inner compass ring rotates too easily and the mere action of your arm moving is enough to cause the ring to spin. Well, it does. But, so what? You would reset the ring each time you double checked your heading anyway, wouldn't you? So that argument is pretty much moot. The other complaint is that using the sun for navigation isn't accurate enough or dependable. I guess before the invention of the magnetic compass everyone stayed home.

Case: Stainless steel.
Bracelet: Stainless steel double folding safety clasp with push buttons.
Movement: Automatic, 7S36, 23 jewels.
Crystal: Hardlex
Dimensions: 40mm at bezel. 13mm thick. 48mm lug to lug.

A nice view of the knurled bezel and the compass ring crown. Another "5" in case we missed the other two on the face and the back.

One design question I have is why the time set crown is so small. It's perfectly manageable for my little fingers but it is small. The compass ring crown is twice as large for some reason and it's protected by high shoulders. These shoulders have purely cosmetic pins located at the top. A second design question is how the watch maintains a water resistance of 200m with that free spinning compass crown. I'm sure that someday someone will explain it to me and it'll be obvious and I'll feel like a dimwit.

22mm lugs with drilled pin holes. The end links are indeed solid and do squeak a bit but that goes away after awhile.

The face is excellently laid out with illuminated "6", "9" and "12" hour markers in between illuminated stick indices. The use of a black date wheel framed in chrome is brilliant. And the icing on the cake are the yellow hour, minute and second hands. Irresistible.

The rotating outer bezel turns smoothly with 120 clicks per minute. The surface of the bezel is nicely knurled and very grippy. The look of this bezel is actually another one of the design elements that made me a fan of this watch.

The heart of this watch is the Seiko 7S36 movement which is essentially a slightly upgraded version of the Seiko 7S26 movement introduced in 1996. The 7S36 uses 23 jewels as opposed to the 21 jewels in the 7S26. The overall concensus is that the two additional jewels in the 7S36 don't really do anything except to allow Seiko to claim that it has two addition jewels. I can say however that the Atlas has kept amazingly good time (+2 secs/day) since I've gotten it as compared to the Seiko Diver 007 with the 7S26 which easily gains 15 secs./day. It's probably just hit or miss with these things. I don't think the extra two jewels have anything to do with it. Either way, the 7S family of movements is known for it's toughness and dependability.

SKZ211 with the 7S36 movement and the SKX007 with the 7S26.

All in all I'm a very happy camper with this watch. I would recommend it to others. It could very well turn out to be one of those quirky little watches that, after a relatively short production run, becomes the object of collector fascination.

and on another note

Tempest in a teapot in Switzerland:

Check out the following link to a blog called Perpetuelle.

It's just one of many sites chiming in on a subject that has the watch world abuzz. Somehow I missed it and I'm only finding out about it now. Basically, I have no problem with outsourcing movements, it's the lying about it that troubles me.

Alpha Since 1993

How do they do it? They make a stainless steel watch that looks like a (insert famous, expensive watch name here) with an automatic movement, presumably with Swiss machinery and Swiss testing devices, ship the watch 10,000 miles to your front door at no cost and charge a mere $35.99 and $60.99. They feel reasonably well made. They seem to be as water resistant as promised. And...

They are made in China by the Alpha Watch Co.

Despite the sometimes unflattering comments that I've read on some of the fora on the internet I am surprised at how many watch enthusiasts out there have Alpha watches. Some of these commentators actually have several. I have three, the Alpha Explorer, Alpha Triple Date Sun/Moon and the Automatic Regulator. Actually I have two now that I gave the Regulator to my wife who wears it several times a week to work. My remaining two Alpha watches are a steady part of the rotation and have been for the last two years. So far, so good. I should break my review into three parts: The case/bracelet, the face and the movement.

The case and bracelets of these two watches are stainless steel. I don't know what grade the steel is though. I did find that the back of the Triple Date developed a small blue spot. Unnoticeable when worn. I wasn't crazy about the brushed finish on the top of the case as I thought it looked uneven and rough. My solution was to polish the brushed finish right off with Cape Cod cloth. It didn't take very long to do so I suspect that the steel is pretty soft. The cases at the lugs of both watches are somewhat crudely finished with sharp edges. The steel bezels are polished and the crowns of both watches bear the Alpha "a". The bracelets are well made but feel a bit light. Overall, the complaints are minor and few. Remember, you're not going to get a Rolex for $35.99.

The crowns of both watches sport the Alpha "a".

The faces are well made as both have applied or raised hour markers. The Alpha Explorer has lume applied to the hands and hour markers while the Triple Date has none. The Explorer has a salmon colored face with no date function while the Triple Date has a silver face with day, date, month and sun/moon complications. Hence the $60.99 price for the Triple Date. Day, date and month are adjusted independently by push buttons in the watch case.

Side view showing the Day push button.

The movements are a mystery. Are they made by Sea-Gull, a China based watch movement company or what? The Triple Date has an exhibition caseback so I can see the number 98-1229 and 35 jewels. The caseback of the Explorer says YL98-12-29. Again, I don't have any definitive information on these movements, if these are indeed the movement calibers. I have observed that the second hands on both watches sweep smoothly without any lags or jumps.

The casebacks of the Alpha Explorer and Triple Date respectively. The Explorer movement uses 21 jewels while the Triple Date uses 35.

Performance is very acceptable with a loss of approximately 3 - 5 seconds per day. I did notice once that the Explorer lost five minutes in one day. I think that might have been because I set it wrong, did not wind the watch adequately or a combination of the two. Performance of any automatic movement can be affected by temperature, position or amount of time left idle.

All in all I'd buy them both again and would consider buying more Alpha watches in the future. They provide the watch enthusiast on a budget the opportunity to own a decently made, automatic watch that looks far more than it costs. And now the specs.:

Alpha Triple Date, Sun/Moon

Case Material: Stainless steel
Cas Back: Glass exhibition.
Case Size: 37.5mm without crown. 45mm lug to lug. 13mm thick.
Bracelet: 20mm stainless steel, Jubilee style. Non-solid end links.
Crystal: Domed acrylic.
Movement: Automatic, 35 jewels.
Water Resistance: 30 meters.
Weight: 106 grams
Current Price: $62.99 with Oyster style bracelet.

Alpha Explorer

Case Material: Stainless steel.
Case Back: Stainless steel.
Case Size: 35mm without crown. 44mm lug to lug. 12mm thick.
Bracelet: 20mm stainless steel. Oyster style. Non-solid end links.
Crystal: Flat glass (sapphire?)
Movement: Automatic, 21 jewels.
Water resistance: 30 meters.
Weight: 105 grams.
Current Price: $50.99.

You may also wish to check out AlphaUSA at http://alphawatchusa.com/

In the meantime I'm considering the Alpha Multi or the Newman or the Planet or the Daytona or the MilSub or the... well, you get the picture.