I got here to this evaluate with some earlier high-end Seiko GMT watch expertise. In a couple of methods, this Seiko Prospex SNR033 is the non secular successor to the Grand Seiko SBGE001 watch (review on aBlogtoWatch here). The SBGE0001 is without doubt one of the greatest daily-wear GMT watches Japan has ever made, and when it was initially launched over a decade in the past, it was beneath Seiko’s Grand Seiko model. Since then, so much has modified.
Grand Seiko has formally cut up off from the Seiko model as a sister firm. And the worth level at which Grand Seiko sports activities watches was is now inhabited by higher-end “Seiko Luxe” watches that fill this house, as Grand Seiko worth factors have moved even greater. The SBGE and SNR033 have the identical motion and total options; they differ by way of type and case supplies however are clearly shut kin given they share issues corresponding to having a sapphire crystal cap over the bi-directional rotating GMT bezel. This was a really unique characteristic when the SBGE001 initially got here out, and at the moment nonetheless stays a uncommon and costly deal with to search out on a daily-wear sports activities watch. Such sapphire crystal inserts make for the strongest scratch safety yow will discover.
Just about all the engineering deal with supplies on the skin of the SNR033 is for longevity and sturdiness. Whereas the SBGE001 was in metal, Seiko later determined it ought to focus much more on titanium. Later SBGE watches have been produced in titanium, and the SNR033 is in absolutely hardened titanium, together with the 44.8mm-wide case and the matching bracelet. Whereas Seiko has at all times paid homage to Rolex in a technique or one other with these watches, its nods to Geneva are merely within the coloration palettes right here (black and blue bezel), and not something associated to the look of the watches. These Prospex Spring Drive GMT watches are solely Seiko in design DNA and poise — which I feel is an excellent factor.
The Prospex SNR033 just isn’t probably the most thrilling watch as represented in footage. One thing in regards to the Seiko advertising and marketing pictures makes it really feel like all proper angles and daring options. In particular person, the way in which the angles of the case mirror with the sunshine, in addition to the sheer depth of the dial, permits for the design to tackle a brand new magnificence that requires an in-person expertise to greatest be appreciated. The design additionally took a couple of days to develop on me. After that, I used to be hooked. There is no such thing as a getting over the watch’s daring proportions. Both you’re keen on its daring appears to be like and measurement, otherwise you don’t. Seiko has extra classic-looking GMT watches for individuals who really feel the SNR033 is an excessive amount of. Prospex followers will most likely find it irresistible.
The 100-meter water resistant case can also be 14.7mm-thick and has a lug-to-lug distance of 50.9mm. Given the titanium case and bracelet, I must say that even this cumbersome timepiece wears extraordinarily frivolously. The bracelet design is, once more, one thing you might want to get used to, however its masculine type and easy attraction assist it endure. Seiko has a couple of variations of the SNR Spring Drive GMT, however this one with the black and blue dial, deep blue metallic dial, and sports activities purple GMT hand seems like the appropriate combination of alert sportiness and timeless versatility. It is a look ahead to pilots or different aviation-industry professionals.
Contained in the watch is the in-house-made Seiko Spring Drive caliber 5R66 automated motion. Spring drive actions are difficult to debate, and we’ve performed so many instances earlier than in numerous articles on aBlogtoWatch over time. Visually, spring drive actions have a seconds hand that glides (versus sweeps) in uneven little motions across the dial. It’s because the hand by no means truly stops being pushed ahead by the gearing system. The motion doesn’t have a conventional mechanical regulation system, nevertheless it does have a conventional mainspring to energy it. The unwinding of the mainspring generates a small present that powers a quartz oscillator regulation system. This hybrid of mechanical timepiece and quartz regulation system permits the motion to have an influence reserve of three days with an accuracy of roughly -/+ 15 seconds per thirty days. On the dial, the 5R66 motion options the time, date, GMT second time zone hand, and energy reserve indicator.
What I like about at the moment’s higher-end Seiko Prospex watches is that they use a few of Seiko’s most superior actions and have housings designed to look model new for so long as doable. You may simply put on the Prospex SNR033 for a decade and never discover that it appears to be like a lot completely different from than if you first bought it. I additionally assume the sheer quantity of Seiko model character within the watch gives a carrying expertise that many watch lovers will get pleasure from as a Seiko timepiece that may develop from a mannequin that prices only a few hundred .
Worth-wise, the Seiko Prospex SNR033 feels applicable for what you get, nevertheless it signifies that Seiko (or Grand Seiko, for that matter) are not lower-priced alternate options to European luxurious merchandise. The Seiko of at the moment is priced inside the identical area because the Swiss Made watches it as soon as competed with extra from afar. The value, for instance, is simply $400 shy of an entry-level males’s Rolex, and costlier than loads of different watches with a Swiss Made automated GMT motion in them. No, you aren’t going to discover a equally geared up Swiss watch on the worth of the SNR033, however the level is that Seiko now positions itself inside the identical worth area as manufacturers that, only a few years in the past, didn’t really feel the competitors from the East biting so near their heels. The hipness of Japanese watches within the high-end house is approaching stronger and stronger. Worth for the Seiko Prospex SNR033 Spring Drive GMT watch is $5,500 USD. Learn more at the Seiko Luxe website here.
Obligatory Information
>Model: Seiko
>Mannequin: Prospex SNR033
>Worth: $5,500 USD
>Dimension: 44.8mm-wide, 14.7mm-thick, and 50.9mm lug-to-lug distance.
>When reviewer would personally put on it: As a day by day put on journey piece when some exercise, in addition to socializing, is critical. The SNR033 very a lot desires to be a flexible timepiece.
>Pal we’d suggest it to first: Lovers of luxurious Japanese watches who desire a modern-looking on a regular basis sports activities or journey watch.
>Finest attribute of watch: Wonderful legibility and think about into the dial. Masterful capability to shine and floor supplies by Seiko for each magnificence and long-term sturdiness. Motion continues to shine as unique and attention-grabbing.
>Worst attribute of watch: Watch is on the bigger aspect (although comfy). Bracelet can be higher with a contemporary micro-adjustment system.
