Psycho About Seiko, Part Deux

I would apologise for the lack of entry over the last 2 weeks as I had been busy travelling again. Despite the hectic travels, I had been busy clicking here and there for online purchases; so I do have quite a few in-coming pieces though.

And the recent purchases were in some ways connected to the entry @ https://andywristwatches.blogspot.com/2018/11/psycho-about-seiko.html. There were watches, movements, and parts; and I can't wait to see the ensemble ready for the partake.

1) Seiko "MM300" SBDX023/SLA021

This Japan-made SBDX023 was the latest addition to wear the MM300 designation. Now improved over the previous itineration i.e. SBDX017, the SBDX023 received the long-awaited sapphire crystal and lumed ceramic bezel. The second hand and 300m print were now given the gold treatment, and Marinemaster print on dial was replaced with the Prospex logo. I had previously handled the SBDX001 and SBDX017, and was eagerly-awaiting this SBDX023.

2) Seiko "Sumo" SBDC031-MM300

This Japan-made SBDX031 was still under-going the transformation from Sumo to MM300. The parts that had arrived included the original dial, hands, and strap from the SBDX017, which were rather rare and costly. Ditto arrived was Crystaltimes' double dome sapphire crystal with clear AR. The watchsmith had modded the parts accordingly, and still pending receipt was LCBI's fully-lumed ceramic bezel insert. Once the last part of the puzzle was done, then I would have a pretty cool Sumo-MM300 added to my collection.

Point to note was that this has been a rather costly mod project given that the parts were not cheap, but I supposed spending RM4,152 to get a watch that was 90% akin to the MM300, was still a feasible option given that the SBDX017 was already discontinued and its NOS price was closer to RM8,500 these days. And our Sumo-MM300 version was actually closer to the upgraded SBDX023 in that it had the lumed ceramic bezel and sapphire crystal. If you were interested in undergoing a similar project, here was the breakdown of the cost :

- SBDC031 watch (RM1,899)
- SBDX017 dial, hands, and strap (RM1,527)
- Crystaltimes sapphire crystal (RM289)
- LCBI MM300 bezel (RM247)
- Labour cost (RM190)

3) Seiko "Blumo" SBDC033-MM300

This was a simple mod job, which would see the Blumo receiving a pair of after-market MM300 hands with blue lume.

4) Seiko SKX007J1

This was another mod job which would see the classic piece getting an upgrade in movement (from non-hacking and non-winding 7S26, to hacking and winding NH35), crystal (hardlex to sapphire), bezel insert (aluminium to ceramic), and a change of Dagaz hands.

This was how it might turned out to be.

5) Seiko SKX009J1

This was another mod job involving a change of after-market MM300 dial, Dagaz hands, and ceramic bezel insert.

6) Seiko Tuna SBBN015 Re-Craft

There were also a pair of Seiko Tuna mods in the pipeline, which would see NH35 movements fitted into after-market stainless steel and bronze Tuna cases accordingly. The dials and hands would be taken from Seiko and Dagaz accordingly, and this would be a rather mad-hatter project really.