Arrival of My Seiko Turtle Blue J1

Truth be told, I've been waiting for the Seiko Turtle Blue J1 with excitement. The Turtle Emerald LE & PADI SE (delivered), and Turtle Blue Lagoon LE (pending delivery) were similar to my previous Turtle Pepsi i.e. from the Malaysian-made series; so I would really like to gauge if there was any differences in build and quality between the J1 and K1 series.

I had the SKX009J1 series previously, which had since been flipped; but I remembered that another fellow watch collector had remarked that my watch's bezel turn was more precise and solid compared to his SKX009K1 and that the printing on the dial was more crisp under the loupe.

And after a week of waiting, the Turtle Blue J1 was here today. Enjoy the pictures of this handsome Turtle henceforth.

Proudly displaying, "Made In Japan"

I tested the winding of the crown, and both were equally smooth as butter. Then I tested the turning of the bezel, and the J1 was noticeable smoother and more precise here. Next, I looked at the printing of the words on the dial under loupe; and the J1 could be marginally better. Lume seemed to be similar between both watches. The J1 could enjoy some bragging rights being built and assembled in Japan, which explained its higher price compared to the K1 like-to-like.

All in all, both Turtles were worth to be included in one's collection- next up, what about the Turtle Emerald and Turtle Blue Lagoon. We shall soon see...