In-coming : Seiko Monster Midnight Blue G4

I would admit that I liked the Seiko Prospex range. And in this range, was the Seiko Monster from G3 (3rd generation) onwards. The latest release in this range was the G4 (4th generation).

I wrote about the Seiko Jade Monster G3 some 3 months back @ https://andywristwatches.blogspot.com/2019/04/readers-wrist-seiko-jade-monster-g3.html. Back then, I was looking forward to the newer Seiko Monster G4 that was due to be released in the up-coming months.

And I recently flipped the Mon5ter Wave to a fellow reader whom flew all the way from Macau to collect this piece. What a fan of Seiko tasteful mods he was indeed!

I had a few readers requesting me to do another SuMMo mod, but I don't want to repeat the same project. The Mon5ter Wave mod had been one that I rather enjoyed; so I have acquired a different sold-out Kanagawa dial in order to do the next mod. 

This dial had Day-Date, so I would need a Seiko base watch with Caliber NH36/4R36 for the day-date function.

And lo and behold, the Seiko Monster G4 had the very movement that was required and a call from the AD on the arrival of the Monster G4 (black and midnight blue dials) had me at the shop in a jiffy!

From the above 2 Monster G4, the one that was more striking was the Midnight Blue version. Retailing at RM2k, I soon had it out of display case and tried it out on my wrist. It was a rather handsome piece, although the angular Cyclops over the Day-Date might take some time to warm up to.

I rather fancied the straight, rectangular indices of the G4 and asked if it was possible to order for the JDM version. This was the version that was normally sold in the domestic market and would have the Made-in-Japan reflected on the dial. Model no-wise, the JDM version was called SBDY033J1 as opposed to the international version's SRPD25K1. 

Online prices for the 2 models were RM2,540 vs RM1,500 respectively, with the JDM version commanding a RM1,040 premium.

Anyway, I've made an order towards the JDM Monster Midnight Blue G4, so let's take a look at the piece when it arrives in due course. We would then decide if the Kanagawa Day-Date dial would be modded into this piece to create the Mon5ter Wave2. Keep your eyes peeled hereabouts :)

Seikoholics Anonymous

I met up with some collectors these few days and they remarked that I seemed to be writing more about Seiko watches in recent times. That was rather true- as you tracked through my blog timeline, I started off with Seiko watches, then dabbled with micro brands, then entry-level Swiss watches, then for rather a period were mainly about Rolex and Omega, and of recent months back to Seiko.

That's the thing about us watch enthusiasts, our taste and preferences might evolve to and fro over time; but at least it's a straightforward hobby that required no necessity to do any video clarification over Facebook on which watch were we wearing at Grand Continental Kuching, Pullman Kuching, Grand Hyatt KL, or Fourpoint Sandakan. But I digressed. 

Let's go back to Seikoholics and not gutter politics. Only a determined and experienced statesman  cum leader could put the nation as a whole back on the road to recovery now, and I would opined that we were in safe hands. Let's all support towards the initiatives towards an economy recovery for the sake of the nation.

Many collectors lamented to me that it was tough to get Rolex stainless steel sports pieces and Omega Speedmaster limited edition pieces. The ADs always seemed to be out of stock for the highly-demanded models. I have heard the same lines reiterated in many watch meets over the last few years. That was part of the reason that I chose to write more about Seiko watches these days- because the brand was accessible from various price points, and lots of offerings across various models. In fact, go one step ahead and dabble into the world of modifications; and you would find that you were constrained only by your imagination.

Go on, watch modifications could be a really fun part of the horology hobby and you could learn loads over the journey. I certainly had; so much so that I'm inching towards starting our own readership watches for the fun of it all. More on that in the subsequent entries.

In the above case, none of the Seiko watches were in their factory-issued state. The Prospex and Marinemaster had Isofranes on them; while the rest had seen modifications in their dials/handsets/bezels/movements/straps such that they looked so different compared to their initial design. How cool was that, creating one's own version of design language in the very watches that we so adored!

Therefore, don't be afraid to dabble into Seiko watches; although you would be best to go into it with your eyes opened as you might find your wallet thinning down every month as Seiko releases new models very often indeed. I have first hand information on these- I'm on first name basis with many Seiko ADs across town ;o

So, let's extend a warm welcome to all current and soon-to-join Seikoholics Anonymous members! Let's ALL wear our Seiko watches in good health! :)

Reader's Wrist : Poljot Sturmanskie 3133

A fellow reader i.e. Johar, had asked for my help to identify a Soviet watch that he had purchased at a whim.

"I knew that it's from Vostok, but I can't find any further info on this watch on the Internet", he explained. He further added that he was willing to send the watch to me for me to figure it out and check out its innards.

"Well, send some pictures over to me if you could", I replied. 

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep! The pictures came back almost instantaneously.

A quick look at the watch and it was no wonder that he could not find any information on the "Vostok" on the Net. It was in fact, a Poljot Sturmanskie 3133.

This was one of the many Soviet watch models produced in the 80s and 90s, and many sold at a bargain of a price on e-Bay and other sites today.

They were supposed to be built tough, as these were the Soviet's equivalent of today's Bell & Ross military watches; but I seemed to recall my Dad saying that many such pieces were sent to his shop for repair when he was still a watchsmith.

These watches were made in USSR, and given to Soviet military pilots as part of their tool set. Much like how Bell & Ross' partnership with United States and French airforce. Typically with a case measuring 38mm with 18mm lug width, they were powered by Poljot Caliber 3133 (23 jewels), which was based on ETA Valjoux 7734.

It's a quirky piece alright, and you won't have to worry about others sporting the same watch as you while wearing this in the wild. Wear it in good health, mate!

Reader's Wrist : Omega Speedmaster Day-Date MK40

I'm an Omega Speedy lover and I make no apology over that. Most Speedy lovers would tend to go for the Moonwatch, yours truly included; but there were some whom collected only the Reduced versions. 

The Reduced version were the non-Moonwatch series, with a 39mm case as opposed to Moonwatch's 42mm. This particular example was the Speedy Day-Date MK40. It had a very different dial to that of the regular Moonwatch, and displayed the day, date, and 24-hour instead. Powering this particular Reduced was the Caliber 1151, which was based on the ETA Valjoux 7751. 

I would personally prefer the ETA Valjoux 7751 compared to other Reduced's ETA 2890-A2 coupled with a Dubois-Depraz piggyback chronograph module; as the Valjoux being a more accessible movement, could be easily serviced by most competent watchsmiths and at lower servicing fees. The Dubois-Depraz, to an extent, was seen as a disposable chronograph module during its production days as it was easier and cheaper to replace a faulty module with a new one, rather than to do a full servicing.

This Speedy DD MK40 belonged to a fellow reader i.e. Johar, whom came over to collect the LNIB Squale 1545 Classic that I wrote here @ https://andywristwatches.blogspot.com/2019/05/a-simple-review-squale-1545-classic.html.

As with all of us collectors, the Speedy MK40 soon made way to accommodate the Squale 1545 Classic on his wrist. He had a penchant for vintage-looking watches; and the 1545 Classic was a good fit in that it looked like the Rolex Submariner 16610 of old, but equipped with the equivalent of the modern 116610's solid stainless steel bracelet such that it won't felt flimsy on the wrist. 

I handed over the 116610LN on my wrist for Johar to make a side-by-side comparison; and he could well see the solid build of the Squale at but a small fraction of the Rolex's price tag. He was a happy collector that afternoon!

Wear your watches in good health, mate!

Reader's Wrist : Pepsi MM300 Homage

Here's looking at another Franken Mod from a fellow reader i.e. Fazz, whom took the time to take these gorgeous pictures to share with our fellow readers.

After the earlier entry on the Franken Mod Bronze MM300 @ http://andywristwatches.blogspot.com/2019/06/franken-mod-cusn-mm300.html, I received a number of queries from fellow readers if it was possible to re-produce the exact same piece for them.

There were 2 issues on hand here :

1) It was not easy to purchase the genuine MM300 dial and handset,

2) The manufacturer informed that it took lots of trial and error to re-produce the custom parts to blend with the genuine MM300 dial, so this would only be a one-off project.

Therefore, it would seemed that there would only be 1 piece of this then- a one-of-a-kind, if you will.

Fazz was interested to purchase a genuine MM300 dial and handset for his mod works. He had earlier purchased a Leviathan MM300 homage, which had been modded with transfer print of "Seiko" and "Marinemaster" on the dial, and Pepsi bezel insert. This was how it looked like now :

Fazz informed that the lume was applied unevenly and a bit off, hence his interest to source for the genuine MM300 dial. Still, looking at the gorgeous pictures that he sent for our sharing, I would say that this was a rather handsome piece.

Wear your piece in good health, mate...