The master is back!
It's not raining for a change. I'm outside enjoying the benefits of not freezing while drinking my coffee and being able to reading in peace while SmallCat™ is jumping all over and trying to convince the stupid little birds to come over and visit his stomach. All in all it's another fine weekend's morning even if I have to play the part of the responsible adult and watch out for the dumb feline.
It's time to take the Seiko SNA411 out and strap the Flightmaster on the wrist. It's not a solar watch but I'm sure that it will enjoy the sunshine just like I'm doing right now.
I kind of avoid it for the last weeks because of my self imposed no-date challenge, and the Flightmaster with its crowded dial is pretty much the antithesis of the idea behind wearing no-date watches.
But it's also one of Seiko's best. The same crowded dial is a demonstration on the topic of of how to make a chronograph that is legible despite the restrictions of limited dial surface and number of registers. At it roots it's a simple and rather cheap watch (or at least it used to be cheap while it was still in production), and Seiko still managed to end up with a watch that to this day is still vastly superior to any of the quartz or solar chronographs that they currently sell.
I like to switch straps on the Flightmaster as it seems to adapt well and morph its personality with each change. The current strap is the espresso brown leather strap from Ritche, which is taking on a character of its own as it ages.
I'm a big fan of watches that are interesting because they are either unique, have interesting features, well designed or simply offer a great value for their price.
Where is the picture of the cat?
Yes we demand cat tax
Where is the picture of the cat?
Typical of cats, he is never around when I need or want him. He is also black so it's a bit of a challenge to take a photo where he doesn't end up as an amorphous black blob.
Also, I've found the flightmaster to be wonderfully quirky. I have a Casio pilot watch with slide rule and chronograph, and to be honest, I think that the slide rule and chronograph on the casio perform their base functions better than the flightmaster. (Internal sliderule bezel's easier to read and turn than the flight master, the chronograph can do tenths of a second compared to the flightmaster's 20th of a second. Plus a more comfortable bracelet.)
But.
The casio doesn't have the split second function that the flightmaster has, or the smooth chronograph second hand, nor does it have the (very quiet but noticeable) 12 hour alarm, or the compass bezel or the lume.
I'm glad I got the flightmaster, but I'm also kinda sad that I only wear it when I need to be fairly regimented in regards to time. (multi-store shopping expeditions, day long zoo or museum visits where I want to see all of the exhibits and need to pace myself, laundry day.) So I kinda have some feelings of stress associated with it.
I have several chronographs, and tend to ask other collectors a similar question to your comments about crowded dials. How easy is to to read? Does it take a few moments to focus on the actual time or does it lend itself to easy reading? I have passed on a few that seemed too muddled to be useful. For the record, I really like yours, it is readable at a glance and looks amazing too😍
I have several chronographs, and tend to ask other collectors a similar question to your comments about crowded dials. How easy is to to read? Does it take a few moments to focus on the actual time or does it lend itself to easy reading? I have passed on a few that seemed too muddled to be useful. For the record, I really like yours, it is readable at a glance and looks amazing too😍
The Flightmaster is remarkable in this aspect because it is very legible despite its crowded dial which is also quite small. Personally I never had a problem with reading its dial at a glance but as usual, YMMV.