The OCD purgatory
Bi-directional friction bezels are great because they have the potential to annoy a lot of perfectionists, and there is very little effort needed to do this. A little twist of my fingers, and what is perceived as the natural order of things is getting skewed enough to send OCD personalities to fetch their migraine's pills.
Especially if the camera that is used is one with an awesome macro lens that lets everyone zoom on the misaligned bezel which, with a careful selection of the field of view, will be just enough out of focus to be THERE like an annoying loud brat that everyone tries but fails to ignore.
And it can be positioned in every direction or eye watering angle. If I only knew before that macro photography could be so much fun I would have bought the Canon RP years ago!
The SNA411 isn't the first or only watch in my collection that has a friction fitted bezel, but I never had an alignment problem with the much tighter bezels on my Vostok Amphibia watches. There's also the Airman No. 1 from Glycine which is fitted with a freely rotating GMT bezel, but this one a locking mechanism. It's really only the SNA411 that has such a smooth and free bezel that is so easy to twist.
I think that the problem is that I'm getting bored. The yellow rubber band has been great but I'm already thinking of the next strap to fit on the Flightmaster. I already have a few in mind and just by looking at them no one would ever believe that finding 21mm straps is such a hassle.
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.
The misaligned bezel (out as Seiko says, it's a feature) annoys me depending on the day. I have a watch with 21mm lug width so I feel your pain. Finding them in different materials and colors is an all weekend endeavor. Love the Flight Master.
I know folks with OCD and boy am I ever glad that I don't suffer that torment!!
The Flighty is an AWESOME watch despite the often out-of-place bezel and the 21mm lug width ... I'd just throw a 20mm strap on there and forget about the other millimeter! LOL! 👍
Friction bezels!!
My OCD is more disturbed by the misalignment of the seconds hand. 😉
May I suggest the oyster bracelet from Uncle Seiko? After trying a countless number of straps (including the NDC), I came to the conclusion that I need a taper.
Maybe you already know, but there's a way to manually fine tune the yellow chrono hands. Check it out. Awesome pictures btw. 👌
Ah, the bezel action on my SM300 heritage is proper crap, seems like I just have to blow it & it moves 🤣
Currently looking for a Spectre bezel insert, but bugger all luck finding one.