Seiko 5 - growing desire
My thing are "autonomous" timepieces.
I love the feeling of an independent watch, always ready, always "on time", a trustable object, with some complications,...like a solar, AT, perpetual calendar chronograph.
I have some, some more to come.
But in the last few days/weeks, I'm also getting the "automatic-bug".
A dependable machine, needing care, attention, somewhat like a pet, a living "Thing". Something beautiful, simple, casual, also reliable and that can survive some decades.
I've stumbled upon the Seiko 5, specifically the SNXS79, without even knowing that the "5" is a Thing on it's own. A cult with followers.
But it's beautiful, timeless, not precise (at least not as an AT), robust and accessible.
The Thing is beautiful.
I don't want to step into the "other side"😉, but I believe it has room in my drawer, probably in my wrist from time to time.
So,...besides spending a few $$ on anything I don't need (because I really need my solar powered AT chronos...)
Why shouldn't I buy a 5'79?
IT country guy. I like chronographs. Slowly building a collection of Citizen's E610. Currently obsessed with the Bullhead.
I say this as one with a 7S26 Seiko 5 on my wrist: beware that the dependency is a double edged sword. Unless you really want to be adjusting day and date with that wee crown, you'll be wearing it every day. Not all day, but a bit each day unless going the electronic winder route.
Some nerds will gripe about unimpressive accuracy or industrial movement finishing or Hardlex crystal or something about the bracelet, but I don't care about those.
It is a bit like around 20 years ago, when I've bought a red Ducati Monster.
Besides fun, I couldn't really justify it, my Suzuki was really much better (reliable, not so dependable, faster, precise), but that damn Thing....was beautiful.
Oh gosh, the 5'79 is a beautiful piece, all things considered.
What's your model if I may ask?
About that Ducati, it might not have helped to read "The song of the sausage creature" - Hunter S. Thompson
I love both types, mechanical and quartz watches. In fact looking at my small collection, almost half are quartz (a couple of them are solar, one Kinetic, the rest use batteries.
For me, a key difference between the two is that if I find a quartz and a mechanical both stopped inside a drawer, even after many years, the mechanical will start running with a few turns of the crown or a couple of shakes while the quartz will not. I find there is something to be said for that kind of technology that doesn't need anything else to run.
It’s strange, I have so many issues with Seiko and yet I keep coming back for more. I find they offer almost everything I could ever want (most of the time). My daily wear is a Grand Seiko SBGX063, the pre 2016 doublesigned 263. It’s currently my only Seiko left in my collection, but in the past week I’ve been considering picking up this exact model!
It is a bit like around 20 years ago, when I've bought a red Ducati Monster.
Besides fun, I couldn't really justify it, my Suzuki was really much better (reliable, not so dependable, faster, precise), but that damn Thing....was beautiful.
Oh gosh, the 5'79 is a beautiful piece, all things considered.
What's your model if I may ask?
I have a model nobody cares about, the SNK789. Tell me you are discussing an SV650.
I should probably mention that my first attempt to regulate the movement wrecked the hairspring and essentially totalled the watch. After, again, accidentally dropping the same watch, now with a new movement, I recently gave it another stab with better lighting and magnification and not only didn't wreck anything but got very lucky with my first guess so it is running within a minute a week. You know these things don't hack, right? That's another mixed blessing.
I know.
I also had an SV650 K3, brilliant bike.