My biggest Seiko pet peeve
Putting lume on the hands of a watch is to help you see the time even in darkness, right?
So why oh why would you put the lume pip on the counterweight end of the second hand? Why, Seiko? Why???
This was, in my opinion, the biggest flaw of the Seiko SKX007. Fortunately, Seiko corrected this mistake in the 36mm SKX013.
At first I was thrilled when Seiko announced they were releasing new Seiko 5 dive-style watches in the size of my beloved 013. But it seems Seiko decided to carry on the "tradition" of the misplaced pip in the modern line up of Seiko 5 watches, including the 36mm variants.
From watch cases that are too heavy (or too light) to date wheels that don't match the dial color, everyone's got their own watch pet peeves. What are yours?
Watch hobbyist and collector from Singapore. More watch photos on Instagram @twolfwatches
The minute hand is most important on a dive watch while the second hand is crucial because it shows the watch is running.
My "peeve" is the opposite. No lumed bezels or seconds hands.
Only on the hour and minutes hands. It does a fine job of telling the time in the middle of the night.
Lume is the equivalent of bling , but only in the dark.
I'd say the lack of a screw down crown on these 5KXs. I don't care/mind about the other issue. But pretty much every other "dive" watch Seiko makes has one. I get the whole money saving thing but how much more would it really cost?
I'm not bothered about the errant seconds hand lume blob. However, no lume pip on the bezel and no screw-down crown, those are deal breakers for me.
But still, you have a Snoopy and a surf board. That has to count for something, right?
I'm not bothered about the errant seconds hand lume blob. However, no lume pip on the bezel and no screw-down crown, those are deal breakers for me.
But still, you have a Snoopy and a surf board. That has to count for something, right?
This is my favorite summer / outdoor watch. I've gone swimming with it, thanks to the 100m water resistance and, so long as I don't dive with it, it will do fine.
One of my grails is the Omega Speedmaster Apollo 13 "Silver Snoopy" which is now, sadly, way out of my price range.
I actually don't mind this and find it far more useful. Red tipped secondhand for day time and a visible amount of lume on the other end for night time🍻
On a dive watch the second hand's lume exists to show a diver that the watch is working while underwater, not to time things to the second...
Biggest pet peeve is the crappy font numerals in the date window that don’t match any of the fonts used in the dial design. Just seems so lazy to me, especially the day/date seikos with color coded weekend days.
As far as the seconds lume - like someone mentioned it could be to know the watch is running. Most mfrs don’t lume the seconds hand at all.
Context and function. In a diver it is more that the minute hand visibility is critical alongside the lume pip of the bezel. In general, the minute and and the hour hand are actually what is telling you the time; having an eye on the seconds is a sure fire way to determine if the watch is still running in low light but little more. Having the seconds hand lume closer to the centre of the dial actually prevents it from interfering with legibility of the minute hand, which is longer. There is no real rule of thumb here either, some brands have different handset shapes to help distinguish what is being presented, others have more lume on the bezel than just a pip, some have no lume on the seconds hand. Most of you don’t dive in these watches so…
Clue is in the question. Counterweight. In order to increase the weight lume is also applied to the counterweight to improve weight-distribution. Seiko have been making watches for a long time, they might know what they are doing (although with QC you can legitimately ask this question).
Again, its positioning is key - it is out of the way of the minute hand, and would show the wearer that the watch is still working in low light. The seconds hand is not telling you the time either, so you just want to know it runs still without having to put it to your ear and listen for ticking.
The question I want to ask is if this bugs you so much why did you buy the watch?
Context and function. In a diver it is more that the minute hand visibility is critical alongside the lume pip of the bezel. In general, the minute and and the hour hand are actually what is telling you the time; having an eye on the seconds is a sure fire way to determine if the watch is still running in low light but little more. Having the seconds hand lume closer to the centre of the dial actually prevents it from interfering with legibility of the minute hand, which is longer. There is no real rule of thumb here either, some brands have different handset shapes to help distinguish what is being presented, others have more lume on the bezel than just a pip, some have no lume on the seconds hand. Most of you don’t dive in these watches so…
Clue is in the question. Counterweight. In order to increase the weight lume is also applied to the counterweight to improve weight-distribution. Seiko have been making watches for a long time, they might know what they are doing (although with QC you can legitimately ask this question).
Again, its positioning is key - it is out of the way of the minute hand, and would show the wearer that the watch is still working in low light. The seconds hand is not telling you the time either, so you just want to know it runs still without having to put it to your ear and listen for ticking.
The question I want to ask is if this bugs you so much why did you buy the watch?
As with everything, there are pros and cons. If a watch has 20 pros and only one con, I may still buy it.
All in all, I love this watch. But the negative still falls into my "pet peeve" category.
Super nice watch!!
As with everything, there are pros and cons. If a watch has 20 pros and only one con, I may still buy it.
All in all, I love this watch. But the negative still falls into my "pet peeve" category.
And having it explained to you why it is why it is, does that help?
And having it explained to you why it is why it is, does that help?
Not really. This version of the Seiko 5 is the same size as the SKX013, which had a second hand with a proper lumed arrowhead tip. So counterweight or otherwise, they could just as easily have done the same. This was a design choice on the part of Seiko.
Not really. This version of the Seiko 5 is the same size as the SKX013, which had a second hand with a proper lumed arrowhead tip. So counterweight or otherwise, they could just as easily have done the same. This was a design choice on the part of Seiko.
And yet you still bought it? You could source any other field watch, or an SKX013 that you’d rather have, and if you wanted Snoopy you could have bought a Timex.
Super nice watch!!
I still love it despite that one flaw.
And yet you still bought it? You could source any other field watch, or an SKX013 that you’d rather have, and if you wanted Snoopy you could have bought a Timex.
A watch can have flaws and you still love it. I love this watch despite this one flaw. I also alresdy own an SKX013.
While no watch is perfect and every watch has something that can be criticized, my "pet peeve" ( your words) is the perpetual acceptance of people who have never designed or created anything, ever, endlessly criticizing the work of others.
While no watch is perfect and every watch has something that can be criticized, my "pet peeve" ( your words) is the perpetual acceptance of people who have never designed or created anything, ever, endlessly criticizing the work of others.
Harsh (I’d get sh*t for saying that, but I am definitely falling over to your side of the fence).
Some have explained why it is how it is, but that is not enough.
I often say it is possible to love a watch with flaws, but there is a difference between what is actually a flaw and a design choice. A flaw would be offset markers, poor alignment, or natural discolouration of a dial due to material used, not a choice of handset that Seiko uses across a lot of models that doesn’t really interfere with the intent of presenting the time. I guess we all just want a good moan.
Harsh (I’d get sh*t for saying that, but I am definitely falling over to your side of the fence).
Some have explained why it is how it is, but that is not enough.
I often say it is possible to love a watch with flaws, but there is a difference between what is actually a flaw and a design choice. A flaw would be offset markers, poor alignment, or natural discolouration of a dial due to material used, not a choice of handset that Seiko uses across a lot of models that doesn’t really interfere with the intent of presenting the time. I guess we all just want a good moan.
That's exactly what expressing a pet peeve is, mate: a good moan.
That's exactly what expressing a pet peeve is, mate: a good moan.
Sell the watch - buy a Tudor
Sell the watch - buy a Tudor
Like I've said on this thread, I love this Snoopy watch.
I also own a Tudor Sub, which is amazing.