Watch Journey 2024 review

Tuna review I've not been on the Crunch for long, Six months actually, but in that time, I've come to realise that the daily swapping of wrist watches has become a ritual.. not just for me, but for many 1000s of fanatical fans on the forum. Imagine my surprise then when I recently spent an entire week wearing just one watch and not once did I hear a cry of “c’mon John, change it up, we're getting bored”.

A large part of the acceptance of my posts showing the same timepiece day in, day out, has got to be handed to Skyler Santana @Mr.Santana (#mrsantanamod) for his wonderful build for the #watchjourney2024 organised by @benandwatch . The build is based on a Seiko Tuna which is quite a big watch, with a 46mm diameter case and a thickness of 14mm. Well, it's big for me. Those of you who know me, will know I usually tend to favour my watches a little on the smaller side.. 32mm - 36mm sounds just about perfect as far as I'm concerned. But, imagine my pleasure when I discovered that the Tuna doesn't wear that big. Or at least it doesn't appear to.

In comparison to my one big watch, a Seiko Turtle, the Tuna is bigger and heavier (although I suspect some of the weight is down to the thick rubber strap that Mr. Santana paired it with). But I honestly didn't feel overwhelmed by it, and after several full days of use, my wrist didn't feel tired, which it often does with the Turtle.

We can see that the watch looks good, but what makes it so special? Well, as Mr Santana said, he built it like a tank. And he wasn't wrong, this thing can take some punishment, and believe me, I gave it some. I took it on a four day camping trip to the Scottish Highlands.. in the middle of February. Yeah. I'm mad. But I love my Campervan and I'll take any opportunity to get away in it.

Enough background, I hear you say.. What about the watch? Well, the case is multi-layered with a glossy black metal inner section and a blue protetective outer, which appears to be made of resin. The black and blue bezel matches the rest of the watch beautifully and it sounds reassuringly solid with each of its 60 clicks. The watch case is finished off with a sapphire crystal and a sturdy black screw down crown at the 4 o'clock position. Not only does the watch feel reassuringly solid but I was also confident it would be water tight. But more on that later.

Let's start to dive under the hood. Mr Santana has also made a sterling job of the dial and following the theme of the watch journey he decorated the dial with a globe logo and an aeroplane seconds hand, jetsetting round and round. If that wasn't enough, the Seiko style Rocket minute and hour hands can be lined up to blast off 🚀 (just for fun) and the date window is a nice contrasting black on white.

The movement is obviously a rock solid Seiko NH34 for reliability with an engraved case back reminding us that the watch was made by #mr.santanamods and that @benandwatch organised, the world tour.

I've commented on the weight and comfort of the watch, both of which was a pleasant surprise considering its size. But I've yet to mention how it faired on my camping trip.

Mr Santana said I could test it to the limits as he was confident of its rock solid build. It's a Tuna, Right? So I took it swimming. Not in a heated swimming pool but in a freezing loch in the Scottish Highlands at 7 in the morning. I'm pretty sure the watch could have stayed in all day, but 5 minutes was enough for me to lose all feelings in my extremities. There followed a quick dash across the road (surprising a passing motorist) for me to warm up in the van with a bowl of porridge. Us Scots are a hardy lot.

Other tests followed, including leaving the watch outside in a blizzard and spending the night in a freezing cold van at Glencoe Ski Centre. Fortunately, they have their own snowplough to clear the track down the hillside in the morning.

Of course, it wasn't always typical Scottish weather. We did get a little sunshine

I've now sadly relinquished my temporary ownership of the watch and have packed it off to @TyrogScot for the next stage of its journey.

Once again, many thanks to Mr. Santana and Ben for allowing me to try out this special build.