SKX013 - My very personal failure
Sometimes it just don’t work. I failed to attach to my SKX013.
Beforehand it was a perfect watch. Praised in articals and Youtube videos. Not to mention the photos of this tough looking diver. I did love, and still do, the look of this iconic Seiko. With no possibilities to try it on I was a bit afraid to go for the 42mm bigger brother so I pulled the trigger on the SKX013 instead. The 38 mm case should suit me just fine.
When it arrived I was surprised that it looked so small. On paper it should fit perfect. My plan was to pair it with a black sailcloth strap and I did. It didn’t feel OK. There was something with the proportions. Even with my slender wrist it felt off. I ordered an Oyster bracelet from Strapcode. Better, but still my perception of a diver didn’t match what I saw on my wrist. Finally I gave up. This watch, in all it’s beauty, was not for me.
I asked my daughter if she wanted a diver. She tested it and was thrilled. We swapped to the original Jubilee bracelet and voilà, it was perfect. So in the end the great SKX found an owner worthy of her.
Any more examples of personal failures out there? Regarding watches that is.
I collect new as well as vintage. I have a weak spot for 50s and 60s Omegas. Besides from those I consider myself allround.
Many years agp I bought an Omega Speedmaster because , at the time. it was the watch to own and I ate up all the hype and read all the articles.
Turns out that I just didn't like it in real life. It bored me to tears and was sold in about 8 months.
Chacon a son gout.
My "failure" was the SNK809. I made the mistake of buying into the hype around the watch when I first got "into" watches rather than just wearing watches. For the previous 20 years I had been wearing Citizen Eco-Drives, or Timex digital watches all day, every day, apart from showering.
I watched all the YouTube videos praising it as the perfect introduction to mechanical watches, and how it was made by a company with rich heritage, and history...
When it arrived I switched it to a better strap, and wore if for a couple of weeks. In that time I always felt like I was wearing a cheap toy from a vending machine, and grew to hate the watch. It was cheap, rattled, and kept relatively poor time.
I upgraded after two weeks to a well built and designed mechanical watch, and have never looked back at low end Seiko.
Since then I have grown wary of anything that gets universal praise in the watch world.
Many years agp I bought an Omega Speedmaster because , at the time. it was the watch to own and I ate up all the hype and read all the articles.
Turns out that I just didn't like it in real life. It bored me to tears and was sold in about 8 months.
Chacon a son gout.
See, another classic. I guess it’s a good thing we enthusiast/collectors don’t relate to the same watches in the end but it is a bit sad when you realize that it wasn’t right.
I bought a laco aachen and it was a dud out of the box. I wore it 2 or 3 times over the next few months and eventually sold it on ebay. Sold it at a loss, and then USPS lost it. So I gave the buyer his money back and spent the next 6 months fighting usps and eventually getting my money back.
My "failure" was the SNK809. I made the mistake of buying into the hype around the watch when I first got "into" watches rather than just wearing watches. For the previous 20 years I had been wearing Citizen Eco-Drives, or Timex digital watches all day, every day, apart from showering.
I watched all the YouTube videos praising it as the perfect introduction to mechanical watches, and how it was made by a company with rich heritage, and history...
When it arrived I switched it to a better strap, and wore if for a couple of weeks. In that time I always felt like I was wearing a cheap toy from a vending machine, and grew to hate the watch. It was cheap, rattled, and kept relatively poor time.
I upgraded after two weeks to a well built and designed mechanical watch, and have never looked back at low end Seiko.
Since then I have grown wary of anything that gets universal praise in the watch world.
Yes the hype could be dangerous. Even if my ”failure” also was a Seiko experienced quality was not the issue. It felt built like a tank. The lack of hacking and winding had more of a charm to it.
I bought a laco aachen and it was a dud out of the box. I wore it 2 or 3 times over the next few months and eventually sold it on ebay. Sold it at a loss, and then USPS lost it. So I gave the buyer his money back and spent the next 6 months fighting usps and eventually getting my money back.
That was a real horror story🥶
That was a real horror story🥶
I got a hand written apology from the director of USPS "customer service" that I keep on my desk to remind me with enough emails, anything is possible. Haha.
50m water resistance? That pool isn't 50m deep...
+1 here. After watching so many gushing reviews, I picked up a couple SKXs: couldn’t abide the atrocious accuracy and lack of hacking. Tried a few Vostok Komandirskies based largely on positive reviews: well, at least they are cheap. Similarly with the Hamilton Khaki Field Auto and Mechanicals: these are actually great, accurate, thin, reliable watches…that I don’t love. Maybe if the lume was better? Anyway, I can relate.
I had a very similar experience with a new generation Seiko 5 diver style watch. After seeing and loving the look of watches like the SKX for years, I went for the blue diver. Lovely sunburst dial. Thought I’d love it. I don’t like it. I feel a bit strange about it too because I thought I’d love a diver and I thought I’d love THIS diver.
Glad I found out with this watch rather than buying a Tudor Pelagos for my blue dive watch fix! Maybe I can find a new home for it with someone who will appreciate it someday.
It's not a failure mate. Sometimes a watch just doesn't click. My own version of this is the Orient Kamasu. I read so many reviews and watched so many videos, all so full of praise for it, but I bought one and just couldn't connect with it in the flesh. It's a great watch and I understand the praise, but it just wasn't for me. No harm, no foul.
The fact that your daughter loves it is awesome. Let her enjoy it and move on to the next one.
50m water resistance? That pool isn't 50m deep...
Correct and no water👍
+1 here. After watching so many gushing reviews, I picked up a couple SKXs: couldn’t abide the atrocious accuracy and lack of hacking. Tried a few Vostok Komandirskies based largely on positive reviews: well, at least they are cheap. Similarly with the Hamilton Khaki Field Auto and Mechanicals: these are actually great, accurate, thin, reliable watches…that I don’t love. Maybe if the lume was better? Anyway, I can relate.
You certainly been there. And you dumped one of my favourites as well, Hamilton Khaki Field.
I had a very similar experience with a new generation Seiko 5 diver style watch. After seeing and loving the look of watches like the SKX for years, I went for the blue diver. Lovely sunburst dial. Thought I’d love it. I don’t like it. I feel a bit strange about it too because I thought I’d love a diver and I thought I’d love THIS diver.
Glad I found out with this watch rather than buying a Tudor Pelagos for my blue dive watch fix! Maybe I can find a new home for it with someone who will appreciate it someday.
I also find blue dials bit tricky. Always great in photo, not always IRL.
+1 here. After watching so many gushing reviews, I picked up a couple SKXs: couldn’t abide the atrocious accuracy and lack of hacking. Tried a few Vostok Komandirskies based largely on positive reviews: well, at least they are cheap. Similarly with the Hamilton Khaki Field Auto and Mechanicals: these are actually great, accurate, thin, reliable watches…that I don’t love. Maybe if the lume was better? Anyway, I can relate.
Yeah I had a similar experience with Vostok. I bought into the story behind the brand (and I do still find it a very compelling story). I can get past the friction bezel, the horrendous, instantly disposable bracelet etc... But the one I bought has a terribly stuttering second hand. It's fixable but I'm not so confident in tinkering with watches, and I tried to ignore the issue but in the end I just couldn't. It's been sat in a drawer since I bought it because of that.
Yes, my Sekio PADI Sumurai. I still have it but after several months of ownership I looked down and then I saw it. The hour makers from 4 to 6 did not align with the chapter ring. After the realization, I could not un-see Seiko’s QC failure. Now, it sits in my watch box.
Sorry to hear that. That’s a bummer on a awsome watch🙁
Citizens are so under-rated, I believe the eco-drive is the best movement out there.
I mentioned it in another post here, but I suspect Citizen doesn't get the love it deserves mostly because the SKX took off (at grey market prices because they were overpriced at ADs) at the early stages of the internet watch community, and Citizen doesn't focus as much on mechanical watches at the entry level.
If I'd never gotten "into" watches I'd still be a one Eco-Drive, one digital Timex watch kind of guy.
Ah… failures.
I have tried to convince myself a Speedmaster is a good choice for >10 years, but luckily I haven’t thrown money into this argument.
Same with a Monaco - I am cool (read - painfully unconcerned about I come across) enough to pull one off, but again it doesn’t connect.
Actual failures - the Scuba Amfibia. Bought direct from the factory in 2012, within days I hated everything about it and now the strap has perished and is impossible to find a decent replacement. Stupid crowns, uncomfortable fit, ugly case - painful reminder that sometimes you should go home rather than go big.
The Vacheron - this will f*** me in the future as no watchmaker will touch it. It’s temperamental as well which does wonders for the blood pressure. I genuinely love this watch.
Leonidas Easy Rider - I must have been out of my tiny little skull when I bought this (as previous posts on this have demonstrated). The shiniest s*** in the box. Looks cool though.
Omega f300hz - cost more to fix than I paid for it. Very early career mistake. Welcome to watch collecting.
Breitling Colt (38mm) - never worn because the wife commandeered it, and now it’s no longer my watch.
Rado Starliner 999 - oh this looks nice, what a unique dial version… yeah its a Frankenstein dial, well done, backed a winner there.
Yeah I had a similar experience with Vostok. I bought into the story behind the brand (and I do still find it a very compelling story). I can get past the friction bezel, the horrendous, instantly disposable bracelet etc... But the one I bought has a terribly stuttering second hand. It's fixable but I'm not so confident in tinkering with watches, and I tried to ignore the issue but in the end I just couldn't. It's been sat in a drawer since I bought it because of that.
Aah, that bracelet! Well, if the watch has been in a drawer, at least your arm hair can grow back!🤣
I’m really not sure to be honest. It’s the one of the cheapest pieces in my collection so maybe that‘s subconsciously turning me off on it. I’m sure it’s a perfectly nice watch and will make many thousands of people happy with it out there. I think in retrospect the new field watch they do with the retro looking dial would have been a much better choice. Maybe divers aren’t for me? It’s the first and only dive watch I’ve ever owned. I do like big bold watches, the dive bezel cuts so much of the dial face away, it does feel a little small for my taste In terms of how much of an expanse of dial you see..
Yeah, there are certain trade-offs with Seikos, especially in the lower price categories The dial is usually really nice, the case is okay, the bracelet nothing to write home about, and the movement is a one-size-fits-all approach. Divers are also different, and I tend to wear them mostly on the weekends. In either case, probably good thing you found this out with an inexpensive diver.
Tag Heuer Monza. I loved the history/story, the titanium cushion case the connection to Ferrari F1, etc etc etc. What I failed to consider when I bought it was how it would fit my style/wardrobe. It a black watch with red and white accents. I don’t wear black. I don’t even own a pair of black shoes. Every time I wore it it felt out of place. After a while I put I back in it’s box. When it had been in it’s box for a year and I didn’t miss it. I moved it on.
Bought the SKX013 with high hopes. Great width but too thick. Gave it to my daughter.
Unpopular opinion: the Seiko SKX series is the single most overrated dive watch ever made. The Citizen NY004 series is better in every way with better dials, better QC, better bracelets and a more comfortable crown system And for less money.
Bought the SKX013 with high hopes. Great width but too thick. Gave it to my daughter.
Unpopular opinion: the Seiko SKX series is the single most overrated dive watch ever made. The Citizen NY004 series is better in every way with better dials, better QC, better bracelets and a more comfortable crown system And for less money.
Seems like we have a similar story regarding the SKX013. And yes it is thick.
Tag Heuer Monza. I loved the history/story, the titanium cushion case the connection to Ferrari F1, etc etc etc. What I failed to consider when I bought it was how it would fit my style/wardrobe. It a black watch with red and white accents. I don’t wear black. I don’t even own a pair of black shoes. Every time I wore it it felt out of place. After a while I put I back in it’s box. When it had been in it’s box for a year and I didn’t miss it. I moved it on.
The watch looks great though. I have a 73653 or 1153 on my prospect list.
Ah… failures.
I have tried to convince myself a Speedmaster is a good choice for >10 years, but luckily I haven’t thrown money into this argument.
Same with a Monaco - I am cool (read - painfully unconcerned about I come across) enough to pull one off, but again it doesn’t connect.
Actual failures - the Scuba Amfibia. Bought direct from the factory in 2012, within days I hated everything about it and now the strap has perished and is impossible to find a decent replacement. Stupid crowns, uncomfortable fit, ugly case - painful reminder that sometimes you should go home rather than go big.
The Vacheron - this will f*** me in the future as no watchmaker will touch it. It’s temperamental as well which does wonders for the blood pressure. I genuinely love this watch.
Leonidas Easy Rider - I must have been out of my tiny little skull when I bought this (as previous posts on this have demonstrated). The shiniest s*** in the box. Looks cool though.
Omega f300hz - cost more to fix than I paid for it. Very early career mistake. Welcome to watch collecting.
Breitling Colt (38mm) - never worn because the wife commandeered it, and now it’s no longer my watch.
Rado Starliner 999 - oh this looks nice, what a unique dial version… yeah its a Frankenstein dial, well done, backed a winner there.
I have the same experience with the Speedmaster. But I have to say that the new release grows on me.
I’m sorry about the Colt🥺
Many years agp I bought an Omega Speedmaster because , at the time. it was the watch to own and I ate up all the hype and read all the articles.
Turns out that I just didn't like it in real life. It bored me to tears and was sold in about 8 months.
Chacon a son gout.
I‘m with you, I’ve just sold mine A speedmaster moon, I drooled after it for a few years, I got it, and was underwhelmed, I couldn’t get a good fit on the bracelet and the crown was too small and badly positioned to wind the bloody thing, which for a hand winding watch is ridiculous.
I have to laugh, as I see some others buy watches and “gift“ them to their wives.
My good lady has become a de facto watch collector, and strike me down for saying this……I still wear some of her “gifts”. I feel bad now but confession is good………and all that.
I have to laugh, as I see some others buy watches and “gift“ them to their wives.
My good lady has become a de facto watch collector, and strike me down for saying this……I still wear some of her “gifts”. I feel bad now but confession is good………and all that.
My wife is not so interested. She wants quartz.
Gen 2 Seiko Monster. Arguably the coolest, most unique looking dive watch at the $300 price point (at the time...don't check prices now 😀). An incredible looking watch on Youtube and in pictures.
On my skinny, bony wrist? An absolute disaster
Gen 2 Seiko Monster. Arguably the coolest, most unique looking dive watch at the $300 price point (at the time...don't check prices now 😀). An incredible looking watch on Youtube and in pictures.
On my skinny, bony wrist? An absolute disaster
I’m very careful of chosing to big watches even if I testing my limits more and more. But in my SKX case the fear of buying to big did backfire bigtime.