Seestern Sub300t V3 Review
Today, I am reviewing the Seestern Sub300t. For those who may not be familiar with it, this watch is a tribute (or replica, although the distinction between the two is becoming less clear) to the Doxa Sub300t. Visually, it is almost an exact copy of the original watch, with a few differences such as the text, indices, and lume.
Despite the debate around the originality issue, this is a very impressive watch with excellent specifications and only a few minor drawbacks.
After using this watch for a week, day and night, I was pleasantly surprised by how comfortable it is to wear, even though it is a relatively large watch in terms of both case size and thickness (42 and 14 mm, respectively). I believe that the case shape and bracelet are what contribute to its comfortable fit on the wrist.
Another thing I would like to highlight is the finishing, which, again, is impressive. The polishing and brushing on the case surfaces are neat, and the bracelet is very well made, even though it can occasionally be a hair-puller. The dial and hands are also gorgeous.
Now, onto the drawbacks. There are only a few, but they are present. Firstly, the lume is weak, not only on the date wheel but on all the lume markings. For a diver's watch and a homage to the Doxa, I believe more attention should have been given to this important aspect. Secondly, the caseback can be unpleasant to wear on the wrist, despite the nice engraved imagery. I wish it was just plain brushed on the surface that touches the skin. Finally, the clasp is functional but too simple and looks out of place compared to the beauty of the bracelet.
In conclusion, the watch is great, with only minor issues that do not diminish its value. Let me know if you have any questions about it.
Seestern Sub300t V3 Review
Yes
No
- Confort
- Bracelet
- Finishing
- Lume
- Bezel action
- Caseback
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It looks like a rebranded doxa fake with a couple tweeks. They stuff a nh35 in it for the Japanese reliability at least.
For the negatives you mentioned, the real Doxas don’t do any better. The lume on a Doxa is quite poor. The caseback also has a design that leaves a mark on my wrist. The bezel action on a Doxa is really good, though. I play with it all the time. 😁
If any stainless steel part is too sharp or uncomfortable you can buy different grade packs of wet dry carborundum papers and smooth it down-just tape off the bits of the watch carefully you do not wish to change.
Nice review. I have it too (military style version), and I can confirm what you mentioned. Bezel action and finishing are just great, and the bezel indices are perfectly aligned. I would add some facts from my own experience with it.
The movement was going way too slow out of the box (-90 seconds/day) so I opened and regulated it to a satisfactory -6 seconds/day (couldn't be bothered to keep trying to get better accuracy as it is a tedious trial-and-error task).
The case smells like industrial steel, but probably that will go after a while. Not very pleasant but not that bad either.
Some links are not sliding smoothly between each other when bending the bracelet, hopefully it will smoothen in time.
The clasp is very stiff when opening, locking is somewhat difficult when closed (I have to press it hard) and lock clicking is not crisp and satisfactory. Again, that may go by itself in time.
My watch does not have the blue tint AR coating that I see in pics and vids. I cannot really tell whether it has clear coating or no coating at all, however it is definitely not blue (I have other watches with blue tinted coating so I know how it should look like). I then tested the glass for sapphire and it passed the test, so at least that was a relief. The coating is not enough reason for me to return it, but I am not very happy about that either.
It is very top heavy so it easily slides towards the ground if the bracelet is not tight enough. I tried other straps but I don't like how it looks without the bracelet end links (the lug cuts are abruptly interrupting the rounded turtle shell shape).
I eventually like the watch too much to be annoyed by the negatives - most of them are probably just my bad luck anyway. In case anyone wants to order it, just be aware that QC is not the best.
Nice review. I have it too (military style version), and I can confirm what you mentioned. Bezel action and finishing are just great, and the bezel indices are perfectly aligned. I would add some facts from my own experience with it.
The movement was going way too slow out of the box (-90 seconds/day) so I opened and regulated it to a satisfactory -6 seconds/day (couldn't be bothered to keep trying to get better accuracy as it is a tedious trial-and-error task).
The case smells like industrial steel, but probably that will go after a while. Not very pleasant but not that bad either.
Some links are not sliding smoothly between each other when bending the bracelet, hopefully it will smoothen in time.
The clasp is very stiff when opening, locking is somewhat difficult when closed (I have to press it hard) and lock clicking is not crisp and satisfactory. Again, that may go by itself in time.
My watch does not have the blue tint AR coating that I see in pics and vids. I cannot really tell whether it has clear coating or no coating at all, however it is definitely not blue (I have other watches with blue tinted coating so I know how it should look like). I then tested the glass for sapphire and it passed the test, so at least that was a relief. The coating is not enough reason for me to return it, but I am not very happy about that either.
It is very top heavy so it easily slides towards the ground if the bracelet is not tight enough. I tried other straps but I don't like how it looks without the bracelet end links (the lug cuts are abruptly interrupting the rounded turtle shell shape).
I eventually like the watch too much to be annoyed by the negatives - most of them are probably just my bad luck anyway. In case anyone wants to order it, just be aware that QC is not the best.
I’m sorry about your not so good experience with the watch. In my case everything went well, I haven’t experienced any of those issues you mentioned.
However, as far as I know, there’s a few versions of this watch, mine was v3. They all look pretty much the same, but I believe improvements were applied in each version. Perhaps yours is an early version? Not sure.
Anyway, I’m glad you’re a having a good time with the watch despite all the issues you mentioned. Thanks for sharing your experience!
Nice review. I have it too (military style version), and I can confirm what you mentioned. Bezel action and finishing are just great, and the bezel indices are perfectly aligned. I would add some facts from my own experience with it.
The movement was going way too slow out of the box (-90 seconds/day) so I opened and regulated it to a satisfactory -6 seconds/day (couldn't be bothered to keep trying to get better accuracy as it is a tedious trial-and-error task).
The case smells like industrial steel, but probably that will go after a while. Not very pleasant but not that bad either.
Some links are not sliding smoothly between each other when bending the bracelet, hopefully it will smoothen in time.
The clasp is very stiff when opening, locking is somewhat difficult when closed (I have to press it hard) and lock clicking is not crisp and satisfactory. Again, that may go by itself in time.
My watch does not have the blue tint AR coating that I see in pics and vids. I cannot really tell whether it has clear coating or no coating at all, however it is definitely not blue (I have other watches with blue tinted coating so I know how it should look like). I then tested the glass for sapphire and it passed the test, so at least that was a relief. The coating is not enough reason for me to return it, but I am not very happy about that either.
It is very top heavy so it easily slides towards the ground if the bracelet is not tight enough. I tried other straps but I don't like how it looks without the bracelet end links (the lug cuts are abruptly interrupting the rounded turtle shell shape).
I eventually like the watch too much to be annoyed by the negatives - most of them are probably just my bad luck anyway. In case anyone wants to order it, just be aware that QC is not the best.
Hi Mate. Just received my Army one 2 days ago and I noticed the same thing about AR coating. Its definitely doesn't have blue tint. Now either they changed it to white one or we received a watch without AR coating. To be honest it seems fairly reflective and I'm leaning towards an opinion that we haven't got AR coating at all. I'm pretty sure we've got V3 version, as I don't think they've got older versions available when they were sold like 2 years ago or so.
Hi Mate. Just received my Army one 2 days ago and I noticed the same thing about AR coating. Its definitely doesn't have blue tint. Now either they changed it to white one or we received a watch without AR coating. To be honest it seems fairly reflective and I'm leaning towards an opinion that we haven't got AR coating at all. I'm pretty sure we've got V3 version, as I don't think they've got older versions available when they were sold like 2 years ago or so.
Hi, sorry to hear that. After digging a bit deeper into this, I found the below picture explaining the differences. I measured my watch thickness and it is 13.7, as V1 is. But mine has a lume pip, like V2 and V3. My personal conclusion is they took a V1 and put a V3 bezel with lume pip.