New Tissot Seastar 40mm Quartz
When I thought about getting my first Swiss watch a couple of years ago I was seriously considering a Tissot Seastar. I thought the price point and specs at that time were a pretty good value proposition. But there was one single issue....it was huuuge!
Now the standard Seastar 1000 isn't that big granted, about 43mm which is no larger than a Duro. But for some reason on-wrist it just wore too big for my liking, and 21mm lug width...why?! The even nicer 2000 series were definitely out of the question for me at 46mm. But it always stayed in the back of my mind for some reason.
Well, they've finally made it 40mm:
Tissot Seastar 1000 40mm - T1204101104100 | Tissot (tissotwatches.com)
In typical Tissot fashion they will no doubt introduce this in a Powermatic variant soon. But I actually think this quartz variant is the way to go. For one, the dimensions are now on par with what most people can get onboard with, 40mm diameter, 20mm lug width. It is also very thin, 10mm, thanks to the quartz movement. Moreover, the exact movement is the ETA F06.412 which has an astounding accuracy of +/- 10 sec per year! That is GS territory, and they know their quartz. Also comes with a mineral glass bezel which is a bit different than most. Still a standard sapphire crystal and 300m rating.
Sure this watch is vanilla and it has a ticky hand. However, this is still a pretty perfect vacation watch or daily driver. For the price, great value IMO. Don't get me wrong, I love my Duro to bits, but this is the next step up and without breaking the bank like you would with other Swiss brand divers. This watch you can set and forget for the most part.
For sure not for everyone, however I think more people should consider these more modest Swiss divers.
Well rounded nerd, into music, guitar pedals, all things DIY, and watches!
I have two Tissot quartz watches, a Classic Dream and PRX, and both are extremely accurate, right up there with my Tag Heuer and Longines quartz watches. I don't have a problem with quartz. I have a mixture in my collection of quartz battery, quartz solar, and automatic. Variety is good.
This should be the dimensions in which Tissot should be making the Seastar 1000 with the Powermatic. Definitely a great value for the money quartz diver.
But Tissot should really fix the size of the indices and the handset, they never seems to get them right on the Seastar lineup. The indices are too small and they seem to have thin down the handset from the 36mm and just stretched it, makes the dial feel too empty.
I have two Tissot quartz watches, a Classic Dream and PRX, and both are extremely accurate, right up there with my Tag Heuer and Longines quartz watches. I don't have a problem with quartz. I have a mixture in my collection of quartz battery, quartz solar, and automatic. Variety is good.
What I like about the quartz watches is that they are so thin. My Seiko SNE569 solar quartz is by far the most comfortable watch I have.
I wish the Tags were closer to 1K price for a quartz aquaracer. I really like them, but when you have options like this I can't do the mental gymnastics to pay the pricetag.....says the guy who wants a $1500 Seiko lol.
This should be the dimensions in which Tissot should be making the Seastar 1000 with the Powermatic. Definitely a great value for the money quartz diver.
But Tissot should really fix the size of the indices and the handset, they never seems to get them right on the Seastar lineup. The indices are too small and they seem to have thin down the handset from the 36mm and just stretched it, makes the dial feel too empty.
These models get that criticism alot, and I kinda agree from photos. But honestly, in person I don't feel the dial has too much space in it. Feels fine to me at least. It actually makes the sunburst design pop more even.
Also, I will say the Blancpain Bathyscaphe has a similar design in terms of small indices and slim hands, and that one is considered a classic brand design approach. So I don't think Tissot is veering off the road that much with theirs, maybe just taking a less copied approach.
What I like about the quartz watches is that they are so thin. My Seiko SNE569 solar quartz is by far the most comfortable watch I have.
I wish the Tags were closer to 1K price for a quartz aquaracer. I really like them, but when you have options like this I can't do the mental gymnastics to pay the pricetag.....says the guy who wants a $1500 Seiko lol.
If you look you can find recent model Aquaracer's for a little under 1K, which is what I paid for my 2020, but you have to be patient and check around a lot of places. Just make sure it is the real thing. Even though it's quartz, the Aquaracer case is the same size as the automatic, so it is still just as thick as is the Longines. The Tissots however are both much thinner.
I have a Seastar 1000 with a blue dial and love it.
Wow, this is a nice surprise. Glad to see they ditched the butterfly clasp. Not a fan of the Swatch Group’s obsession with those awful things.
These models get that criticism alot, and I kinda agree from photos. But honestly, in person I don't feel the dial has too much space in it. Feels fine to me at least. It actually makes the sunburst design pop more even.
Also, I will say the Blancpain Bathyscaphe has a similar design in terms of small indices and slim hands, and that one is considered a classic brand design approach. So I don't think Tissot is veering off the road that much with theirs, maybe just taking a less copied approach.
I have not seen the new 40mm in person. The 36mm in persin looks the most proportionate. On the 43mm and 46mm model, the hands are super chunky and the indices are very tiny.
I like the Bathyscaphe design, if Tissot is going for that style then I would love see them proportion the chunky handset to suit the small indices like what they have done in this 40mm model 👌🏽
Wow, this is a nice surprise. Glad to see they ditched the butterfly clasp. Not a fan of the Swatch Group’s obsession with those awful things.
The Seastar models always came with normal flip lock divers clasp. They never had the butter fly clasp on the Seastar models.
Most of their other watches still use the butterfly clasp.
The Seastar models always came with normal flip lock divers clasp. They never had the butter fly clasp on the Seastar models.
Most of their other watches still use the butterfly clasp.
Well that’s good, I’m so use to them being on so many models I just assumed these had it as well.
Awesome Tissot! 👌
Release it in green and take my money.
This should be the dimensions in which Tissot should be making the Seastar 1000 with the Powermatic. Definitely a great value for the money quartz diver.
But Tissot should really fix the size of the indices and the handset, they never seems to get them right on the Seastar lineup. The indices are too small and they seem to have thin down the handset from the 36mm and just stretched it, makes the dial feel too empty.
I agree, which is frustrating. I tried the 36mm version recently and thought it was a great watch, but the dial was too small for my wrist. The 40mm fixes the dial size, but you can drive a truck around all that empty space where the larger indices should be.