New Seiko Prospex 6R15 Sapphire Diver - due in November

[No SUBctitute]

I love the look of the blue dial, rubber strap SPB053J1 due later this year. I may pick it up as a second knockabout watch.

What kind of accuracy would one expect from the 6R15?

What accuracy could it be regulated to? And would it stay there?

I would also love to hear others' thoughts on the watch. It seems like a reasonable price for a sapphire crystal automatic dive watch. Are there other watches that one would consider at the $800 price with similar movement and build quality?

MSRP $800USD
REF. SPB053J1
DRIVING SYSTEM Automatic
CALIBER NO. 6R15
CASE Stainless steel
BAND Silicone
GLASS MATERIAL Curved sapphire crystal
GLASS COATING Anti-reflective coating
WATER RESISTANCE 200m diver's
CASE DIAMETER 42.6mm
FEATURES Power reserve: 50 hours
21,600 vibrations per hour
23 jewels
Screw case back
Screw-down crown

[Fredrik]

I have a Seiko blue sumo, SBDC003. The updated one is called SBDC033 I think.

It has an identical movement, the 6R15. It performs very well, I only use it on vacations where I do not want to bring any more expensive or vintage watches. Mine is 2-4s fast per day approximately.

I really like the looks of the SPB053, note that you are paying a premium for it being basically a recreation of their first diver. Compare the price to the Sumo.

[No SUBctitute]

Originally Posted by Fredrik

I really like the looks of the SPB053, note that you are paying a premium for it being basically a recreation of their first diver. Compare the price to the Sumo.

I don't see a less expensive Seiko with Sapphire crystal and 6R15 on their website. Please highlight for me.

[No SUBctitute]

Originally Posted by Fredrik

I have a Seiko blue sumo, SBDC003. The updated one is called SBDC033 I think.

It has an identical movement, the 6R15. It performs very well, I only use it on vacations where I do not want to bring any more expensive or vintage watches. Mine is 2-4s fast per day approximately.

I really like the looks of the SPB053, note that you are paying a premium for it being basically a recreation of their first diver. Compare the price to the Sumo.

I forgot to mention that 2-4s fast per day is pretty acceptable for that price point and I would def be happy with that!

I am not too familiar with the Seiko lineup and so when I looked on the website I wasn't sure which watch you were talking about, but I would love to get other suggestions (both Seiko and non-Seiko) that are good watch values in a dive watch in that sub-$1000 MSRP price point. The SPB053 retails for $800 so I assume I could get it for $500-600.

Thanks! :-)

[PJ S]

Depends on what is a requirement.
Do you want an in-house movement or will a generic ETA/Sellita be acceptable?
The 6R15 is Seiko’s equivalent of the ETA/Sellita, except it runs at 21k vph rather than 28k, so the seconds hand will be ever so slightly more jerkier.
Power reserve is good too, and accuracy can vary but is nearly always much better than the stated specs.
It can be regulated, just like any movement can, and it’s no more difficult than the ETAs and Sellitas, etc.

As for alternatives:
Citizen Signature Grand Touring Sport – with it’s nicely decorated bespoke version of the Miyota 9015 (a Citizen Group company, so in-house). Easily found for less than $1k new, even better buy (isn’t nearly everything?) when bought pre-owned.

As far as generic movements go, then you’ll be hard pressed to find anything wrong with Steinhart.
Then you’ve a world of micro-brands, and pre-owned ones which have dropped into your price bracket.

Spend time on chrono24 to get a feel (but definitely not complete picture) for what’s available, and by whom – and don’t be surprised if you find a bit of budget creep setting in. That’s man maths at work!

[toxicavenger]

6R15 is a good movement. And unlike some JDM Seiko's you can actually get parts for it if there is ever an issue.

I might have to get one of these when they drop.

[PJ S]

^
I’m not getting the point trying to be made here.
The 6R15 is the same whether it’s in an officially exported model or one that’s commonly referred to as JDM (Japanese Domestic Market).
Getting parts for a JDM one, whether movement or links, is not an issue unless it’s out of production for many years, and the parts inventory has been raided in that time since.

[No SUBctitute]

Originally Posted by PJ S

Spend time on chrono24 to get a feel (but definitely not complete picture) for what’s available, and by whom – and don’t be surprised if you find a bit of budget creep setting in. That’s man maths at work!

I checked out chrono24, and saw tons of Oris and Tag and Longines n the sub-$2,000 category but not much else.

Haha. My budget may creep a little, but what I am looking for is a watch that I can take on sketchy vacations on which I don't want to take my SubC. But I would still like a decent looking dive watch, and am thinking of going rubber strap over metal since I already have metal in my Sub and I spend lots of vacations (yes, even in the sketchy places) in the water swimming and snorkeling.

So, based on my desire for an automatic dive watch that keeps half-decent time, I was instantly drawn to the SPB053.

And to the comment that I am paying a premium for it because it is a semi-replica of the original, I'm not sure I agree with that. It is totally true for the SLA017 at something above $2,000. But I am not sure I am paying a premium for the "modern re-interpretation" SPB053. At least two websites list the price as $800. If that is the MSRP then I expect it could be had for $500-600 once the immediate fervor dies.If MSRP is about $1,000 as reflected in a Seiko press release then one could expect to pick up for maybe $700 once the fervor dies down.

Point is, $500-700 for a new model Seiko dive watch with 6R15 and sapphire crystal seems reasonable. The SBDC033 runs about $450 (is it only a Japanese market watch, I didn't think I saw it on Seiko USA website). https://www.amazon.com/PROSPEX-Mecha.../dp/B015ZBZI6Y. So the price difference might not be huge, maybe a couple hundred dollars. If I bought the SBDC033 I would want a rubber strap; what would be the best rubber strap for the SBDC033. The other difference is the SBDC033 is about 2mm bigger than the new SPB053.

The SBDC033 may be the best comparison to the SPB053. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

[toxicavenger]

Originally Posted by PJ S

^
I’m not getting the point trying to be made here.
The 6R15 is the same whether it’s in an officially exported model or one that’s commonly referred to as JDM (Japanese Domestic Market).
Getting parts for a JDM one, whether movement or links, is not an issue unless it’s out of production for many years, and the parts inventory has been raided in that time since.

You can't get movement parts for a Seiko SBDX001 MM.

[BigAl72]

In my humble opinion the Seiko sumo has the best bargain out there for Quality dive watch at a very reasonable price.


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[Fredrik]

Originally Posted by No SUBctitute

I don't see a less expensive Seiko with Sapphire crystal and 6R15 on their website. Please highlight for me.

That's because I didn't pay attention about it having a sapphire crystal...

It was the blue Sumo I was referring to, I paid about 400 USD for mine a couple of years ago. I do not know how the actual sale price compares to the MRSP. It is excellent, but a bit large.

[PJ S]

Originally Posted by toxicavenger

You can't get movement parts for a Seiko SBDX001 MM.

Seiko US shouldn’t have any difficulties in obtaining 8L35 parts, and servicing the watch.