Seiko Upgrade

[DrewMill]

I think a lot of people would agreed that Seiko watches (specifically 5 Sports and Prospex) are a great value. They punch quite a bit above their weight. I'm curious what everyone thinks is a logical upgrade step from there. Outside of Grand Seiko (or King Seiko), where would you look for a watch that outpaces the Propex line while still maintaining some level of value? Where does the craftsmanship and watchmaking hit that next level? TIA

 

[Steve Smith]

These two are several years old, but this may be helpful. The Black Monster is an OK watch. The 7S26 automatic movement is notorious for running fast, and mine does go 3 or 4 minutes fast per week. I always liked the look and feel of the watch, still do.

I bought a used Marinemaster SBBN007 a few years ago. The feel and details of the watch are next-level compared to the Monster. Of course it's spot on accurate because it's a quartz movement. I only wear the Monster because I prefer that custom bracelet.

I don't own any Prospex Seikos. I looked on Amazon and the Prospex which looks like the old Black Monster is $735. I wouldn't trade my Tuna for two of them. You can buy a nice used Tuna for $700 easily.

 

[breakaway01]

This question doesn’t make much sense without telling us (1) style of watch (2) budget and most importantly (3) what you value about a watch. “Value” is such an incredibly subjective term and it’s particularly problematic around watches. What makes you say that the Seikos you listed “punch above their weight”? Do you attach value to the movement? manual wind or automatic (or even quartz)? Do you care if it’s in-house vs ETA vs Miyota? Finishing? Whether the design is unique/distinctive?

 

[mhip]

I think a lot of people would agreed that Seiko watches (specifically 5 Sports and Prospex) are a great value. They punch quite a bit above their weight. I'm curious what everyone thinks is a logical upgrade step from there. Outside of Grand Seiko (or King Seiko), where would you look for a watch that outpaces the Propex line while still maintaining some level of value? Where does the craftsmanship and watchmaking hit that next level? TIA

You are leaving things slightly vague, but in my mind Hamilton would be a logical step up.
I've always thought the Khaki Field King is a really nice looking sub-$1K watch that you can find on sale periodically.

 

[skalogre]

I think a lot of people would agreed that Seiko watches (specifically 5 Sports and Prospex) are a great value. They punch quite a bit above their weight. I'm curious what everyone thinks is a logical upgrade step from there. Outside of Grand Seiko (or King Seiko), where would you look for a watch that outpaces the Propex line while still maintaining some level of value? Where does the craftsmanship and watchmaking hit that next level? TIA

Like mentioned, you don't have much detail on what you are after... So I will put in my few cents. I pretty much culled my wristwatch collection in favour of my Seiko SARB017 Alpinist. Barely ever wear anything else. I even had Seiko tune it up to tighten up its timing when I had it serviced. Hell, I even made a profit on some of my old watches like the Stowa Antea I offloaded.

 

[New Shoes1]

It really depends on what you like. I have several Seiko Prospex watches as part of a larger collection. I've also enjoyed certain microbrands that make a very nice product for less than what a mainstream brand would sell it for (e.g., Halios, Monta, Christopher Ward, Helson). Certain mainstream brands also have a reputation for offering good value for the money (e.g. Oris, Tudor and Longines). And, you can get significant value for your dollar by buying preowned watches, if you know what you are doing. I picked up the original Omega Planet Ocean this past week for half of what current versions sell for. Start with determining what you like and go from there.

 

[DrewMill]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm really not a watch guy, so I don't know much about specs. I guess I'm looking for something with similar styling, sapphire crystal, automatic movement, but better movement. Are Longines/Tudor the next place to look?

 

[New Shoes1]

My advice is to check out some of the WRUW threads at watchuseek and see what piques your interest enough to go try on in person.

 

[breakaway01]

Thanks for all the responses. I'm really not a watch guy, so I don't know much about specs. I guess I'm looking for something with similar styling, sapphire crystal, automatic movement, but better movement. Are Longines/Tudor the next place to look?

In that case I would look at the Tudor Black Bay or Pelagos watches.