I never liked the Tuna. Then I wore one: brighter than a Marinemaster, and the biggest small watch I've ever seen
I'd never been a fan
Listen to me talk a lot of bollocks about something I know very little about: the Seiko Marinemaster Tuna, SBBN045, Professional 300 metre saturation diver. I'll admit straight away I'd never liked the Tuna. I'd never tried one either. I'd seen it from afar for years and it didn't appeal to me at all. A strange-looking creation. Quartz, which I've never been a fan of, and over a thousand pounds with no bracelet. A tall order. But something about this Tuna, it just has it. Whatever it is, this watch has it in spades.
The grandfather Tuna was designed by Ikuo Tokunaga in the late 60s and released in 1975, the 6159-7010, and very little has changed, because it was pretty much perfect from the start. Next to the old SBBN031, this one gets a flat sapphire with an internal dome and a handset that harks back to the grandfather. If a tool watch was ever to be explained by only a photograph, I'd want it to be a Seiko Tuna.
The biggest small watch
47.7 mm. But it wears something like a 42, because the lug-to-lug is tiny, 44.2 mm, and it's just over 14 mm thick. I think it's the biggest small-wearing watch I've ever seen. You can have a wrist under seven inches and still not look like a clown. A true behemoth, but a wearable one.
It's called the Tuna because it looks like a tuna can. Fine brushwork all around,. Polish only on the little lugs and the two cut-aways for your sweaty little trotters to grip the bezel. Three hex screws hold the shroud on, and a thick, slotted, unsigned crown punches through at four.
This is not a cheap quartz
The 7C46, a high-torque seven-jewel quartz designed for the Tuna in 1975, there to power these big, heavy, deeply dished hands. Seiko states plus or minus 15 a month. Complete nonsense. It'll run around a second a month at worst, and owners say the battery goes ten years. In my Mr Jun box video I said it runs at about five seconds a year, I'm not joking. Either way: absolutely unbelievable.
Brighter than a trillion suns
Matte black dial, big round plots, an inverted triangle at 12 so you know the time when you get up for a piss in the night. The dreaded sliver at three. Saturday's in cool blue, Sunday's in red to remind you it's back to work tomorrow. Very well done. And the loom: megawatt quasar loom, brighter than a trillion suns. This Tuna has better lume than an SLA MM300. I don't know how it does it. Only the pip is a bit weak.
The mushy bit
The bezel is not the best. A bit mushy, a bit soft, especially for a Marinemaster. I was expecting more. I still like it. The silicone strap is comfortable and functional, but it attracts dust like it has its own gravitational field. I think Tunas look better on rubber anyway, and a black Tropic would look insane. On a Strapcode beads of rice? Very nice.
Verdict
It hits its marks perfectly. A real tool, built for real saturation divers, and a great watch to have in the collection. I hope you'll all at least consider one, because it is very special. Stay freaky, bros. Never give up. For the beach.
