SBDX001, the OG Marinemaster 300: Mr Jun's unworn grail, and I'd own it over the SLA023 all day long
The dream watch
Tonight's review is very, very special, because this is the dream watch I wanted when I first got interested in watches around 2014, 2015. I'd had watches before but never really fell in love with them. Then suddenly I went bad, and this is the one I wanted. The SBDX001. The OG Marinemaster. I couldn't afford it then, and I still can't, but Mr Jun can. We all have these pathetic imitations of it which we could afford when we got older. This is the one we all wanted. This watch is my grail. Mr Jun's grail. And it is unlike any other because it has never been used.
Big up Daniel
Daniel is the man Mr Jun bought it from. Daniel buys expensive Seikos and keeps them in their boxes, and wears a G-Shock as a daily wearer. He even bought two of these, kept them mint, untouched and unworn, and had this one serviced by Seiko UK before selling it to Mr Jun. He needed the money because he'd pre-ordered the SLA081. Daniel, please keep that one in the box and sell it to us in ten years.
The numbers
It's a September 2011 clock, so 14 years old. When released it cost about £1,500. Mr Jun paid £2,750. I did an inflation calculation and £1,500 to £1,600 in 2011 is about £2,300 today, so given the condition and rarity I think it's still a great deal. 8L35, 26 jewels, 28,800 vibrations, 50 hours of power reserve, 300 metre monocoque. Hardlex double dome, not sapphire, and I don't care what it is. It just rules. 44 mm by 15.4 mm, 50 mm lug to lug, 20 mm lugs.
A pure tool with high-end touches
No Diashield, so you get brighter steel. Unsigned crown. A steel second hand. Thick, hand-applied indices: the depth and quality is insane, bros. A lume pearl instead of the lume triangle. Much better. The lacquered bezel is majestically beautiful, but it will scratch immediately if you knock it on anything, so we can never wear this watch, just like Daniel never did. It's a pure tool, but with some high-end touches. It straddles the line between a tool watch and the refined, dressy offerings of the Swiss and Grand Seiko.
The bracelet and the stiff bezel
The bracelet is polarising. The links are very long, it's utilitarian, thick, and lots of people say it doesn't match the refinement of the watch head. But look at the back, look at the tolerances. Does this not look better than our SLA versions? I think it does. Me and Mr Jun have tried the Hexad and the jubilees and they all ended up sold. Either rubber strap, or wear it as it's supposed to be worn. The bezel has gone stiff after 14 years in a box, and it needs a new gasket and click spring. Sweet as a nut after that.
Verdict
When I held it against my SLA023, the bezel action on the SLAs is better, and their lume is brighter. But if you ask me which one I'd like to own, it would be this one, all day long, every single day. Seiko seems to have lost the plot, but maybe I'm getting old and think everything new is rubbish. Unworn. Never give up, bros.
