I don't like GMTs, but it's a Marine Master case for under a grand, so shut up
The best watch case design ever made
Unreal scenario, bro. This is the Seiko Prospex SPB381J1, the 1968 Heritage Diver's GMT in what they're calling marine green, courtesy of Seiko Steve. Marine Green, bros, for the beach. A Hulk? It could well be. List price is £1,400, and it was £1,036 when I checked. Take 10% off used and you're under £1,000. I've seen them in the 700s.
It's an evolution of the 6159 Hi-Beat Monolock Marine Master from 1968. The Marine Master case is, without a shadow of a doubt, Gethin's favorite of all the Seiko designs. It is the best watch case design ever made. The 6159 case and the SLA025 and 039 recreations are my favorites by a country mile. After that, the monolocks, and then the screw-down recreations like the 077, 079, 073 and 055. Even this 381 and the 509. They're all great.
A thousand more for the same thing
I don't like GMTs, but this thing is great. As a value proposition, if you're considering an 079 or an 077, it's a thousand more. You're getting the same thing apart from the movement, and you're not getting Zaratsu. But it's exceptionally done.
42 mm case, 12.9 mm thick according to Seiko, but it's actually over 13. 48.5 lug to lug, probably 49. 20 mm lugs. Caliber 6R54, minus 15 to plus 25 seconds a day, 72 hours of power reserve, 200 metres. The 509J, the 6,000 piece limited edition, is 300 metres and has the new, wonderfully long extension clasp. This one has the milled-out 6R clasp.
The dial, the clasp, the bezel
I hate these Seiko dials with their underwater wave. Give me a flat dial or a sunburst dial. You get a golden hand for a time zone you're not interested in following, a shovel-tipped red pip, and wonderfully executed indices. The ceramic bezel looks premium, with the action a bit mushy, a bit slushy, but it's Seiko, and it has a shrouded pip.
The clasp is awful. Whoever invented it, get rid of him. I can't even put it back together by myself. It's impossible to use. But the bracelet is brilliant: pin and collar, and you don't need thread lock once you've sized it. It will last forever. And it's not uncomfortable.
Verdict
The loom? The Marine Master is 25 times more potent than these. I wouldn't buy either of them, and I don't really like them either. But if you're a bit of a bell end and you can't save up a few more zlotties for a proper clocky, here we have something for you, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. Do you want a Marine Master? Here's one. Maybe one of these might do for you, but they wouldn't do for me, no matter how good they are.
