Watch Review: Seiko Marinemaster Professional 300m Diver (SBDX001)

This is a review that I did a while back on the Seiko Marine Master. Great Watch!



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Name of Reviewer: Mark (AKA andrema)


Watch Brand and Model Reviewed: Seiko Marinemaster Professional 300m Diver (AKA MM300)


Watch was purchased by reviewer for personal collection.


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Seiko Websites:

US Site - http://www.seikousa.com/

Global Site- http://www.seikowatches.com/home.html



Seiko USA Contact Information:

SEIKO Corporation of America - Service Center
1111 Macarthur Boulevard, Mahwah, NJ 07430, U.S.A.
Tel:+1-201-529-3316
Fax:+1-201-529-4525
E-mail: custserv @ seikousa .com



Seiko Marinemaster Professional 300m Diver (SBDX001) Specifications:


• Model Reference Number: SBDX001

• Movement: 8L35 Automatic 26j, Hack function & Hand winding, 50+ hour power reserve

• Case: One piece stainless steel “monocoque” case with brushed and polished finishing

• Crown: Screw-down crown

• Bezel: Rotating with anti-reverse spin function - 42mm diameter.

• Crystal: Dual-curved Hardlex with antireflective coating

• Lug Spacing: 20mm

• Diameter: 44 mm (without the crown)

• Thickness: 14.6 mm

• Weight (w/stainless steel bracelet): 210g

• Luminosity: Lumibrite hands and markers

• Water proof: 300 m water resistance for divers



Price: $2,500 (New)


Seiko stock photo:






Please note: For reference purposes, the photos of the watch below are taken on a 7.25 wrist.



Packaging:

The packaging is fairly understated and basic for a watch of this caliber. The watch comes with an inner and outer box, which is just a slight improvement on what one would expect from the traditional, Non-Prospex, packaging. In comparison to the packaging of a comparable diving watch (such as an Omega Planet Ocean), it is rather plain and pales in comparison. It is, however, adequate.

The entire package includes: Inner/outer Prospex branded boxes, SBDX001 watch, Rubber strap, hang tag, instruction manuals and certificate card.





Case:

The SBDX001 case is a constructed of stainless steel and has a monocoque design (no caseback). The case contains an internal L-shaped gasket design that makes this a “saturation diver” (helium gas diver) watch. The unsigned, screw-down crown is positioned at 4 o’clock and is not protected from being damaged by an impact with crown guards.

The unidirectional (60 clicks) divers’ bezel on the MM300 it is not the typical aluminmum insertbezel assembly that you would find with most divers. It is a one piece stainless steel bezel with aggressive, beveled grips and has an acrylic coating over the top of the bezel. The bezel is painted glossy black, with silver numbering and a recessed, illuminated pip. It is slightly raised over the crystal and provides protection from dings and scratches to the crystal’s surface.

The watch includes a dual-curved Hardlex mineral crystal. The crystal has antireflective coating on both sides to provide a glare-free view of the dial from all angles.

One important itme to note is that the movement of the MM300 can only be accessed through the front of the watch (crystal side). This requires the use of a certified Seiko watchmaker to perform any service and/or repairs.


Front/Dial side:






Back/Caseback:





Crown side:




Non-crown side:




Close-up of crown:




Dial and Hands:

The MM300 comes with a slate black dial with large round and square (at 3, 6 & 9) luminous hour indices. The hour indices on the watch are bordered by polished stainless steel and filled with Lumibrite. When fully charged, the green glow is very bright and will last many hours. The date aperture for the watch has a white border and the date wheel has a satin silver background, with black numbers.

The hands on the watch are very nicely executed. The hands have beveled edges, with a combination of brushed and polished steel surfaces. The detailed design of the hands provides a nice contrast against the watch’s flat black finish and polished indices. Like the hour indices and bezel pip, the hands are also filled with Lumibrite.







Bracelet and Clasp:

The bracelet and the diver's extension are very nicely designed. The bracelet has decent heft to it and has solid end links. Although it appears that the bracelet is a three piece, it is actually made up of five pieces. This is not entirely evident until you are sizing the bracelet and see how they actually go together. The bracelet will fit wrists up to 8.5 inches and does not come with half links.

The links of the bracelet are held together with Seiko`s pin and friction collar system. This design, fortunately is not designed the same as a typical friction collar Seiko bracelet. The collar fits in the center of the link and not the end, like most other divers that I have seen. This is a much easier design for owners to negotiate, without having to bring the watch to a jeweler for fitting.

The ratcheting divers clasp is very easy to use and offers a multitude of fine adjustments. It is operated by lifting the clasp lock and pushing it backwards towards the watch case. In addition, the clasp offers four micro adjustments for fine tuning your fit.






In addition to the bracelet, the MM300 comes with a rubber strap. This is basically just a variation on the Z22 strap that Seiko uses on its SKX-series divers.


Movement:

The SBDX001 contains a Seiko 8L35 calibre, which is the base movement for the Grand Seiko 9S55 movement. The automatic movement runs at 28,800 vph and has a 50 hour power reserve. In addition, the movement can also be manually wound, has a hacking second mechanisms. According to the Seiko technical specifications, the movement has an accuracy of +15 ~ -10 seconds per day. However, actual results tend to be much more accurate.






Overall impression:

I have owned my SBDX001 for about a year now and feel that it is very well made. The quality of the fit/finish as well as the attention to detail that Seiko put into this watch is outstanding. As compared to its comparable Swiss counterparts (such as the Omega Planet Ocean), its execution is on par.

Although I consider this a “dressy diver”, its height makes it impractical as an everyday watch while wearing a suit or shirt with buttoned cuffs. However, it is right at home anywhere from a “business casual” environment to a BBQ cookout. For those on the fence, it is definitely worth the price of admission.


HOWEVER…this watch is not perfect! The following are what I consider the “cons” of the MM300:

Unsigned crown – This would have been a nice addition to an already nicely designed watch. Minor as it is, this is something that would improve the look of the watch.

Hardlex crystal – Although the mineral crystal is protected nicely by the divers’ bezel, it is still prone to scratches. It was a conscience decision by Seiko to use Hardlex for cost and quality reasons, but a sapphire crystal upgrade would have been a nice touch. In the event that I get a scratch or knick on my MM300 crystal, I will definitely have it replaced with sapphire.

Bezel – Although the bezel grip is very nice and the bezel action is smooth, the “click” of the bezel could be a little more firm. A fine example is the Omega Planet Ocean, which has excellent firmness and very little play.

Bracelet – The endlinks on the bracelet could be fit a little better. In addition, since the watch is fairly top heavy, a more robust bracelet would work to balance out the watch a little better. Even with this “fault”, the bracelet wears very comfortably and is of very good quality.

Hour hand – The hour had is a tad short for my taste. If it were a little longer, it would be perfect. However, if it were longer, it would obscure the date window and make reading it a little more difficult.



That’s all! Pretty petty, huh!



Thanks for reading ~ Mark