We went with a group of people to church and did the Mt. Takatori Hike. I've done this hike once before with the kids but it was pretty good I didn't mind doing it again. It seemed to be a pretty good length for us. Not too long that we can't make it, but long enough that we got a little tired. Especially going up all the stairs.
Everywhere I turn in Japan seems to have a nice view.
Check out Mt. Fugi.
A nice view and a giant Buddah.
On our way back we headed up the observation tower. It had a really great 360 degree view.
It sure has been cold here in Japan but we aren't letting that stop us from getting outside. I'm not used to all this sunshine in the winter. I'm used to a cold and wet winter. Here it is cold and very very dry.
After all the years collecting iconic watches, I finally got myself the famous SKX007 with the Jubilee bracelet. Although I have the SKX009 with rubber strap (the strap disintegrated on me recently in November 2017), I always harbour the interest of one on a Jubilee bracelet. Saw one on Amazon with a good price and I ordered it.
The specifications of the watch is similar to that of the SKX009 apart from a single colour bezel and Jubilee bracelet. If if you want to know details, do visit the review on the SKX009. The link is here:
After going through the original review of the watch I bought in 2011 (review was written in 2014), I realised that the review didn't do justice to the watch. As such, I will attempt to provide more information on this iconic timepiece.
The History
Seiko has two separate lines of dive watches, the PROSPEX, or professional line, and their sport line. The sport line branched off from the PROSPEX watches in 1975, and focused more on recreational divers with their relatively shallow depth limits while the professional divers are for extreme depths. The SKX007 is part of the sports line.
The SKX007 is the direct descendant of the 7002, which was first produced in 1988. It was Seiko’s best selling beater dive watch until its retirement in 1996. It was immediately replaced by the SKX007 and other members of the series. Although there are other variants feature the same case paired with different dial designs and colours, the famous remains the SKX007 and the SKX009.
The Watch
The SKX007 is made out of 316L stainless steel and has a case diameter of 42.5 mm (45.5 mm including the crown) with a thickness of 13.3 mm. Lug width is 22 mm and the lug-to-lug is 46 mm.
The sides of the watch case are highly polished while the top of the lugs has a fine-brushed finish. There’s a slight bevel where the case meets the bezel, and it extends all the way down to the lugs.
The 120-click unidirectional bezel has insert made from black aluminum with silver minute markers (combination of dots, lines and Arabic numbers). It has a illuminated pip at 12 o'clock. This is to conform to the ISO6425 standards for diving watches. It also features a two-tiered groove pattern that allows for a sure grip. Unlike my earlier SKX009, this new piece has a bezel fully painted black.
The dial is black and the hour markers are circle markers painted with LumiBrite. The 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock markers are more pill-like in shape whereas the 12 o'clock marker is like an upside down triangle. There is no marker for 3 o'clock. Instead, a day and date aperture is provided. The day wheel is bilingual (Spanish and English), and Saturday is represented in blue text and Sunday in red. With the date and day wheels having black on white background colour scheme, the aperture does appear to have some semblance to the other markers.
The hours hand is sword shaped while the minutes hand is arrow shaped with a broad base. Both of theses two main hands are needle tipped. The hours and minutes hands are also painted with LumiBrite and surrounded in chrome. The seconds hand has a long counterbalance with a lumed ball end bordered in black trim. The rest of the seconds hand is painted white.
The illumination is very good. On the right is a lume shot of the watch.
The logo is positioned below the 12 o’clock marker, with the word “AUTOMATIC” right below “SEIKO.” On the bottom half is the depth rating, and it reads “DIVER’S 200m” in red. The sloping chapter ring which is also black but with white line minute markers helps create an illusion of a wider dial surface than actual. Meanwhile, on top of the watch case is a chamfered glass made from Seiko’s proprietary Hardlex crystal.
The screw-down crown is located at 4 o'clock and has a pair of protective shoulders protruding out of the casing to protect it from impact. The unsigned crown is quite large and features coin edging.
The solid screw-down case-back is decorated by the famous tsunami logo. The technical information about the watch are etched along the perimeter of the case back. Underneath it is Seiko's generic workhouse automatic caliber, the 7S26. This movement comprises of four primarymoving parts. It features a quickset day & date display, automatic bi-directional winding (via Seiko’s patented Magic Lever system), 21 jewels, operating frequency of 21,600 bph. Unlike the more modern movements by Seiko, the 7S26 is non-handwinding and non-hacking. In terms of accuracy, Seiko quote an error range at approximately -20 to +40 seconds per day. The movement can be adjusted to achieve greater accuracy if required.
The Jubilee bracelet is a design that is old school. It is synonymous with Rolex watches and the construction is more complex than say an Oyster bracelet (this is a common design copied by many watch manufacturers). The three piece construction for the middle link is what makes it unique as well as the "D" shape profile of the side links.
The end-inks are not solid. The links are attached using simple friction pins and resizing the bracelet is easy. From the lugs it starts with a width of 22 mm and it tapers down to 18 mm at the clasp. The claps uses a simple friction mechanism to fasten with an additional safety lever to secure it. The clasp has brand stamp into the metal part of the safety lever. Interestingly, the clasp has six (6) micro-adjustment points for precise sizing. Due to this, for the first time in my watch collecting hobby history, I did not have to take away any links to resize a bracelet that came from a new watch straight from the box. I suspect the presence of a lot of micro-adjustment points on the clasp is to compensate for the lack of a 'Divers' Extension' system on the bracelet.
This is in fact the first Jubilee bracelet to join the collection. Quite impressed with the look and feel of the bracelet. Not as stiff as an Oyster bracelet but more flexible. In the photos above, you can see how easily the bracelet can bend on to itself.
The watch appears to come in two references; the SKX007KD as well as the SKX007K2. Both are correct although they tell you two different things about the watch.
Let's look at the SKX007K2 first. The first 6 alphanumeric combination tells you the model number. The next letter "K" tells you that it was made outside Japan (for Japanese made watches the suffix "J" will be present). The only way to know the country of origin would be to open the case-back to see whether it is stated. As it stands now, there are no country-of-origin markings externally. It could possible come from Malaysia, Thailand or China (these are the countries that I currently know have Seiko watch factories). Next, the number "2" signifies that this particular unit comes with a Jubilee bracelet ("1" is for rubber strap; "3" for Oyster bracelet). The "D" on the SKX007KD signifies that this unit is a Japan import, meaning that it was made outside of Japan but imported into Japan for domestic sale.
The Wearing Experience
Compared to the rubber strapped SKX009, the bracelet SKX007 is so much more comfortable to wear. Unlike the rubber strap version, the Jubilee bracelet does not pinch the skin and feel abrasive all the time. Also, the likelihood the bracelet will suffer 'natural failure' in the next 5 years is close to impossible. Compare to a rubber strap that is expected to fail after three years: OMG Moment: Seiko SKX009K1 Automatic Professional Diver 200M Rubber Strap Disintegration.
I truly appreciate the way the vintage styling of the bracelet dresses the watch. Being heavy and robust helps balance the weight distribution instead of concentrating it squarely on the watch casing. It makes the SKX007 feel and look more valuable.
Below is a short video of the watch on my wrist.
The Buying Experience
In Kuala Lumpur, the cheapest SKX007K2 that I could find was priced at RM999.00 (plus RM7.00 for courier). Its MSRP is listed at RM1,764.00. However, I was able to get it via Amazon for just RM976.02 (RM807.53/USD195.98 for the watch and RM168.49/USD40.89 for courier). Using the AmazonGlobal Priority Shipping via DHL, I was able to get the watch within the week.
On Another Note
I realized after reading my earlier review that was written back in 2014 on the SKX009, I did not cover a lot of things about the genesis as well as other important intricate details about the watch. It was interesting to see how far I have grown in terms of my understanding about watches.
We have been having computer issues so I haven't been able to post for a while! I have so much to catch up on.
On our way to the Christmas Winter Illumination we went on an underwater bridge! We had no idea what we were getting into, it was so crazy. Google maps does not warn you about things like that. All we knew is that we were following the directions then we got to a crazy expensive toll (over $30), and because of a wrong turn we already payed $26 dollars in tolls, then we were on a bridge then suddenly it dipped down into a super long tunnel and back out again. We got to do the whole thing in reverse the way home including tolls (minus $13 for the wrong turn we originally took). It was an expensive drive. But fun new experience. I didn't even know these types of bridge/tunnels existed.
This on is called the Tokyo Bay Aqua-line. I looked up some info on wikipedia here. It has an overall length of 14 km, including a 4.4 km bridge and a 9.6 tunnel. It is the fourth-longest underwater tunnel in the world. We didn't stop but I'm pretty sure we passed a restaurant at the end of the bridge part.
It made me a little nervous when I first realized that we were driving underwater. I just hoped the tunnel walls didn't crumble in on us. The underwater part is almost 6 miles long, so we were in it for a while.
Designed by the Italian designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro, the Seiko Giugiaro 7A28-7000 is an asymmetric chronograph first seen in the movie Aliens. In fact, this watch was one of the first of the collaboration between the two powerhouses using the 7A28 movement. This caliber is famous as being the first analogue quartz chronograph movement in the world. The year was 1983. It was only in 1986 with the release of the movie 'Aliens' did the watch became insanely famous.
When it was announced in 2016 of the reissue, I was initially interested. However, the urge waned as I was more interested in mechanical watches (On hindsight, I didn't realised that I was turning into a typical 'mechanical watch snob' - everything not mechanical considered trash. Fortunately, I saw the light to the correct path for a horologist).
The Seiko Giugiaro 'Ripley Aliens' reissues are all limited edition pieces. Due to the indecisiveness, I missed out a lot of the models on sale. I thought I would never get the chance to get one until I saw an offer by SeiyaJapan. The model reference was SCED041 and I quickly made the order. This is the second Giugiaro designed watch in the collection.
The SCED041 has a black stainless steel case with matching bracelet. The black paint is PVD coated. However, the rectangle pusher housing is polished stainless steel. Measuring 41.8 mm tall, 42.2 mm wide and a thickness of 10.8 mm, this model is limited to 2,000 examples only. The dial is protected by Hardlex crystal. Made in 2016, the watch weighs in at 113 grams total.
Other major characteristics of the watch are: (a) It is made in China (b) It has a simple deployment clasp (c) It uses the Seiko Caliber 7T12 Chronograph movement (d) Listed price of YEN38,800 (e) Bracelet capable of supporting up to maximum wrist size of 195 mm or 7.7 inch (f) 100 meter water rating (g) Battery life of 5 years (h) Manufacturer's stated accuracy of +15/-15 seconds per month.
The SCED041 is not strictly a reproduction of the original 7A28-7000 series but an adaptation. There are a number of differences that differentiate it from the original. Since there are a lot of reviews written about the differences, I shall refrain from spending too much time highlighting them. If you want to know more, do visit some of the reviews for the required information.
The Back Story
Giugiro Design is synonymous with Mr Giorgetto Giugiaro, an Italian automotive designer who created many iconic cars, such as various Alfa Romeos, the 1977 BMW M1 and the DeLorean. In 1983, Seiko in collaboration with Giugiaro released a series of motoring watches under the 'Speedmaster' moniker. Created from a fertile mind of a futurist, the watches were either liked with a passion or loath with a vengeance. There were only the two extremes when it came to opinions.
It was only after one of the designs was used by the lead character of the movie 'Aliens' in 1986 did it became famous. The very industrial style of the 7A28-7000 watch blend in nicely with the concept of the movie and that what made it feel 'natural'. People started to take notice of it almost immediately.
The Casing
As highlighted earlier, you either love the design or you hate it. In my case, I love the design due purely to it quirkiness. From a design standpoint, there are a lot of inefficient characteristics which can be simplified or made more ergonomically better. However, once you think like a futurist, you would start to appreciate what Giugiaro was trying to accomplish with this project. I believe the message that he want to tell is that we humans, if we continue to pursue creating mega industrial businesses as the only reason to being human, future products will no longer be made to our requirements but rather on what the industrial complex wants to make. In the future, it is the industry that dictates wants and needs instead of humans. A bleak future for mankind but let's hope it doesn't come to this.
Closely sharing the same case design of the 1983 original, the watch is modestly proportions. Measuring 41.8 mm (tall), 42.2 mm (wide) and 10.8 mm (thick), it sits nicely of an average sized wrist. The rectangle housing on the right side of the watch casing creates an illusion of a large watch but in reality it wears well. Moreover, the choice of not painting the rectangle pusher housing black reduces the size impression somewhat.
The main case is a monoblock construction with a snap-on case back. It has a step-up dial lip that creates a strong circular element to the design. Coupled with the short hooded lugs, the designer is able to create a watch that can sit squarely on any wrist by reducing the possibility of any lug overhang. The rectangle box that contains the pusher housing is bolted on to the right side with two large hex screws straddling the crown. In the push-in position, the crown is well protected as it is tucked inside the housing. Unfortunately, I feel the crown to be a bit small. Measuring just 4.5 mm across, it is difficult to use if you have stubby fingers.
The flat Hardlex crystal that protects the dial sits slightly above the dial lip. I would have preferred it to be flushed with the dial lip to reduce the possibility of a side impact.
The primary purpose of the rectangular housing is to create the necessary space to add a special mechanism to redirect the pushers vertically. Mechanically, the push rods are located at the 2 o'clock and 4 o'clock positions. However, the ecstatic of the design requires a special mechanism to rearrange the pushers motion alignment. Unfortunately, the additional complication makes the pushers less sensitive that what you would expect of pushers on a typical Seiko chronograph. The fact that the pushers feel loose due to the substantial gap between the pusher caps and the pusher slot, makes for a poor chronograph experience. Although a lot of reviewers highlighted this problem, I find it impossible to believe that Seiko would allow such 'poor' quality control. If my assessment is correct on the design concept, I believe this was done (the pusher issue) on purpose to reflect the fact that humans are no longer in control. In the future, it is no longer what we want that is important. In the future, we may no longer have a choice. Philosophically, this is deep.
The Dial
The dial of the SCED041 also stays very close to the original. The dials consists of two surfaces and a chapter ring.
The sloping chapter ring is painted black and consist of a Tachymeter scale in white. With this scale, one can use the stopwatch to determine how many seconds it takes to go 1 km or 1 mile and use the corresponding scale to indicate the speed of travel.
The top surface is white and features a black index scale. The index features large rectangles for the hours, smaller lines for the minutes and seconds, and very small lines for the 1/5th seconds. The SCED041 features a quartz movement that does tick at 1/5th second intervals, which makes the scaling useful to some extent.
The lower surface is seen through a large partial-circle cutout in the upper white surface. Black in colour, it creates a nice contrast to the white. On this surface at 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock are sub-dials for the 24 hours, 60 minute counter and active seconds, respectively. There is also a date aperture at the sub-dial at 3 o'clock with a white on black date wheel. If given a choice, I would replace the 24 hours hand with a normal chrono hour-counter.
The hour and minute hands are black with white lines running down their middle. No luminous paint is used throughout the dial. Meanwhile, the chrono-seconds hand is a thin stick in black. Two interesting aspects of the chrono-seconds hand is that (one) it looks like it stays very thin as it passes through the center of the watch, but it actually connects to a white disk, and (two) as the chrono-seconds hand moves over the hours and minutes hands, it appears to merge or disappear as the black chrono-seconds hand covers the centre white lines of the other two hands.
The Bracelet
The SCED041 comes with a unique steel bracelet that is very close to the original. Again, it's a love or hate to most people. I guess those that hate it could be due to two factors. The complexity of resizing the bracelet and the overall feel of it. Those that love it could also be due to two factors. The clean look of the links and its pure uniqueness.
The bracelet is very steampunk yet industrial. It starts at the lugs with a width of 18 mm. The bracelet then spreads immediately to 20 mm before slowly tapering back down to 18 mm at the clasp.
Each links are thin rectangles, each with 3 square slots for esthetics. Each link consist of an outer folded shell, an inner sheet and a separate hidden hinge piece. Since the links are hinged at the back, it gives each link a very clean look. Using the technique of folding metal creates a vintage feel to the bracelet.
It is here where opinions differs considerably. On one side of the fence, the 'vintage' style manufacturing process of the bracelet seems cheap and flimsy whereas the other side of the fence find it very true to the original.
Resizing the bracelet is a lot different than resizing a typical Seiko bracelet. Instead of a typical 'pin-and-collar' system, the bracelet on the SCED041 has a sliding plate that needs to be removed (similar to a pin). An additional step of removing the hinge pieces left and right of the link that is to be removed is required before it can be completely separated. This makes it rather tedious. This factor also polarized opinions. Some welcome the resizing complication while some frown on it.
When I was resizing the bracelet, despite being gentle, I did scratch a bit of the paint. The fact is that it is very difficult to not scratch since you need tools and some effort to dislodge the sliding plate.
The Movement
The case-back is solid and is a snap-in instead of a screw-down. Underneath the polished case-back is Seiko's 7T12 quartz chronograph caliber. This movement has time functions such as 24-hours, hours, minutes, small seconds; calendar function such a date wheel; stopwatch functions such as measures up to 60 minutes in 1/5th of a second increments as well as split time measurement.
The 7T12 has the following specifications: 1 Frequency of crystal oscillator: 32,768 Hz 2 Loss/gain (monthly rate): ±15 seconds at normal temperature range (between 5° C and 35° C) 3 Operational temperature range: Between –10° C and +60° C 4 Driving system: 3 step motors 5 Battery: 1 Seiko SR927SW 6 Energy reserve: average 5 years if the stopwatch is used less than 2 hours per day
Replacing the battery will need some care due to the black PVD coated case. As the case-back is snap-in design, the need to use a prying blade increases the possibility of scratching the paint. It would be interesting to note how a Seiko technician would tackle this risk. I suspect Seiko must have a unique tool to overcome this problem. If anyone knows anything about this, please feel free to put a note on it in the comment section below. This is also the first quartz chronograph movement from Seiko in the collection.
The Packaging
For a limited edition piece, the packaging appears very simple and generic. I half expected something more ornate to reflect its association to a movie classic. I guess Seiko did not have a commercial arrangement with the movie 'Aliens' hence the lack of any explicit movie tie-in.
The manual is just a large thin printed sheet folded neatly into a 7 cm by 3.5 cm booklet.
The Price
I bought the watch from SeiyaJapan. Based on a coupon that I have, I was able to get it for USD308.75 (listed price USD325.00) or RM1,312.59 (plus a further RM100.05 for taxes). The manual for the watch is attached at the end of this review.
The MSRP for the watch is YEN36,000 (before taxes).
As highlighted earlier, the SCED041is limited to just 2,000 units. I got number 1748/2000.
The Wearing Experience
At 113 grams, the watch is very light compared to most of my other watches. It wears well on the wrist, despite the rectangle pusher housing extending the width by an addition few millimeters to the right. Although, the watch casing is asymmetrical along the lugs axis, it does not affect balance due to the light weight of the watch. Wearing the watch on the left wrist or the right wrist is also not an issue.
As the corners of the bracelet links are not beveled, you do feel some sharpness along the edge. This increases the possibility of nicks and bumps appearing along the edge of the bracelet. Luckily, the edges of the watch casing are beveled. Below is the watch on my wrist.
Below is a video of the watch on my wrist.
Conclusion
Having an industrial feel and unique at the same time is special. The SCED041 is iconic in that it was able to connect and resonate with a lot of people about the future. The brilliance of Mr. Giorgetto Giugiaro by incorporating futuristic expectations in a design that goes against the conventional ideas of 'quality' is commendable. Hats off to Seiko to buy into the idea and bankrolled the project.
The SCED041 is a cute and quirky timepiece that speaks volume. Granted it feels 'cheap' but for USD300 and a bit, with big names such as Seiko and Giugiaro plus the famous movie tie-in associated with the watch, its worth it.
My only regret was not committing to the purchase when Seiko first announced the reinterpretation of the 'Ripley Watch'. I would have preferred the SCED035 with its matte steel surface (similar to the original 7A28-7000) instead of the black PVD and polished surface combination of the SCED041.
Everywhere I turn in Japan seems to have a nice view.
Check out Mt. Fugi.
A nice view and a giant Buddah. 
On our way back we headed up the observation tower. It had a really great 360 degree view.
