# Griff a Seiko lover yet?



## peter (Feb 23, 2003)

re your 779 Griff. Have you received it yet. Come on tell us. Are you converted yet?

Peter


----------



## Griff (Feb 23, 2003)

Hello Peter, welcome back!

Yes, I got it this morning, and it's one very impressive chunk of st.steel.

The case is just stunning, as is the dial.

In 5 hours it's gained 1.5 to 2 secs. That's not bad!

The bracelet was a pig to size. The links are a bitch to get in and out, but Griff does not give in to nowt!!

Yes, I'm very pleased with it.

You can call me a semi Seiko man









Hope Andy likes his birthday watch!? How's it keeping time Andy?

More posts from both of you please!!!!


----------



## Andy (Feb 23, 2003)

Griff.

Picture the scene.I'm standing eating my toast in the kitchen this morning. Reach for my coffee which I knock over. My new Seiko is right there so I try to snatch it out of the way and end up sending it flying across the kitchen.

It lands on the tiled floor with a real crack. Pick my new pride and joy up only to find the impact has caused it to stop...

OK after a little gentle persuasion it did start again but I was gutted. Emailed Roy who said moniter it.

So far it seems alright.

Have you noticed these sort of incidents only happen with your best watches. Never you old hacks.


----------



## pauluspaolo (Feb 24, 2003)

Bad news Andy, I hope the watch is OK. It reminds me of when I knocked my 6138 off a windowsill at work. The watch kept on running but one of the subdial hands had come off and the other was knocked from it's zero position. I managed to refit the detatched hand but the other is still a minute off when I reset the chronograph. Just adds to the character of the watch I suppose. The air turned blue when I did it though









Cheers

Paul


----------



## Griff (Feb 23, 2003)

I dropped my Omega SPC yesterday morning in the bedroom.

It landed on a plastic fan heater, and then the thick carpet, so it seems ok.

Wore it all day though to make sure the 3 s per day gain was still the same.

Fortunately, it is, so all is well. The air goes blue at first though, when you scream "oh dear", and your eyes drop onto the crystal first to see that's ok.

I actually ran into the living room, put it on the coffee table under the reading lamp, and carefully gave it the baby blues all round the surface of the crystal, with magnifying glass firmly twisted into one eye socket.

It's the closest my screeching cockatiel has got to being throttled.

I'm almost glued to the face of the watch, and the bird has just gone into a manic bout of whistling and screeching because it has just heard a magpie doing its nut in the garden.............but all is well!!! 

Look after that watch........it'll be a classic in memory terms alone!!


----------



## Griff (Feb 23, 2003)

Re: 779

It's still only gained 2 s in 24 hours, and it was smack on to the second OVERNIGHT! That's astonishing for a 7S26.

They state 7S26A What does the A stand for?

If it keeps this up, it could atcually be my most accurate mechanical watch, and the fact it's neither lost or gained a single second overnight is what astonishes me the most.

I think most fair minded people will admit that the 5's with the same movement, aren't the easiest of watches to finely regulate.

I must be lucky with this particular watch. I'm amazed!!!


----------



## peter (Feb 23, 2003)

Griff, what about the lume? Have you discovered it yet if so, would you say it is incomparable?

Peter


----------



## Griff (Feb 23, 2003)

If you mean the liminosity, it's very good.

I don't think it's actually better though than the Omega SPC, which is also very impressive in the dark. The M5 is also on a par with both of these.

All excellent on the "lume" score.


----------



## Sargon (Feb 24, 2003)

Is the Omega SPC what we on this side of the pond call a SMP? Seamaster Professional. If so I think the Seiko has a very slight leg up on the Omega in the luminosity department. What gets me is the quality. The Omega is 5 to 10 times the cost and yet quality-wise the SKX779 is not that much inferior.


----------



## Griff (Feb 23, 2003)

Yes, the same. I call it the SPC, for Seamaster Professional Chronometer, and because Seamaster is all one word.

I'm very impressed with my 779, which is gaining just 2 s per day, which has amazed me, and this is now another of the watches I will be keeping.

At Roy's discounted prices, the Omega is 6 times the cost of the 779, and at full retail prices over here, 4.4 times the cost. Is it worth the price difference? Yes it is. The highly personalised movement in the Omega is exceptional, and it runs like silk. The watch is slimmer than the 779, but has a heavy feel of very high quality about it. The sapphire crystal is surrounded by a superb bezel, and the hands are stunning quality. The crowns are high precision, by the way they screw up without a hint of cross threading, and the bracelet, with its divers extension, is also extra high on quality. I'm afraid the old adage is true, in you get what you pay for, and the Omega is not that expensive when compared in the high street to other top makes. I think most fair minded people will agree with that.

Be under no illusion though, I'm very impressed with my 779, and would recommend anyone to buy one at Roy's discounted price of Â£145, instead of Â£250. Roy says he can get the Â£1100 Omega at 20% discount!

If I have one criticism, it is the same as the one I have of the 5's, i.e they are too thick at 12.5mm., but it seems that all the cases which house the 7S26's are like this. I don't know if this is the case with the Grand Seiko, whose looks have impressed me greatly?

I have just realised an analogy. I, like many, have a likeness for wearing divers watches, at least some of the time. It's a bit like people driving 4 x 4's on ordinary roads. Some people never take their off-roaders, off the roads!!

True though..............aint it!!? There's a bloke at work who drives an immaculate Land Rover Defender, but NEVER off road. We call it the Top Hat and Tails Land Rover!









I guess some of us wear Top Hat and Tails Divers Watches!!!


----------



## Sargon (Feb 24, 2003)

I have the GMT SMP which is I believe 2 mm taller than the regular professional. My SMP (or SPC) seems so much bigger that my SKX779. What are your impressions Griff? The SMP crystal is wider, but overall dimentions aren't that much different. I've been thinking about getting a mid size as well. (I'd never trade in my GMT) I can get them at half price with the serial number minus the box and papers.


----------



## Griff (Feb 23, 2003)

Sargon,

If the GMT is the one without the helium valve, it looks good.

I think the mid size ones look a bit small, but at half the price that's damn good, papers or no papers. Case sizes are very much personal choice. With the 5's, I think the thickness of the case looks much more pronounced, and I think the watch case could do with slimming down. The 779 looks much better because of its overall diameter. My Omega seems flatter on the wrist than the 779, but about the same weight. I'll weigh them at work tomorrow!

Two excellent watches; both the best of their price bracket.

I still can't get over the accuracy of the 779. I haven't touched the regulation from getting it, and it's gained just 7 s in 3.5 days. Amazing, and it seems consistant in different positions. My Omega is 3 s per day, but I haven't adjusted that either in 18 months.


----------



## Sargon (Feb 24, 2003)

I wish I could say the same. My SKX779 is 30 seconds fast per day. I'll get around to regulating it someday.


----------

