# Seiko SARB033 6 months on.



## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

I bought my Sarb back in February and given the uphoria that seems to be spreading and pushing prices to 500 quid and north of that in some adverts. I thought I'd give my thoughts in a new thread. Ive worn my 2017 example day in day out for about 6 months and rarely taken it off. I paid 340 quid for mine.

Since feb there seems to have been all sorts revisiting these on their youtube channels and all full of enthusiasm for the humble sarb and all pushing prices north. So it would be in my interests to agree with them I suppose. But...me agree, go on I'd rather say how I really find the sarb0...

First of all forget the guff, that this is a 5k Date Just for 500 quid. Its not. A longines LLD at 1500 quid would beat the sarb into fits. I know because ive had one. The sarb isnt in my view after starring at it, removing the bracelet etc and generally examining the finishing comparing lugs etc. Anything like as special as made out. Good yes, for a few hundred quid new it was superb in 2010 but that special? No its not. Not really.

Im contradicting my first thoughts really in the thread when i got my watch, but you can blame the honey moon period and the fact id lived 12 months with various vintage watches. And lets face it even a vintage Omega or Rolex with a plastic crystal would still make a sarb feel special...

So the sarb had to settle in so i could say how it really looks and feels.

The thing that complicates things is the fact there are lots of rubbish watches for 300 quid or more. So the sarbs 33 and 35 immediately feel superb, if used to the normal fodder in this price range.

However certain things confirm that the sarb was intended to be and is only a 300 quid watch. The finish on the lugs around the holes for the spring bars and the lack of perfect uniformity and slight variances on the machining ontop of the lug profiles. Not bad, but most certainly only in the 300 quid category.

However stepping back and looking at the watch as a whole. It is still a cracker at the original price. Its a great looker, the black dial is superb and bronze in the sun and the sapphire crystal is nice, even if it does not have AR and is the same as on a 150 quid seiko coutura kinetic....the view back is hardlex and yes mines scratched now.

The bracelet? Well i could not get a good fit with 1 micro, and beleive it or not when dismantled with pliers....it is a folded link bracelet. They are not forged. Ask me how i know ;-)....the clasp has an unsightly gap. Overall? A longines hydroconquest at 800 quid new puts the sarbs bracelet to shame. But remember the sarb is was and always will be a 300 quid watch. So therefore the bracelet is quiet good...solid milled clasp. Even if the clasp pins seem to have the strength of a diecast metal...go on ask me how i know. So in that case, paying 500 quid for a used sarb would be silly when 500 buys a used longines Hydroconquest.

I think my conclusion after 6 months is it is no where in the league of the swiss watches ive had in the circa 700 to 1000 pounds bracket. But it shouldnt be, we should not expect that of it.

However it is better than the Tissot Visodate i paid 350 quid for. A lot better at least in looks and feel and probably in robustness. Ignoring the bracelet, which i binned. The seiko Sarb033 is a robust 100m cross between sporty and daily wearer. Its no dress watch and hence why the visodate feels weak next to the sarb. The sarb may lack some finesse but it is very strongly made in that sense, its a honest 300 quid watch which will last most of us out. Even the time keeping has been good.

I suppose ive sounded harsh on the satb. And it might sound like im not that keen. But there in lies the rub...despite the fact i can see the reality of the sarb after wearing mine for 6 months. I still love it and given the choice between keeping it or having a swap for my old longines hydroconquest, then i would still keep the humble sarb. I wouldnt even part with it to have my LLD back, or even my 1994 Tudor Prince with its acrylic crystal....which seems contradictory i suppose. Having said all that I would not pay 500 quid for a sarb either.

But would I sell it for 500 and buy anything else that is currently available for 500? I really cant say anything tempts me out of my sarb in its price range. So despite all its short comings and despite the frankly silly prices being asked. Im still keeping mine. I like it, it always feels right.


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## Always"watching" (Sep 21, 2013)

Interesting to read your "cogitations" Nige. It's amazing what goes through our minds as watch collectors.


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

Yes its changing perceptions i think.


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

just looking back at some of the old watches i had on flickr and to be bluntly honest, this 38mm seiko 5 was almost as good as the sarb033 so the sarb is either over rated, or more likely, this 5...is a bit of a bargain...



you know lads? I think sometimes we get lead along like the donkey following a carrot...that 50 quid seiko 5 was brill. Makes you wonder....



why pay 500 or even 300 hundred for a sarb...when that is 38mm...the lume is better and the case is spot on? @Cassie-O do you still have your 5 like this? Should have kept mine and not bothered. I think I said at the time these were the best real world watches.

@mcb2007 makes you wonder why we bother eh mate carrot and donkey eh. :watch: sometimes i do feel daft. BTW your profile pic made me laugh. :laugh: nice one.






where next.

@BondandBigM where next....

Patek? :yes:

I need guidance....perhaps divine intervention lol.


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

trip down memory lane...

one of the omegas on the abc pump of one of the cl500s...i did not like that watch beautifully made, just naff.

IMG_0862 by 


and some of the bills for just one of the cl500's. all good fun.

IMG_1569 by . 


said cl500...and i lost the private plate, which i'd bought for mum (beryl) when i let the car go.

IMG_1554 by


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## fallingtitan (Jul 26, 2020)

nice strap combo.sarbs are very good at growing on you.


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## Cassie-O (Apr 25, 2017)

Nigelp said:


> @Cassie-O do you still have your 5 like this?


 I still have mine, and love it! :king:


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## cosmic55 (May 31, 2019)

I nearly bought a SARB033 last year and couldn't believe the jump in price this year. I was still tempted but after reading your write up I think it's confirmed my suspicion that they're currently a bit overpriced.

Quite a few Seiko models have jumped in price in the last year, the Sarb Alpinist and Sumo are other examples.


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## MrBrown (Mar 15, 2020)

I sold mine and regret it untill today, need to buy a new one asap



cosmic55 said:


> I nearly bought a SARB033 last year and couldn't believe the jump in price this year. I was still tempted but after reading your write up I think it's confirmed my suspicion that they're currently a bit overpriced.
> 
> Quite a few Seiko models have jumped in price in the last year, the Sarb Alpinist and Sumo are other examples.





MrBrown said:


> I sold mine and regret it untill today, need to buy a new one asap


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

Yes ive still got this. Even bought another new oem bracelet for it from an AD in Germany for 140 quid. I did try an uncle seiko president but it was rubbish. Yep still got the sarb....its longest ive had a watch and still not wanting to flip it. Thats 8 months now! Ive not had a watch as long since i had my longines HC....still searching for the ideal strap.


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

Chapter 2. Yep still got this must be a record for me. I have and have had finer watches, but....


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

Put this on the bay today at 550...got lots of views in 30 mins. Still had to pull it. Its just there still isnt anything to touch it at 550...roll the dice.


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

Yep I lost my bottle and marked the sales post sold. I just couldnt do it. Only way I could cancel simply an offer revoked before acceptance so all fair...im doomed i cant part with the sarb...tried a few GS on in llandudno and thought why bother.

I think i just like her you know.

This might become a relationship a saga even.






@BondandBigM i wouldnt mind an alfa and a nice gentle older women which is perhaps something the @AVO could share with me him being an Alfa man.

I might try a Rolex bond and break this infatuation with older women.


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## AVO (Nov 18, 2012)

Nigelp said:


> @BondandBigM i wouldnt mind an alfa and a nice gentle older women which is perhaps something the @AVO could share with me him being an Alfa man.


 Never had one. Look, I expressed my opinion recently on cars and car-themed thread hijacks.

Done. Please? Why beat it to death?


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## BondandBigM (Apr 4, 2007)

Nigelp said:


> Yep I lost my bottle and marked the sales post sold. I just couldnt do it. Only way I could cancel simply an offer revoked before acceptance so all fair...im doomed i cant part with the sarb...tried a few GS on in llandudno and thought why bother.
> 
> I think i just like her you know.
> 
> ...


 I had an Alfa GTV, the old 70's Twin Cam one, nice car and the engine exhaust note at full chat, they just don't sound like that anymore.

But like my Seiko unreliable and fell to bits.

:huh:

I'll stick to my Beemer and LV

:biggrin:


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

BondandBigM said:


> I had an Alfa GTV, the old 70's Twin Cam one, nice car and the engine exhaust note at full chat, they just don't sound like that anymore.
> 
> But like my Seiko unreliable and fell to bits.
> 
> ...


 Dad had an alfasud in about 1982 fast but it just rotted in no time. Shame it was reliable and good looking sporty thing. No one would take a px on it apart from a bloke selling an fso polonez. I think that car was the low point of my junior school years. Luckily he got made up foreman on his shift and swapped the polski fiat for a 2600 SD1.

Yep my SARB is on its second bracelet the pins are *****.


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

Still having a love hate relationship with the sarb....now wondering whether to swap it for a cal45 seiko chronometer from circa 1970....decisions decisions.


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

Ive treated it to a bit of cape cod a quick swish and the bezels like new.

















Very relaxing using cape cod.


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

Recently ive been feeling the bracelet tighter on the wrist than usual. So ive opted for a hirsch croco this time. Its a safe option for the 33 really. It is the first Hirsch ive had for a while. Ive been buying Di moddel and Geckota. To be fair going back to Hirsch after the others the feel on the wrist confirms why they are so well thought of. It just feels better comfy even before it beds in. The inside is very silky and the keeper is fully ligned with no stitching to chaff the wrist. I think they probably are the best straps, not always the most stylish and often very conservative, it still feels like it will last years not stretch and feel as fresh as new for a long time. The stitching is also spot on even on the inside not a stitch out of line. For 23 quid hard if not impossible to beat.


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

I paid £340 for this in February last year and now the average price is £540....that has to be a record in percentage terms. It means this lowly seiko used is worth as much as the new longines Hydroconquest I bought in 2016... that is scary....that is fast ford v old merc scary.

These are going a bit daft. And I still cant think what I would buy to replace it at that price if i did cash it in.

It is silly to think this would now buy me a 1970 Dennison case omega cal 600 in 9ct....but it would :laugh:


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

@martinzx im thinking ive rolled the dice on seiko long enough and its time to let the sarb buy me this?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F114537477265


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

To conclude this. I did sell the sarb last month. For £400 its the first watch ive ever made a profit on though that profit went on seller fees so I broke even.

The problem in the end was. On the bracelet the sarb is a heavy brute and the bracelet has only 1 micro. Unlike many people, after trying loads of different straps, i decided the sarb never looked right on a strap the lugs being to wide and heavy in the ends and with the inbetween lug polished it looked wrong. Also somehow on a strap it just looked plain.

Ontop of all that modern watches dont do a lot for me in terms of owning them. I prefer vintage.

In the first instance I went back to base and replaced the sarb with a lovely 1990 Omega Polaris. More on which in the future. A 32mm watch. And to be fair even though the sarb was good. The Polaris is in a different league in quality all together. The bracelet for example is superbly made. Also it was late 80s Gerald Genta so quiet fun.

I still needed a decent Seiko though as for me I just prefer Seiko even to Omega etcetera. But it had to be KS or GS, but preferably KS for the rarity and history. I just prefer them to GS. Luckily one came up.

So that concludes life with sarb033 i had it 12 months and wore it everyday. Time keeping was excellent and the 21000bph ok.

The rub with the sarb is although it is 38mm it does feel a bit big and clunky to me on the wrist and its so so heavy. The Polaris for example was a light relief literally and the KS is a proper classic seiko to me rather than a modern run of the mill one thats really ended up to well known and a bit me too. Which meant in the end it had to go. I enjoyed it but it never did a lot for me.


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

I need to revive this thread....My new watch will be more meaningful. I will do a v. Of sarb033 and step up... :wicked:

The road to a GS must be properly navigated to feel the full kick....

More in the morning.


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## Nigelp (Jan 28, 2015)

An update as promised...I had thought this SARB033 thread was dead. However as soon as the sarb left and i was left with what to replace it with I hit a dilemma. In came a vintage Omega a decent one too, but after the sarb the old omega felt about as good as well as good as an old watch i suppose. Nope it felt poor. So off went the omega and in came a 1973 King Seiko ks56 hi beat and that felt great. Fab quality old thing.

However...it still felt old and i realised as far as vintage watches are concerned their appeal had died.

At 36mm the ks felt too small.

I missed the humble sarb like a lot of people said i would.

So in my usual way (im not made of money). I sold the ks to yep buy another sarb. That was the plan.

This worked on a practical level as a decent old watch is a bit fragile for what I do. And i didnt feel right wearing the ks out and about in the fields and rain with the little dog.

So with the ks gone and 500 quid in my pocket i could easily find a sarb.

Problem was i saw a few videos looked at wus and realised there was a missing link between seiko and Grand Seiko. Where Seiko had infact 'done a Seiko' on Grand Seiko well that was according to wus and a few who had owned two particular JDM models (not sarx either).

Nope for 5 years seiko produced a couple of watches hidden fairly well in the JDM brightz.

So theres an obvious link. A comparison directly between sarb and these might be good for another thread.

That concludes this sarb thread though as i think the next watch deserves a thread of its own....


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