today!

Personally own the sne039 - real watch really pretty, but seiko picture sucks.
Hello everybody,

I have the seiko sne039 and it's the most elegent and manly watch I've seen. It's very sharp looking. I really love this watch. The only reason why I post is to let you guys know that the pictures I've seen online, amazon, and on seiko's site, looks ugly and is not representative of the watch at all! I don't know why seiko does this. I saw this watch first hand in the store and was totally blown away how it looked! I then bought one online

I have to say again that the watch looks amazing! There's only two complaint:

a) there was a speck of dust or something and also a piece of lint inside inside the glass I expected perfection.
b) The date didn't make too much sense. it displays more than monday to sunday. it displays mie, lun, sab etc. I wish seiko would sell models that has titanium, solar, and radio (that works in the US) of this model that is much more affordable.

c) biggest issue: I didn't like the sizing of the band..somehow, it's either too lose or too tight. they should have made the band more adjustible, namely, give it more holes on the clasp or make the last link a bit different from the rest and that it's replacable. sizing may be an issue for some.. i guess I'll live with it..

Re: I saw this watch first hand in the store and was totally blown away..

I'm not surprised. It is a gorgeous watch!

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a) there was a speck of dust or something and also a piece of lint inside inside the glass I expected perfection.

Very unusual for a !

I know this won't be much comfort but, AFAICS, my friends SNE039 is perfect in build quality. The seconds hand even hits the markers spang-on, not something that can be taken for granted, even with Seiko!

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b) The date didn't make too much sense. it displays more than monday to sunday. it displays mie, lun, sab etc.

Ahhhh.. you should be able to set it for English-only day display. The example with which I am familiar works that way, certainly.

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c) biggest issue: I didn't like the sizing of the band..somehow, it's either too lose or too tight.

Yeah, it'd definitely be nice if the micro-adjustment had more range.



Still, for the money, this is an awesome watch!

A very nice watch, not see them often! Great choice! (n/t)

Solar makes it very interesting.  (n/t)

Very solid choice!
There are very few solar day/date models and all the higher-end models are either much bigger and slightly more expensive or totally f***ing expensive - like the models below which don't even sync outside JP yet are about 10 times more expensive (which is killing me ):

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It does me good to hear you say so.
I mean, he's happy as can be with the watch, so I was thinkin' we did A-OK, too. But having a bona-fide Quartz Guru confirm it removes all doubt, for me.

I've seen these Solars in the stores ( for much more) do they
Work like Eco drives?

Re: Work like Eco drives?
Yes, they are essentially identical to Eco-Drive, at least from a user standpoint.

Mind you, if Seiko's claims are true ( see caliber V158 manual HERE ) these have significantly better charging efficiency than Eco-Drive. Seiko being Seiko, I see no reason to doubt it...

one more ?
I've stayed away from these because like kinetics a capacitor is charged

I thought they wear out after a time, how long do they last?

Re: I've stayed away from these because like kinetics a capacitor is charged. I thought they wear out after a time, how long do they last?
The easy thing would be to admit "Sorry mate. I don't have a clue. "

But I'm not exactly known for Taking The Easy Way Out , so I'll take a stab at it. But let's be clear that this is about 25% fact, 75% Educated Guess.

First, I'm not sure if the storage device used in Eco-Drive is capacitor or battery rechargeable storage cell.

I do know that the original device used in Kinetics was a capacitor. However, it's my understanding that, when these started routinely failing, Seiko designed a rechargeable storage cell (battery) that was a drop-in replacement. Given that hard lesson, I assume that these new Seiko Solars also use a rechargeable battery. But you know what they say about assuming.. there's a reason it starts with "ass".

Anyway, I suspect it's too early for anyone to make gospel promises about the storage-device-longevity of this latest generation of Seiko Solars. And that includes Seiko themselves, though I don't doubt that they have conducted Artificially Accelerated Usage Trials in their labs. But the Lab ain't the Real World, ye ken?

So, all I can say definitively is "Time will tell" and "I will keep my eye on one specific unit and report back".

the sne039 uses rechargeable lithium ion battery.
this watch uses recharable lithium ion battery, and on another forum displayed a seiko solar watch that is still operational after 15 years? yes, the early generation of the kinetics used the capacitors which had problems. when they swithched to lithium ion batteries, all issues were solved. i prefer solar of kinetics because it's constantly charing when there's room light so it protects the battery. the kinetics, when not in use for extended periods of time, causes the battery to run way down and it has shortened and killed some of the kinetic watches.

Re: ..this watch uses recharable lithium ion battery..

Right. Titanium lithium-ion, I believe.

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..and on another forum displayed a seiko solar watch that is still operational after 15 years?

Sure. Though, to be fair, many 1st-generation Citizen Eco-Drives (ca. 1995) are also still ticking merrily along. Heck..

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the early generation of the kinetics used the capacitors which had problems. when they swithched to lithium ion batteries, all issues were solved.

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i prefer solar of kinetics because it's constantly charing when there's room light so it protects the battery. the kinetics, when not in use for extended periods of time, causes the battery to run way down and it has shortened and killed some of the kinetic watches.

Agreed 100%. I've tried several Kinetics, and they just don't work for me.

Handsome watches, interesting and innovative technology, great idea on paper. But they're not for me.

Don't get me wrong I like the concepts
Its green to come up with rechargable systems and the watches are more precise with Quartz Tech
But spring energy seems to still be the long time proven Green way to run a watch, the problem is precision consistency.

I for one do not care if my watch loses a few secs every few days, (MY wife was horrified to learn this she thought all watches never lost any time) since I do not need to navigate a ship home. I can just reset it if needed, and The factor it may last 20 years without needed service is all the better ( I know there is a schedule I have yet to embrace this idea )

Good choice  (n/t)

Nice! I like the curved lugs. (n/t)

I think "twisted" is a better description, but you know, like the Seamaster.  (n/t)

I just hollered across the cubicle and told you said his new watch was "twisted". You don't wanna hear the Rude Word he used about YOU!

Tell he should know that's a COMPLEMENT for his watch.  (n/t)

Perhaps always uses rude words to say "Thank-you".  (n/t)

We're kind of a rough bunch. Some of the "pet names" he calls me would likely get you banned here!