The Seiko SBDD001 Long Term Update
Posted by: petew
I first wrote about this watch back in March of 2009. It’s been a little over a year since I first bought this one, and it’s becoming an old friend. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t strap it on for at least a few hours, and on those days when I can’t decide what to wear, it’s become my trusty “go-to” watch as I never find myself second guessing my decision to grab it as I’m on my way out.
The Brightz Diashield case finish has held up well. The case still looks new. The strap however is showing the effects of hard wear.
There’s no logical reason to explain why this watch is so comfortable to wear. You’d think the gargantuan crown would dig into my wrist but it doesn’t. I’m sure it looks foolishly large on me, yet when it’s on, I hardly can tell it’s there. Since it’s on my wrist so often, this watch is probably the only non perpetual calendar timepiece I own that I keep the date properly set.
In short, the watch just works for me. It’s comfortable, it’s legible, it’s always running when I pick it up and it’s proven to be a tough reliable companion.
April 17th, 2010 at 12:17 pm
Great pics Pete!
I’ve been tempted to get a Seiko with the Direct Drive movement. How’s the Direct Drive movement performing after a year of use? Do you believe these movements take Seiko in a good direction?
–Bryan
April 17th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
Hi Bryan,
I’m probably a little lukewarm on Kinetic technology these days. I do appreciate their advantages over solar powered watches (dial design/material limitations)and disadvantages (harder to keep charged) but with today’s battery technology, I’m just not sure eco or kinetic is really necessary.
That said, when Kinetic was first released, it was a big deal and a wonderful concept. I very well remember quartz watches with 1 - 2 years of battery life and badly scratched up casebacks created by incompetent mall store jewelry clerks who had to frequently change those short lived batteries. Kinetics fixed all of that. Today, with more efficient movements and long life batteries, things are different.
But back to the question. The Direct Drive movements do offer the ability to handwind these things and that is a bonus for those who wear multiple watches, and the indicator is a fun toy-like aspect to the design. That said, if I could have this same watch with a 7C based movement vs. the Direct Drive caliber, I’d probably pick it in a 7C version.
Thanks for reading!
Pete
April 19th, 2010 at 8:58 pm
I’ve always found it interesting that the 7C quartz movement is in Seiko Professional Quartz divers watches, Railway pocket watches, and Braille watches. It’s a serious, powerful movement for professional applications.
–Bryan