30 Oct 2011

REVIEW: William Jean's Marine Master Type II 22 mm Rubber Strap


My friend William Jean just sent me samples of his new creations: two sets of Marine Master type II 22 mm rubber strap, one set in original black and another set in orange. These are 22 mm version of the original SEIKO SBDX001 MM300 20 mm rubber strap. William went further by making the orange colour version.

Unfortunately, I don't have the original MM300 strap with me anymore for comparison. But, I think the Type II strap has the same feeling like the original one. The inner surface also has the same embossed pattern which prevents the strap from sliding around the wrist. The obvious difference is it does not have the Tsunami wave logo at the end of the strap.

I put the black version on my SEIKO SBBN015 Tuna Can. They make very nice combination. The classic pyramid pattern on the strap (derived from the vintage 6217 and 6105 19 mm "Pyramid" rubber strap) makes it stand out and call for attention. The stiffness of the rubber gives better grip and holds the heavy Tuna better than the original Z22 rubber strap.







Below picture is comparison between William's 6105 Type II "Pyramid" rubber strap on the vintage SEIKO 6105-8119 and the new Marine Master type II on SEIKO SBBN015. You can see where the classic pyramid pattern comes from.


The orange version has very nice shade of orange. It is different from SEIKO's shade of orange. William's orange is more reddish. Below you can see the orange Type II compared to SEIKO 6458-600A orange dial. I think the reddish orange is more suitable for the strap than the SEIKO's orange. It reminds me to emergency tools worn by Search and Rescue personnels. 




▲ Marine Master Type II orange strap on Orange SOXA. Picture courtesy of my friend, Erik Hadibroto.

If you are interested, please visit William Jean's online store on ebay.com: wjean28. Thank you for reading.

25 Oct 2011

The First Automatic Chronograph in the World


My new favourite and my current daily beater. SEIKO Automatic Chronograph 6139-6011. The first automatic chronograph in the world. Released silently in early 1969 during "the Great Race of 1969" where Heuer-Leonidas/Breitling/Buren/Depraz & Cie/Hamilton consortium was competing with Zenith to produce world's first automatic chronograph.

Production date: December 1970. Missing the original bracelet, but everything else is original and untouched. Very beautiful.

▲ Scan from "SEIKO Heritage".






SEIKO Professional Quartz Diver 7549-7010 PYF028 (Tuna Can)


SEIKO Professional Quartz Diver 7549-7010 JDM version. The first professional quartz diver in the world, released in 1978 together with SEIKO 7549-700x. Production date: November 1981. All original and untouched. Complete with original box and manual book.