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SEIKO Sportura Kinetic GMT SUN025P1 - Review & Pics

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MoveAlong

So, since my beloved Sooners layed an egg against the hapless 'Horns today in the Cotton Bowl :thumbdown: , I figured I should distract myself from misery and dive in and do up a "review" of my latest, the beautiful Sportura Kinetic GMT SUN025P1.

 

http://www.rwg.bz/bo...howtopic=108236

 

I can blame elmerlo in the link above for making me get this. Thanks man! :beer2:

 

I got this from an ebay seller in Florida for $298 USD, a pretty average price if you can find one. Joma and Creation were out of stock when I was looking. This is my first kinetic watch so I look forward to seeing if there is any drama with keeping it charged. We'll see. Just so you know, a lot of the online descriptions are really wrong on this watch, especially Amazon. I measured the bezel with digital calipers and it is exactly 45mm, not 44.4mm or 44mm. The lug width is 21mm, not 20mm. Again, that's measured with calipers and then visually comparing it to a known 20mm lug width watch, my TC V6. That will narrow choices of straps for sure, FYI.

 

So, what do I think? Just the usual amazing build quality that we have come to expect. And, It's pretty damn cool! The Seiko 5M85 movement is some ingenious engineering. My favorite part is that the hour hand is tied to the quickset function, like the Rolex Explorer II from which this Seiko is inspired. Although it's a confirmed 45mm watch, it actually wears MUCH smaller. You can see in the pics below that they have angled the lugs downward much more than usual. This makes the watch fit a smaller wrist much better. I have a 6.5" wrist and the lugs don't hang off of my wrist at all! Even on my TC V6, a 40mm watch, I get a little lug hang. I know, blah blah blah. On to the pics!

 

21893143798_8f396e4af8_c.jpg

 

The indices are on the raised chapter ring and hang over the edge to "float" over the dial. Incredible sense of depth with this.

21458193814_7ecac0a1b4_c.jpg

22068560672_0856a09e0b_c.jpg

21892842710_9d14e08406_c.jpg

21893144208_fbe4639ca7_c.jpg

21458193134_696bc14344_c.jpg

21893147298_8d0237275d_c.jpg

22054860286_d69ef8566f_c.jpg

 

Typical Nuclear Seiko Lume

21894129179_89eaa2d49a_c.jpg

21892837750_2b59c55a02_c.jpg

 

And some real world shots

21893143228_efc0c0dc3d_c.jpg

 

Yes, this is a 45mm watch on a 6.5 inch wrist!

21893142448_03c438e5e4_c.jpg

22091047931_c7cabb38d8_c.jpg

21893142178_72999d0355_c.jpg

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Daywatch

It´s an absolutely stunning looking Seiko. It´s an instant "I want this watch":). They charge 470,- EUR for it in the EU.

They captured the presence of the Explorer II amazingly well, the lume is amazing. At $298 it´s a no-brainer.

Great catch and white is the right colour for it. Thanks for the pics, enjoy it well, it´s stunning!

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fatarms

1. Explorer II homage done pretty well, very solid and nice looking. Great pickup.

2. I'm married to a girl from Texas, and we enjoyed the Red River Shootout Square Dance or whatever Politically Correct term they've decided to assign to this game now :lol:

 

Congrats on the pickup, I had no idea Seiko even made an Explorer II homage like this. It's pretty awesome :)

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elmerlo

I can blame elmerlo in the link above for making me get this. Thanks man! :beer2:

 

You're welcome buddy! :)

 

And thanks for the review, much better and complete than mine! ;)

 

...now let's see how many others fall into this "(I didn't know it existed) I must have it NOW!" trap :P

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Gazzla

Really good. Beautiful dial and the accents are superb.

 

Very good photos too!

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MoveAlong

Thanks all! Yes, I think we'll start to see more of these pop up around here. Still wearing it now. :D

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Gazzla

Thanks all! Yes, I think we'll start to see more of these pop up around here. Still wearing it now. :D

 

 

I need to have one of these in my life . . .

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MoveAlong

Thanks all! Yes, I think we'll start to see more of these pop up around here. Still wearing it now. :D

 

 

I need to have one of these in my life . . .

Yes. Yes you do. :thumbsup:

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MoveAlong

Don't have a macro, but thought to try to crop and blow up - not too awful for a phone camera. Wanted to show the dial detail that really makes the sunburst effect pop. And on further inspection, that is NOT a Grand Seiko seconds hand! :)

22072016496_2c159cfcd2_c.jpg

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profsteve

whoever did those first few pics with the diapering white background can come to my house and take pics like that for me anytime.

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profsteve

just ordered one on Amazon new with free return if I don't like it as long as I don't size it first.

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MoveAlong
whoever did those first few pics with the diapering white background can come to my house and take pics like that for me anytime.

If you're talking about my pics, thanks! But you'd probably laugh at how ghetto my photo setup really is! :D

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Gazzla
whoever did those first few pics with the diapering white background can come to my house and take pics like that for me anytime.

If you're talking about my pics, thanks! But you'd probably laugh at how ghetto my photo setup really is! :D

 

I reckon the photos are excellent in my *cough, cough* 'expert' opinion . . . :D

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MoveAlong
whoever did those first few pics with the diapering white background can come to my house and take pics like that for me anytime.

If you're talking about my pics, thanks! But you'd probably laugh at how ghetto my photo setup really is! :D

 

I reckon the photos are excellent in my *cough, cough* 'expert' opinion . . . :D

Thanks mate! I'm slowly getting better. One of these days I want to get a DSLR and do some real learning.

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profsteve

you need to tell us how you did the lighting and what you used for a seamless white backdrop. Congrats mate on some of the very best for sale pics I have seen outside of the pro studios

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rolesor

Very nice. I like the GMT style. Didn't know Seiko made this.

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elmerlo

Very nice. I like the GMT style. Didn't know Seiko made this.

 

I guess no one knew.

 

I don't understand their advertising approach. I am subscribed to their FB page and they only published the Astron in the last year or so, while the shrouded monsters (Baby Tunas) were released, this and other variants of the SUN015P1 were made and no signs of them unless you stumble upon them by pure luck. :(

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rolesor

So, since my beloved Sooners layed an egg against the hapless 'Horns today in the Cotton Bowl :thumbdown: , I figured I should distract myself from misery and dive in and do up a "review" of my latest, the beautiful Sportura Kinetic GMT SUN025P1.

 

http://www.rwg.bz/bo...howtopic=108236

 

I can blame elmerlo in the link above for making me get this. Thanks man! :beer2:

 

I got this from an ebay seller in Florida for $298 USD, a pretty average price if you can find one. Joma and Creation were out of stock when I was looking. This is my first kinetic watch so I look forward to seeing if there is any drama with keeping it charged. We'll see. Just so you know, a lot of the online descriptions are really wrong on this watch, especially Amazon. I measured the bezel with digital calipers and it is exactly 45mm, not 44.4mm or 44mm. The lug width is 21mm, not 20mm. Again, that's measured with calipers and then visually comparing it to a known 20mm lug width watch, my TC V6. That will narrow choices of straps for sure, FYI.

 

So, what do I think? Just the usual amazing build quality that we have come to expect. And, It's pretty damn cool! The Seiko 5M85 movement is some ingenious engineering. My favorite part is that the hour hand is tied to the quickset function, like the Rolex Explorer II from which this Seiko is inspired. Although it's a confirmed 45mm watch, it actually wears MUCH smaller. You can see in the pics below that they have angled the lugs downward much more than usual. This makes the watch fit a smaller wrist much better. I have a 6.5" wrist and the lugs don't hang off of my wrist at all! Even on my TC V6, a 40mm watch, I get a little lug hang. I know, blah blah blah. On to the pics!

 

21893143798_8f396e4af8_c.jpg

 

The indices are on the raised chapter ring and hang over the edge to "float" over the dial. Incredible sense of depth with this.

21458193814_7ecac0a1b4_c.jpg

22068560672_0856a09e0b_c.jpg

21892842710_9d14e08406_c.jpg

21893144208_fbe4639ca7_c.jpg

21458193134_696bc14344_c.jpg

21893147298_8d0237275d_c.jpg

22054860286_d69ef8566f_c.jpg

 

Typical Nuclear Seiko Lume

21894129179_89eaa2d49a_c.jpg

21892837750_2b59c55a02_c.jpg

 

And some real world shots

21893143228_efc0c0dc3d_c.jpg

 

Yes, this is a 45mm watch on a 6.5 inch wrist!

21893142448_03c438e5e4_c.jpg

22091047931_c7cabb38d8_c.jpg

21893142178_72999d0355_c.jpg

have you seen the grand seiko gmt?

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MoveAlong

This wouldn't be bad, but it's just a little more than $300. Mmmm... Spring Drive....

Grand-Seiko-Spring-Drive-GMT-SBGE015-Watch-1.jpg

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MoveAlong

you need to tell us how you did the lighting and what you used for a seamless white backdrop. Congrats mate on some of the very best for sale pics I have seen outside of the pro studios

My setup is packed away now. Strange how Mrs MoveAlong doesn't approve of a permanent photo studio at the foot of our bed. Maybe she'll come around in time. Next time I get it out I'll post a pic - hopefully next week, as I've got a gen Speedmaster Reduced on the way from Japan! :woo:

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rolesor

There is also another that uses a bezel closer to the explorer

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MoveAlong

This would do in a pinch.

sbgm025_zpsb0d9f2a7.jpg

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conx

Does the Grand Seiko also have the quick set hour hand?

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MoveAlong

So, took about 4 days of wearing for me to get the power reserve up to "Approximately 6 months", the highest listed reserve in the manual. It's a pretty cool system Seiko has here. There is a dedicated pusher at 2:00 to engage the meter. When you push it, the seconds hand progresses rapidly either 5, 10, 20, or 30 seconds and then stops. The movement, however, keeps running and when the time catches up to the seconds hand, the hand continues normally. I should add that this morning I checked and it was at 10 seconds. This afternoon it was 30 seconds. I never saw the 20 seconds occur. You can engage the meter any time, but the manual recommends starting at 12:00 so you can more easily see how far the seconds hand goes.

 

5 seconds - "More than 1 day"

10 seconds - "More than 7 days"

20 seconds - "More than approximately 1 month"

30 seconds - "Approximately 6 months"

 

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MoveAlong

Does the Grand Seiko also have the quick set hour hand?

Just looked it up, and yes! :)

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