I have a Willard with the 6R movement which is super-light to wind. A real joy.

My 4R Turtle is much heavier to wind, there is noticeably more resistance when handwinding. It’s not dreadful like a Sellita SW200 or anything but shouldn’t the 4R be as light if not lighter than the 6R? Or does it signify a lack of lubrication of sorts?

hi

i was told that seiko kinetic is the best of both worlds: charges from your movement and doesn’t need batteries but is accurate as quartz

my question is, i know that automatic watches need regular servicing, do the kinetics need to be serviced like an automatic?

and does the kinetic movement charge a battery which will eventually die like a solar watch or is it something different which should last longer than a solar, more like an automatic with no battery?

thanks WUS

I purchased a 1959 Alpinist earlier this year from Gnomon as a birthday present to myself. At least that is how I justified it at the time. Looking over forums it seems that the 1959 Alpinist Seiko line doesn’t get a ton of love & especially the SBDC161 brown dial version. So I’d figure why not share my thoughts after wearing it for a few months. Might help the other odd balls looking for a brown dial watch.

To start I’ll give a quick run down on purchasing in case anyone wants to use…

Seiko 1959 Alpinist – SBDC161 review

This is a mod build – Actus dial and hands, NH35, aftermarket case – and I’m curious about the applied gold logo under the pinions, at 6:

Can’t quite tell what it is – S6? SG? Maybe even SS? S[Japanese character]?

Anyone able to confirm what it actually is, and meaning?

As per the title really. Seiko used to offer awesome orange dials on their divers. Over the years I’ve owned an orange Monster, an orange SKX and an orange Samurai.

Why isn’t there an orange Turtle, an orange Willard, an orange Samurai etc in the range anymore? I’m not aware of them selling an orange-dialled dive watch for years.

This was my Dad’s. Any help with letting me know where the best place to find info on it would be appreciated.

There have been very few watches that I have come across which evoke emotion every time I gaze at it like the SLA039. This horological monobloc masterpiece is in my (subjective) opinion is up there with one of the best quintessential divers I have come across. Yes I know that’s probably an overstated hyperbole, and maybe it’s just the “honey moon” phase talking, but man… I’m speechless.
I won’t cover any extensive review as that has already been discussed in another thread; however, I will…

***Official SLA039 Thread***