Love the Willard. I have the SPB153J1. I got lucky on the alignment on mine, and it has been around +3 seconds a day consistently. Nice review, very well done. I’m glad I found your channel.
Had mine for 6 months at time of writing this. From new it was running 45-60" a day fast so I sent it back to Seiko Australia for a replacement hairspring. They must've adjusted it well because it now runs within 5 seconds a week - which is astonishingly good for a 6R35. I was very disappointed with it right after purchase but now I'm completely satisfied. Moreover, I'm very lucky with automatic watches - my Tissot Gentleman runs 0" a day (only when worn) and both my Seiko SPB077 and Orient Ray II run within 2-4" a day.
About Seiko bezel alignment to markers: I just line it up perfectly, in between clicks. I think that's how Seiko might intend it to be, given that the bezel does not click into place, i.e. it feels smooth in between clicks, and one could leave the bezel's position to be in between clicks, wherever it lines up.
A Beauty. The bracelet looks quite decent but does it rattle and have instability where it meets the case, as is the case in a lot of Seiko divers ? Wearing it on the silicone strap would make the watch "appear" less bulky.
My black dial Willard has fully polished hands. I'm pretty sure that one does too. Great watch for sure. Bezel alignment on mine was out so I popped off the bezel and put it in just boiled water. Took the insert out, then used contact cement to reattach it. Perfectly aligned now :) I also calibrated it myself. Easy to do but you need a good magnifying glass and a timegrapher. Runs about 1 second a day depending on position. I made sure I didn't loose time in any position.
Only the black willard has fully polished hands. All the others that i have seen are half polished & half brushed. U can check the macro of other watch reviewers. I prefer the black myself.
@@zaf240489 ah, I see. I like the fully polished better also. In my opinion, blue has been done to death this year. I almost ordered the blue marinemaster today but decided on the classic black.
Been considering fixing the issues and I probably will when I can get around to it. Yeah blue has gotten a bit tiresome in the world of watches. I owned the black for a short while but decided on the blue when I saw it. Personally, I do like the half brushed look of the hands. but I miss that great charcoal black dial that Seiko does so well!
Awesome video. I'm late to the game, but going to pull the trigger on one of these tomorrow. And I think the watch looks great on you. Not too big at all. I think it looks perfect on you for a big watch.
Love your 003, looks great my friend. Love the blue Willard re-edition. As well the green one is a stunner. Like what seiko is going there but they’re grinding out more and more LE‘s those days too. Keep up the good work and look forward reading you soon 👍🏻🙏🏻
Hi Konstantin, yeah all limited edition divers have me feeling a bit disappointed with Seiko. Hopefully they will reduce the sheer number of LEs and maybe just limit production much like their enamel dial models. Hope you keep up the great work as well! We’ll catch up soon!
I've probably purchased 20 different divers from Seiko, jdms usually, and this is my grail, this is now my only watch, and may buy another for storage, if there are any left.
Great video but picky on the scuff and bezel alignment. I have a number of NH-35/36 units that are very consistent running 1-2spd after I put them on the timegrapher.
I love mine, its a beast and looks totally different from everything else I own. Mine did have a little blemish on the case where the polishing was a slightly off but my AD was kind of enough to fix that for me. Now I have my eyes on a MM300 but torn if I should get the black or blue version. I feel like if I get the blue it would compete with my Willard. The other Seiko I have is an SKX which is a beater so I am leaning more towards the black MM300. Let me know your thoughts!
I absolutely love the MM300, I just can't comfortably pull it off because of my puny wrist 😔 I did get the next best thing, the SPB185. I'd get the Black MM300 to compliment your Blue Willard. What do you think?
@@engineer_wannabe I think I will get the black over blue. I know it would get more wrist time since it looks killer on the black rubber. Thank you for your response and enjoy your SPB185!
HAPPY NEW YEAR my friend ! I don't mind large watches either, as long as I'm comfortable with it ! I love the rubber strap, the texture and color match nicely I wish the keeper was secured as well. I'm looking forward to your review of that stainless steel bracelet, I've been interested in this style. I keep a few watches on S S bracelets these days so I can thoroughly clean them after use. Stay well ❤
Happy new year, Jonathan! Thanks as always for watching! Yeah the review of the BOR bracelet is coming soon :) It's nice but it feels delicate so it suits the watch very well Hope you stay well as well, talk to you again soon!
Nice to see you again EW:) I've watched so many vids with turtle like watches am actually thinking of buying one. The blue btw is very nice, this slightly darker shade is by far better.
Hi Matthew, good to see you again too. Yes sir, this shade of blue is one of my favourites. While the watch isn’t a great value, it’s definitely a great watch 👍😉
Great review! I recently just got the SPBJ237 Willard, and the first one the movement stopped working after 2 days (bezel was also a bit off), so I sent it back for a replacement. The replacement has perfect bezel and is running fine so far. But both have these strange scuff marks like you mentioned at the bottom right lug at the bend area. Mine isnt terrible like this blue one in the video but is visible from certain lighting. Its almost like they tried to polish it in a few different directions to get it right when they were working on the case. I love the watch but feels like Seiko QC really is quite bad these days and getting a perfect watch is more like winning the lottery. Not acceptable at over $1000 imho.
Had missed this video cause was busy on the 1st of Jan Really looking forward to get this watch Please make a long term use video after you use it for a while if possible
Nice coloured dial I must admit. Did you flip the Longines sector dial ? Would also be interested to hear about your views on your apparent preference for Japanese watches- over Swiss models for example.
Thank you very much, that's a great idea for a video. Possibly a live stream topic? I did flip the Longines Sector dial. It just didn't sit well on my 16cm wrist unfortunately
@@engineer_wannabe A live stream topic sounds an excellent idea. Perhaps pitching the best of Japanese against Swiss and German models, and people's views on just how far Grand Seiko, for instance, can go in powering up its brand in order to topple dominant Swiss brands in the market. There are already signs of this happening, but has it peaked? The power of the brand, and the perception of desirability and what constitutes luxury, of course meaning as much as quality. Just some thoughts. Feel free to ignore if you've got some better ideas. Cheers, Mark
Hi from Australia Went into Seiko boutique tried on the Willard and a King Turtle ended up buying the Dark Manta King Turtle(JDM model from Japan) Great on my 7.25 wrist and I think better wrist presence than the Willard Dial is a hidden gem +7 seconds a day off to a great first week as I was told should slow a little in time To me at 540usd best bang for buck diver out there if you like the fit
Hey Vic, I can say that after about 1.5 months of use, it does not have a mark on the clasp. I'm not surprised as Seiko's "Diashield" coating is really good!
Hmm, I mean it's possible that they are doing it on purpose but I don't think they are. Seiko bracelets have been rattle-y like this for a long time and this bracelet is less rattley that the ones that came before the 2020 models
It does look like a dent, I really wanted to buy one of these willards but that scuff if it's on everyone of them I'll just save my money for the Tudor I want.
Alot of things can be forgivable i agree but not at this price point Alignment issues and the finishing issue I saw on the video are not acceptable. I know almost everything is subjective but not at this price point. I am a big fan of Seiko and i do have some of their watches from sports models, turtle to Quartz tuna 300m. I wanted a willard but really im hesitant because of their QC issues and this is not an entry level watch. I do like their watches but patience is running out because of their QC issues. Caliber 6rxx should be higher than 4rxx on paper but surprisingly 4rxx is out performing 6rxx with some regulation or sometimes out of the box.
Good review. Yes, it's a fun watch. I bought the green one. Yes, it's aluminium bezel insert. The new blue mm200 has a more interesting bezel. It's stainless coated with black carbon titanium according to a review. It looks like ceramic. Interesting innovation.
Thank you very much once again 😊 Yes for sure. The new MM200s have really impressed me but I’ve been hesitating about picking one up. I’m sure seeing them in person will help me decide 😛
@@engineer_wannabe yes, see it in person first. It does resemble the MM300 which is now a bit big for my shrinking wrist as l get older. 😅 l like all the recent 'Reduced' reinterpretations. I have the gild 62MAS. I like this too.
@@engineer_wannabe well dang! I fixed it a little by wrapping tape around the spring bars. But still... I paid 1260 for this. It should not be an issue. But everything is aligned
Great review and Happy New Year 🎆 to you and your family. I recently tried this watch on at a local Seiko AD and bracelet does feel cheaper or looser and rattly as you said . I didn’t notice the imperfection on the lug but then again I wasn’t looking for it either. Your lug does actually look dented and scratched. You are more forgiving than me on that issue alone . The watch and case do feel quality but at this price point why a inferior or cheaper bracelet? Just doesn’t make sense to me . I own a Blumo sbdc033 and to me it’s edging out all these newer Seiko’s as far as quality control issues and even just overall quality of the watch .
Thank you very much my friend. Happy New Year to you too! Yeah the lug is pretty bad. I've seen it on the SPB153 and the 151 that I've had so I've gotten used to it. I agree about the bracelet. It's not acceptable at this price point but for some reason(vintage style watch), I don't mind it. Of course, I'd prefer for it to be a good bracelet lol
The machining near that particular lug is shocking. Seiko has always been great at machining and finishing even at low price point (SARB035's case was a work of art at $300) but that one is terrible from Seiko.
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