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Showing 1 of 11 conversations about:
TigerUK
296
Mar 9, 2018
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this has modding potential, change the chapter ring, hands and crown and you have a black bay homage
JTrubs
195
Mar 11, 2018
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TigerUKIndeed, lots of mod potential with Seiko watches in general. But for less than half the price of this, you could pick up an Invicta 8926 which has the same Seiko movement and adds 200m WR and a screw-down crown. That watch also has vast modding potential, the Black Bay homage being one of the most prevalent. Cheers!
Qahnaarin
89
Mar 27, 2018
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JTrubsInvicta is made in China now (bought out last year or so), no thanks! The quality of Invicta is also more suspect than Seiko. A friend of mine was so proud of his invicta until I showed him that his chapter ring was misaligned and the printing of certain dial details are not even. So you get what you pay for.
TigerUK
296
Mar 27, 2018
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JTrubsInvicta are too low quality to work with. No point throwing money at a watch that has such rubbish foundations to begin with.
JTrubs
195
Mar 27, 2018
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QahnaarinOn the whole, I agree with you about Invicta: garish designs, suspect quality control, and a poor reputation that is probably well-deserved based on my last two points. But even in a mountain of coal, it is sometimes possible to find a diamond. The 8926 is a straightforward sub-type watch with a good Seiko movement, solid stainless steel case, a steel bracelet (which is actually better than most of Seiko's entry-level offerings), it's inexpensive (sub $85 USD), and there are a plethora of quality aftermarket parts available for it. There are also hundreds of pages in various online watch enthusiast forums dedicated to modifying this particular model.
In regards to misaligned chapter rings (which any competent watchmaker can handily fix), Seiko is probably the greatest offender in this arena, and sometimes on timepieces costing several hundred USD. Don't take my word for it, a quick search will turn up plenty of anecdotes and complaints on the watch forums. If someone is going to mod it anyway, which is what the OP was alluding to, who cares about the look of the original dial or hands? And the reaction to something being made in China is a bit knee-jerk. Invicta, as well as other watch companies, has always made certain models in Asia and not in Switzerland, hence the price differences. I'd guess that quite a few items would be missing from a person's home, and there certainly would be from mine, if people were steadfast about not purchasing anything Chinese-made.
In no way am I defending or shilling for Invicta, I have no horse in this race. If anything, I'm a Seiko fan and have a few of their watches in my collection. I'm simply pointing out that if someone is planning to modify existing watches, there are inexpensive starting pieces that are plenty adequate to work on. Cheers!
In regards to misaligned chapter rings (which any competent watchmaker can handily fix), Seiko is probably the greatest offender in this arena, and sometimes on timepieces costing several hundred USD. Don't take my word for it, a quick search will turn up plenty of anecdotes and complaints on the watch forums. If someone is going to mod it anyway, which is what the OP was alluding to, who cares about the look of the original dial or hands? And the reaction to something being made in China is a bit knee-jerk. Invicta, as well as other watch companies, has always made certain models in Asia and not in Switzerland, hence the price differences. I'd guess that quite a few items would be missing from a person's home, and there certainly would be from mine, if people were steadfast about not purchasing anything Chinese-made.
In no way am I defending or shilling for Invicta, I have no horse in this race. If anything, I'm a Seiko fan and have a few of their watches in my collection. I'm simply pointing out that if someone is planning to modify existing watches, there are inexpensive starting pieces that are plenty adequate to work on. Cheers!
Qahnaarin
89
Mar 28, 2018
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JTrubsMost of the complaints with Seiko watches are people who buy in the gray market or buy watches online from a 3rd party retailer. I've had the same experience even with my rolex watches (this is more rampant now since a lot of people buy cheaper online - I've since been going to an AD to virtually eliminate this issue) . If you do buy from authorized dealers the pieces sold have never had an issue and you can be picky with your watch. That's the difference with buying also from MD, they do try to have QC but it's online so some do slip through the cracks. Good thing is they replace your watch because it's coming from an AD or seiko themselves. As for Invicta, stores are nowhere to be found so it's always a gamble. I've bought the Samurai, the SKX before that, a couple of Seiko 5 watches and never had any issues going through an AD. I'd rather have that quality versus cheaper options.
JTrubs
195
Mar 28, 2018
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QahnaarinI agree that purchasing through an AD, and paying a little more, can be worth the assurance that you're getting the real deal, and should also mitigate headaches should an issue arise. That said, any 3rd party dealer worth their salt and reputation will do a return or exchange for a watch that exhibits QC issues and doesn't measure up to the buyer's standard. It comes down to the buyer doing their research to find out which retailers stand behind the product and who they are comfortable purchasing from.
As far as Massdrop sourcing Seiko watches (or other items for sale here) from an authorized dealer or Seiko directly, I beg to differ that's done for all the drops on this website; maybe for some but certainly not all. If MD did arrange the purchase from Seiko or an AD, then why don't any of the Seiko drops come with the manufacturer's warranty? Even Amazon and Jomashop retain the warranty. I've posted this query on a few watch drops here and have yet to see a representative from Massdrop chime in to confirm where they're coming from. This by itself isn't definitive proof that MD isn't sourcing their Seiko watches directly from the manufacturer or an authorized dealer, but the lack of warranty is definitely suspect and something I would expect from a gray-market vendor. At this time, there's no proof either way. Cheers!
As far as Massdrop sourcing Seiko watches (or other items for sale here) from an authorized dealer or Seiko directly, I beg to differ that's done for all the drops on this website; maybe for some but certainly not all. If MD did arrange the purchase from Seiko or an AD, then why don't any of the Seiko drops come with the manufacturer's warranty? Even Amazon and Jomashop retain the warranty. I've posted this query on a few watch drops here and have yet to see a representative from Massdrop chime in to confirm where they're coming from. This by itself isn't definitive proof that MD isn't sourcing their Seiko watches directly from the manufacturer or an authorized dealer, but the lack of warranty is definitely suspect and something I would expect from a gray-market vendor. At this time, there's no proof either way. Cheers!
Qahnaarin
89
Mar 28, 2018
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JTrubsHey, at least they'll replace your watch if there's any defect to it!
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