Seiko Club Singapore Museum

S I C / Sharing Is Caring for Micro-brands

lunarin79
S I C / Sharing Is Caring for Micro-brands
I am always interested in trying a microbrand since 2yrs ago but duno y, somehow when I have funds, I will still hoot seikos in the end. I know there are some bros here who are into microbrands as well :twisted:



Only recently, I was really into ocean 7 LM3 & decided to hunt for 1 & in the end, I did get one. When I first held it, I understood what's the big hoo-ha behind all these microbrands. Build is solid, ETA movt, attractive package, nice covers etc, for the price of a Seiko Sumo(if you're lucky now ;) )



Prices for these microbrands are inflating, especially Benarus, Halios & Helson. Ocean 7 is kinda quiet now, I dun really like the new design direction they're going to, the new case is too conventional to me.



this was my 1st microbrand



Ocean 7 LM-3





After this LM-3, I found another one..



Artego 300m





this brand although doesn't WOW me that much but I'm sold by the lume :mrgreen:





Then I went to halios, trying to find available pieces on WUS but almost all, no, I shld say , ALL the FS posts were all SOLD... :|

Bopian, I tried local forum with 1% expectation but somehow, sometimes, things are available when its nearest to you,LOL.



Linked up with this seller selling this Halios holotype, waited 2 weeks for him to settle down & went collect the watch from him yesterday. he was wearing a Ocean 7 LM-6C, OMFG, super nice piece!



Halios Holotype





then my itch still there, so I went hunt for Helson, nb, helson Whitebeard jit tao out of my budget & all FS posts are exactly same as Halios, no matter which FS posts u click on, it's all SOLD!



Bopian, lppl, order direct from Helson website :|



Just arrived today morning thru Fedex, watch was shipped last night & reach me at 11:26am :shock:



Helson Tortuga





last but not least....Irreantum Magellan



2 weeks liao still haven receive :| :|



will review here once I have the watch :(
Ed.YEO
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
Ocean 7 auto-chrono today price up up liaoz!
pacman1188
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
Wow... the HELSON looks good... what's your take on it? how about a brief review? Thks
feilong108
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
All looks good!!!



Very nice choices.....
lunarin79
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"pacman1188"

Wow... the HELSON looks good... what's your take on it? how about a brief review? Thks


here's a Q&D review if you think it's a review :lol:



sibeh fast, last night shipped from HK, today 1126am collected liao





very well protected, revealing the cylindrical cannister





branding on cannister









i believe you can actually submerge the entire cannister into water cos there is a rubber gasket on the lid :o :lol: chosen serial num #177 as it stands for 'M' :twisted:





black foam inside,hmm





can see it's not cut up nicely,lol





now...what's inside??



voila~





the package consists of

- a strap change toolkit

- a 22mm 'isofrane' style rubber strap

- a 22mm buttery soft handmade brown strap

- a bronze key :twisted:

- a spare bezel







the buttery soft strap with signed Helson(skull) logo & signed buckle









the watch- Helson Tortuga(means Turtle)





combination of polished & brushed finish on the case





signed skull logo crown





nice caseback





helium valve escapement





on the leather strap





overall, a nice quality watch which runs on Miyota 9015 movement, hacks/handwind, 28,800(supposedly to rival ETA2824?), sweeping secondhand is smooth.



Will try take better pics when I am free :mrgreen:





OHhhh, the bronze key, i have not explain what's that for..it's actually..



an additional super durable add-on bezel protector :o :o :o



















nah, just kidding :mrgreen:



as I mentioned, there's 2 bezels with the package. this bronze key is the tool to remove the bezel off the case. If you guys noticed from one of the pics above, showing the brushed & polished finish combo, just below the crystal, there is a 'hexagonal' kind of shape right?



And yeah, basically you just align the teeth of the bronze key to the hexagonal shape of the case & turn & voila~





set the silver bezel in place & screw it back





personally i prefer the silver bezel more than the black bezel but the lume on the black bezel is oso attractive, hmmmmm. The edge is slightly diff, the silver bezel edge is more 'teeth-like' shaper, more fierce :lol:





Lastly, a wristshot to end the review

lunarin79
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"Ed.YEO"

Ocean 7 auto-chrono today price up up liaoz!


LM-6C?
pacman1188
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
SOLID review!! I am tempted, very....
lunarin79
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"pacman1188"

SOLID review!! I am tempted, very....


bro, it's almost 0% chance to pick 1 up on preowned international forum, trust me, I waited 1 week until i give up :lol:



then I ordered from Helson directly, 599usd.



trust me, it's a nice watch :twisted:



to go microbrands is to be exclusive, you wun bump to another one in the wild but if you do, you can go shake hand with him liao cos u know, he definitely noe his stuff :mrgreen:
aiken74
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
Nice...tel us more abt individual review for Ocean 7 LM3, Artego 300m, Halios Holotype & Helson Tortuga.



Machaim the comparsion between Ocean, Artego, Halios & Helson on the individual weight, hw de hand-on feel for individual brand, comparsion on individual movement for individual brand... ;)



CEO, sure chiu can do for the review... ;) I believe SC bros ish oso looking 2ward for ur review... ;)
roo7
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
My short encounters with the micro brands...





Ocean 7





Helson



If you noticed, they are both Ploprof homage... :lol:



Some micro brands have really great design but some are catalogue cases like Deep Blue, so there isn't much innovation.



I won't consider Doxa and Aquadive micro brands, so that's all I have... :lol:
herzausstahl
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
is this microbrand?



gasmancc
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
congrats on that lovely piece of watch bro! looks huge with a lot of wrist presence..numerals kinda remind me of Lum-Tec :D microbrands are really bang for buck watches, not only do u get good quality build watches, they usually come with those extra accessories and straps to sweeten the deal which you normall don't get from mass-production brands (of course not all)..Here's my take on microbrands:



PROs:

- good quality solid build watches

- packed with complications and functions at fraction of a price of high-end watches (case in point with your Helson, u get HEV and 1000m depth rating at just 599usd..now that's vfm!)

- extra accessories like spare bezel, signed straps etc.

- good customer service (being just a small company, they can focus on each of their customer's requests and queries and sometimes even the company owner themselves will transact with u! :))

- exclusivity (bro lunarin already explained this)

- and lastly......the price! affordable and yet can compete with most other brands in terms of design, specs, quality..



CONs:

- Slim to No chance of in-house movements (if you are fussy type of person)

- warranty for repairs (if there's no local AD, any problem u have to ship the watch back to overseas and pay for shipping fees not to mention possible long waiting period to get your watch back)

- long term value (if u plan to buy and preserve for a long time like NOS pieces then later decide to sell, there won't be any demand for your watch since the majority don't really know your watch! hence the value depreciation..)



Of course these are all my humble opinion so don't take my word for it.. :mrgreen: if u like the watch and did enough research to merit the purchase, by all means take the plunge!! I'm sure it will be a satisfying experience..personally I love microbrands hahaha! :lol:



Here's my Magrette Regattare Brass in denim strap saying hi! This was supposed to be a bronze case watch but that's a whole different story LOL



aiken74
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"gasmancc"

congrats on that lovely piece of watch bro! looks huge with a lot of wrist presence..numerals kinda remind me of Lum-Tec :D microbrands are really bang for buck watches, not only do u get good quality build watches, they usually come with those extra accessories and straps to sweeten the deal which you normall don't get from mass-production brands (of course not all)..Here's my take on microbrands:



PROs:

- good quality solid build watches

- packed with complications and functions at fraction of a price of high-end watches (case in point with your Helson, u get HEV and 1000m depth rating at just 599usd..now that's vfm!)

- extra accessories like spare bezel, signed straps etc.

- good customer service (being just a small company, they can focus on each of their customer's requests and queries and sometimes even the company owner themselves will transact with u! :))

- exclusivity (bro lunarin already explained this)

- and lastly......the price! affordable and yet can compete with most other brands in terms of design, specs, quality..



CONs:

- Slim to No chance of in-house movements (if you are fussy type of person)

- warranty for repairs (if there's no local AD, any problem u have to ship the watch back to overseas and pay for shipping fees not to mention possible long waiting period to get your watch back)

- long term value (if u plan to buy and preserve for a long time like NOS pieces then later decide to sell, there won't be any demand for your watch since the majority don't really know your watch! hence the value depreciation..)



Of course these are all my humble opinion so don't take my word for it.. :mrgreen: if u like the watch and did enough research to merit the purchase, by all means take the plunge!! I'm sure it will be a satisfying experience..personally I love microbrands hahaha! :lol:



Here's my Magrette Regattare Brass in denim strap saying hi! This was supposed to be a bronze case watch but that's a whole different story LOL





Lub de comment on CONs bt some noe n some dun noe at as long buyer sibei happy n find it vfm thn ok Liao n I oso believe buyer nvr care abt de value depreciation...:)
gasmancc
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"aiken74"




Lub de comment on CONs bt some noe n some dun noe at as long buyer sibei happy n find it vfm thn ok Liao n I oso believe buyer nvr care abt de value depreciation...:)


ya I agree..if u like the watch just buy it! :lol:
roo7
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
I won't argue with finishing quality as they are pretty much ok, but not in the QC area. You will probably see certain flaws somewhere but of course, we will look past it given the value of the watch.



My Ocean7 was great, time keeping was superb with the SW-200 sellita movement, +1/2 over a week but my Helson Sharkmaster wasn't that lucky, it had a problem with the bezel insert sealing, air gaps appearing underneath the bezel insert, of course there's also horror stories about the sharkmaster got flooded during a dive.



Although we don't dive, but a monobloc case with 1000M depth, that gives you the sense of the QC. :)



So, just note that you really need to check the watch for defects. It's just hits and misses, like the renowned brands, Seiko MM300 has a small alignment problem with 12 or 6 the hour marker (forgot, we discussed this before), Seiko Sardine has 12 o'clock hour marker alignment problem too.
Ed.YEO
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"lunarin79"

[quote="Ed.YEO"]Ocean 7 auto-chrono today price up up liaoz!


LM-6C?[/quote]



LM-PC the pilot chrono

http://www.ocean7watchco.com/cs2/index.php?dispatch=products.view&product_id=132"http://forums.watchuseek.com/f133/pilot-chronograph-price-increase-675002.html" rel="noopener noreferrer">http://forums.watchuseek.com/f133/pilot-chronograph-price-increase-675002.html" false;
lunarin79
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"aiken74"

Nice...tel us more abt individual review for Ocean 7 LM3, Artego 300m, Halios Holotype & Helson Tortuga.



Machaim the comparsion between Ocean, Artego, Halios & Helson on the individual weight, hw de hand-on feel for individual brand, comparsion on individual movement for individual brand... ;)



CEO, sure chiu can do for the review... ;) I believe SC bros ish oso looking 2ward for ur review... ;)


wah, i no time la,haha



21st u guys can molest gao gao compare ur own mah :mrgreen:
lunarin79
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"gasmancc"

CONs:

- Slim to No chance of in-house movements (if you are fussy type of person)

- warranty for repairs (if there's no local AD, any problem u have to ship the watch back to overseas and pay for shipping fees not to mention possible long waiting period to get your watch back)

- long term value (if u plan to buy and preserve for a long time like NOS pieces then later decide to sell, there won't be any demand for your watch since the majority don't really know your watch! hence the value depreciation..)


movt wise shld be easy to service since it's only miyota or ETA for most brands :)



as fore whether to sell in future, local market will not be easy as there are only a handful of microbran collectors out there, either you kena lowball jialat jialat by those who dun appreciate or u sell it to a good home



best is to repost on WUS & sell, market is alwys there, especially for out of production models :mrgreen:
lunarin79
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"Ed.YEO"



i dun follow the current O7 threads anymore le ;)



their design direction has changed, there's nothing unique about the cases used anymore,lol



i dun understand y those members there can 'wow' over the new current models :lol:



if u guys are getting a preowned O7, take note that the warranty will be void even if it's still under warranty cos Mitch(O7 founder) already mentioned his warranty will only be valid to its original owner ;)



well, one man's meat is another's poison i guess.
Becky
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
Yeah, they are going up in prices due to the demand from all over the world.



I am zooming in on the Halios and what they have offered recently (poison by someone here :roll: )



The PUCK and LAGUNA looks killer! Espcially the puck, Tuna's brother!



Always sold out like what CEO mentioned and we even have multiple post for WTB on the regular forums.



Really worth checking out these MB!
lunarin79
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"Becky"

Yeah, they are going up in prices due to the demand from all over the world.



I am zooming in on the Halios and what they have offered recently (poison by someone here :roll: )



The PUCK and LAGUNA looks killer! Espcially the puck, Tuna's brother!



Always sold out like what CEO mentioned and we even have multiple post for WTB on the regular forums.



Really worth checking out these MB!


whr is ur Ring's pic?? :lol:
lunarin79
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
another potential brand I wana introduce is



H2O



check out this brand.
lunarin79
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
omg, i just went to read progressing stage for H2O Orca...



man, i can foresee this model is gonna farking strike home



even the bracelet clasp is decorated!!!! WTF!!!



http://forums.watchuseek.com/f74/h2o-orca-thinner-shorter-harder-668637-8.html" false;
Becky
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
Ring gone! Puck is new love! Jason loves me, so many order from me! Lol
lunarin79
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"Becky"

Ring gone! Puck is new love! Jason loves me, so many order from me! Lol


:o so fast gone,lol
lunarin79
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"gasmancc"




Here's my Magrette Regattare Brass in denim strap saying hi! This was supposed to be a bronze case watch but that's a whole different story LOL





who knows maybe this brass case batch will be even more collectible in future :o :o



:lol: :lol: :lol:
gasmancc
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"lunarin79"

[quote="gasmancc"]


Here's my Magrette Regattare Brass in denim strap saying hi! This was supposed to be a bronze case watch but that's a whole different story LOL





who knows maybe this brass case batch will be even more collectible in future :o :o



:lol: :lol: :lol:[/quote]

Hahaha! just like the pam 318 fiasco :lol: but I think I'm swoping it to bronze since it's more logical thing to do..i'll get real bronze + upgrade to 100m depth rating :)
gasmancc
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"lunarin79"

omg, i just went to read progressing stage for H2O Orca...



man, i can foresee this model is gonna farking strike home



even the bracelet clasp is decorated!!!! WTF!!!



http://forums.watchuseek.com/f74/h2o-orca-thinner-shorter-harder-668637-8.html" false;


wow wow wow!!! thanks for this link bro lunarin..the h2o vintage looks like a winner! a was considering the Kalmar a few months back but the lugs were too long for my wrist so didn't push thru..now this new Orca's more like it! amazing thing to be able to interchange the case!! this is exciting stuff! :D
Ed.YEO
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
West Coast Time aka WCT can be consider microbrand hor...?



1000m diver. 2824 movement. 43.5mm case. Helium Valve.







can be kind of pricey... approx. SGD$2k BNIB w/shipping(depends on x-rates)
lunarin79
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"Ed.YEO"

West Coast Time aka WCT can be consider microbrand hor...?



1000m diver. 2824 movement. 43.5mm case. Helium Valve.







can be kind of pricey... approx. SGD$2k BNIB w/shipping(depends on x-rates)


yup, WCT is oso a microbrand.



if you like this type of case but slightly more affordable, you can consider these 2, same kind of case



Tactico by Crepas(pic borrowed from net)





Armida A5 1000m





KOBOLD 'homage' :mrgreen:
Ed.YEO
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
ARMIDA? 1000m WR more ex than 2000m WR model wor...
lunarin79
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"Ed.YEO"

ARMIDA? 1000m WR more ex than 2000m WR model wor...


isit?



i din realise that,LOL



among all the Armida design, only the A5 1000m case stands out from the rest :mrgreen:
Ed.YEO
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
http://www.armidawatches.com/a4-2000m.php" false;



yeah... 2000m ones goes @ USD699, the A5 goes @ 799
lunarin79
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
maybe the A5 1000m is the latest model from Armida i guess :mrgreen:
scs120
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
Ceo, thank you :D . Got mine liao, so hor u not exclusive liao :lol: :lol: :lol:
LB1981
Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"scs120"

Ceo, thank you :D . Got mine liao, so hor u not exclusive liao :lol: :lol: :lol:


Damn solid watch u have. Molest gao gao juz now.
scs120
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
LB :D , may I suggest u get a Kremke subzilla tactical then flip it and of course I'll catch it...chun chun one :D :lol:
sinner1974
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"lunarin79"

omg, i just went to read progressing stage for H2O Orca...



man, i can foresee this model is gonna farking strike home



even the bracelet clasp is decorated!!!! WTF!!!



http://forums.watchuseek.com/f74/h2o-orca-thinner-shorter-harder-668637-8.html" false;


Damn, the MOP Si gan pua chio!!!
aiken74
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
Does tis Kadloo consider mircobrand as I saw one guy wearing it during moi training session. Hand-on to molest n quite soild watch bt IMO ish homage of lolex / omg...:mrgreen:



http://www.kadloo.com/" false;
LB1981
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"scs120"

LB :D , may I suggest u get a Kremke subzilla tactical then flip it and of course I'll catch it...chun chun one :D :lol:


ok, when i got e fund 1st... :oops:



SIC your "possible" new hoot when u are back from overseas.



Take Care. :)
Ed.YEO
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
KADLOO huh... Veri pricey wor... Bright Time @ Bencoolen carries this brand, and it seems that they're the onli distributor in SG.

Too ex liao lah... their "submariner" homage, 1pc equals to almost 2.5pc of STEINHART Ocean 1.
seiko siao
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!






Gonomon Watches having a exhibition booth for Dievas and Squale dive watches in MBS for the Asia Dive Expo 2012.



Any promo I dunno yet, catalogue arriving and i will be picking up some later.



:twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted: :twisted:



Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2
roo7
Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
Wonder will the real divers consider such watches or a dive computer watch haha. Unless they are wis ?





Sent from my iPad
lunarin79
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"scs120"

Ceo, thank you :D . Got mine liao, so hor u not exclusive liao :lol: :lol: :lol:


iya bro, 'exclusive' not here in SC leh, i mean in the wild(Singpapore)
lunarin79
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
btw guys, the black MOP dial is not the actual dial for Orca, dun misread it,lol.



thy are using it on one of an Orca case nia ;)
herzausstahl
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!

"roo7"

Wonder will the real divers consider such watches or a dive computer watch haha. Unless they are wis ?





Sent from my iPad


when I used to dive, dive comp. But I did wear a watch as well, a 6900 g-shock.
lunarin79
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
chk out the straps :o :o



http://forums.watchuseek.com/f74/h2o-orca-thinner-shorter-harder-668637-9.html" false;
rainman13
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
Hi guys,

I too have been looking at some of the brands and took me a while to decide.

Like CEO, was scouring the forums for 2nd hand Enzo Mechana EM 001 or the EMV 001, but found nothing.

Finally got it locally but cost me quite a bit, but no regrets, as its a big and fantastic watch.

All the models havew been discontinued.
gasmancc
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
dark brown vintage with beige stitches looks nice!!
lunarin79
Re: Microbrands lovers, lip lai chat!
Tourby diver.



http://forums.watchuseek.com/f74/tourby-lawless-diver-quick-wristshots-prototype-677705.html" false;



the caseback is :o :o



but wats with the super straight lugs sia :( :(