Seiko SUN015P1 Kinetic GMT (Mini Review)

balzebub71

2014-04-30 09:55 UTC

Don't really see much said about this particular watch, so i thought i would give my 2 cents worth here.

Picked up this Seiko SUN015P1 on bracelet at a decent price in my on going quest for an affordable/disposable "grab and go" travel watch with dual time zone display complication. This particular example has a serial number that dates it to May 2013.

It is a LARGE watch with fairly long lugs that remind me of the Sumo's. Employing a very unscientific method of measurement with a simple steel ruler - It is approximately 44+mm across (50mm if you include the crown) and about 52+mm lug to lug. As the lugs are curving downwards, it is quite comfortable on the wrist even though it wears larger than my Sinn UX / U2.

The case itself is highly polished all around save for the black coated fixed 24 hour bezel (how durable this coating is i have yet to find out) and small strips of brushed finishing on the lugs near where it meets the bracelet end links. Flat sapphire crystal on the front and a clear display case back showing the Kinetic winding rotor. Overall a nice looking case that unfortunately will become a scratch magnet.

Dial wise it is HUGE in my opinion - multi-layered with applied indices filled with lume, highly polished and lumed hour + minute hand with a striking GMT hand in red, also lumed. A very sporty looking and legible dial which i can read easily at a glance both time zones and date. The fixed bezel is large and juts out from the sides of the case, making the watch appear much larger. My two complaints - Firstly, poor lume in comparison to cheaper Seiko Divers that i had owned. Although there appears to be plenty of Superluminova on the indices and hands, it is slow to charge and doesn't get very bright. Will need to see how long it lasts when i go to bed tonight. Second gripe would be that the second hand, hour and minute hands are too short, personally prefer them to be slightly longer?

The watch is powered by the 5M85 Kinetic GMT movement. Too early to comment on accuracy. Being a quartz, i should have no complaints. It came out of the box with power reserve enough for more than 1 month. The second hand seems to hit all the markers on the dot which is a bonus given that my more expensive Sinn UX does not (though i enjoy the "bounce" a lot). The hour hand can be set independently in hour increments either way which makes it handy for adjusting time to which ever time zone you are currently in while keeping the GMT hand for home time if desired. My gripe with this movement is that you need to advance the hour hand two full rotations to advance the date..so no quick set date here. The crown at 3 O' Clock is screw down while the pusher at 2 O'clock isn't. Both are unsigned which was a little disappointing, would have loved a "S" on the crown.

Not sure if it has solid end links? (anyone can comment?) *UPDATE* It does have solid end links (see picture). The lug width is an odd 21mm...Why?? why not 22mm..Sigh!! The bracelet is quite pretty with brushed surfaces and small polished pieces, not too bling and not too tool which suits the overall sporty-dress design aesthetics of the watch. Overall a decent bracelet and clasp at this price point, though it has only 3 mirco adjustment holes due to the short length of the clasp and feels on the "light" side.

Strangely, the user manual states that user should avoid shining bright light into the display case back as it will cause the power consumption of the movement to go up? Any kinetic guru can comment?

To summarize:

+ve

Comfortable to wear despite it's large size

Clear legible dial

Independently adjustable hour hand for quick time zone changes

Good level of finishing on case and bracelet

Sapphire crystal

-ve

Poor lume

No quick set date

Wears large

Hour/minute/second hands short

Pardon my poorly taken pictures, only so much my mobile phone camera can do.