Monster Sardine Impressions
Picked up a SRP639K monster sardine which I personally preferred most out of the three versions. The black coated version was my second favorite but fears of DLC coating peeling like on my dearly departed GOLGO made me go with the 639. First impressions? A well made quality piece with a interesting combination of polished and brushed surfaces on the shroud and lugs. The black coated bezel against the bare stainless steel shroud made the presence of the shroud obvious at a glance and the yellow accents on the bezel and hands lent some "life" and color to a otherwise normal looking black dial plus bezel.
The metal shroud is a huge improvement over the non metallic ones found on the earlier sardines.
I also like that the seconds hand is black save for the tip which is yellow and lumed, lending it a "floating" appearance as it sweeps around the dial.
The screw down crown is smooth, tight and the stem feels solid with no wobble when fully pulled out to no. 2 and 3 positions. There is also no play in the hands during time setting which is a good thing. Like all 4R36 and 6R15 movements, it hand-winds buttery smooth- without any resistance at all.
Case back is a mixture of brushed and polished finishes with the standard tsunami badge and a prospex logo etched above the serial number.
The watch feels comfy on the wrist and the short lugs make it wear smaller than it's size on paper. It looks and feels better in the metal- I had doubts about buying one until I saw it and tried it on.
The lume appears more white than green in day light and personally I feel it isn't as bright as the 1st generation monsters or even SKX007/011. Somehow I feel that the whiter lume used in this and the 2nd generation monsters isn't as powerful as the greener lume in the 1st generation monster/007 etc..anyone else feel the same?
My only unhappiness with this watch? They slapped it on a regular Seiko Z22 which is stiff like hell. I wish that since it has been promoted to their Prospex range they could have at least supplied the softer rubber straps similar to those on the recent Kinetic GMT divers? Also the crown on this thing remains a plain affair that is unsigned...really so expensive to add a "S" on it meh?
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