Tuna Trio - thoughts on Seiko’s Shrouded Divers
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Last year I sold off my Seiko Tunas, missed them, and over the last couple of months have restored my sense of contentment in watches by being able to buy back my SBDB013 Spring Drive from a very decent forum member, buying a mint SBBN047 from SC at a very fair price, and I have now added a SNE577 Solar Tuna complete the trio.
I know that Seiko’s shrouded divers aren’t to everyone’s taste, but I’m a fan and have owned quite a few over the years, starting with a SBBN011 Darth Tuna back in about 2007. Photo wearing it below, taken in Aegean about 15 years ago. I’ve owned a few of the the 300m steel ones (posted a ‘how to fit a sapphire crystal to SBBN007’ piece on here years ago), the kinetic GMT version, once had the mighty mechanical ‘Emperor Tuna’ but keep coming back to the Darth.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...7aca49e23c.jpg
So what is the appeal? I work in marine science, technology and policy for a living, and the Tunas reflect the engineering that goes into the autonomous marine systems, submersibles and diving kit that we work with. The shrouded divers are never fashionable, they’re ‘form follows function’ to a greater degree than most watches.
Many of you will know the history of the model so I won’t repeat it here, but suffice to say that the protective shroud does do it’s job of warding off glancing blows when working amongst pipes, rocks & metal bulkheads. The practical quartz movement in most Tunas is excellent for resilience to shock & vibration when using power tools, & they’re well protected against electrical fields from power cables and machinery.
I’ll never dive deep enough to challenge even the 200m rated Tunas, let along a 1000m rated Darth, but that’s not the point - it’s an expression of respect for the single-minded bonkers design of the thing.
A few thoughts on the models I currently own.
SBBN047 Darth Tuna - with a monocoque (one piece) titanium case, this is a true Tunacan - arguably all the Tunas with removable case backs are tuna-style rather than the Real Thing, but most Tuna fans will be happy you like Seiko’s shrouded divers and be pleased whatever you’ve got. The mighty Darth is a masterpiece of matt black perfection - black DLC coated titanium, a flat sapphire; and a ceramic shroud. These can get chipped but rare to see a destroyed one.
Come the Zombie apocalypse, or Putin pressing the button, the Darth will sit in the geological strata for aeons waiting to amaze a future alien explorer.
Strap changes are a pain in the neck, it’s too tall, and unless you’re brave it’s not a trivial task to DIY the battery change. Still my favourite.
SBDB013 Spring Drive - when these first came out, tuna fans worried it was too posh for a Tuna, but it’s a beautiful machine with a gorgeous titanium shroud and the mesmerising sweep of a Spring Drive movement. Two piece titanium case. Strap changes still a pain, especially with the supplied shoulderless spring bars, the case is too tall, and the bezel is far too shiny for a tool watch, but it’s just Seiko showing off.
SNE577 - this is one of the budget solar tunas, again not a one piece case, it’s steel not titanium, hardlex not sapphire, and the shroud is plastic but if you want a shrouded Seiko beater it’s a great choice. Has drilled lugs, solid solar quartz movement, decent build quality and is light in weight. Good sports watch, or something to wear mountain biking.
Before I finish, some thoughts on ones I no longer own - emperor tuna is very large & heavy, same 8L35 mechanical movement as the MM300 but in an indestructible titanium case and shroud.
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The Emperor is tall enough to bash into everything and will never fit under a shirt cuff, whereas the Darth can just about do that, and the Spring Drive, 300m, & solar ones can fit reasonably well.
The Emperor does have lugs drilled at one end, so strap changes aren’t difficult. It’s a one piece case, and will last forever.
The 300m quartz tunas (one seen below with a SBBN013 Darth) are great watches, tough, same 7C46 as the Darth, drilled lugs. I don’t like the domed hardlex crystals on them - I’ve scratched them and find the reflections & distortion annoying. The most recent incarnations of the 300m have sapphire, I’ve not seen one up close yet to see if it’s still domed. It’s a good compromise if you want a tuna, prefer to be able to change the battery yourself, and don’t want to have to fight to change the strap. Eddie even used to sell the SBBN007 on the TZUK website.
There didn’t used to be much price difference between the 300m SBBN007 and the 1000m Darth, both were priced below £1k when I first discovered them, usually from Higuchi or Seiya in Japan as they were Japan-only models & had to be mail-ordered.
You’d order from Japan and wait & see if Royal Mail would clobber you for duty & VAT, 15 years ago they quite often didn’t.
Eventually Seiko twigged they were missing a trick not selling them globally & the whole ‘Prospex’ thing started, so now we can buy them in most countries.
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Doubtless I’ll write again one day about being a tuna fan, I look forward to seeing what variations in the design pop up in future. For now I’m very happy with my current tuna trio.
Cheers,
Steve
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Tuna Trio - thoughts on Seiko’s Shrouded Divers
Great write up and collection! I have an Sbbn015 and kept it instead of an Sbdx001 as it looks/feels more special to wear.
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