You can't have enough SMY089

A few close up shots of the SMY089

No more D300 and no more Luminox

I am back from my vacation and this actually happened before I left for my vacation. I got my D300 and I shipped it back to the seller the next day, cause the camera is not quite what he described. Havnig said that, I still give the seller points for standing behind the deal and did a quick refund. Though I was able to take the new camera with me during my vacation, at least I didn't lose any money out of the whole situation.

And my Luminox is gone as well. Not that I don't like the watch. Its just that I don't want to deal with battery powered watch which I can't regenerate the power by movement (kinetic) or light (solar).

I also have a Garmin Forerunner 305 (GPS + HRM) and a Timex iControl iPod remote control watch, sitting there not doing much. I am tempted to see if I should just let them go (to get something else).

More come and go, and they are not all watches ...

I sold my Omega SMP GMT Great White. While I like the watch a lot, I come to realizing I only need one SMP and its going to be the black Bond. So off it goes. Plus I found that I like the Bond bracelet much better, it looks better with the 20mm non-tapering links/clasp, and its more comfortable too!

Then comes the non-watch item. :p I wanted to "upgrade" my DSLR from Nikon D80 (DX) to D700 (FX), knowing that FX will provide 1:1 ratio on the frame captured and better low ISO performance. But the investment to go FX is just too much right now. So I end up getting a D300 and stay with DX format instead. Since I already have the lenses for DX from my D80, I don't have to shell out a lot of money for the upgrade. I pretty much only need to upgrade the DSLR body and re-use everything else (except that I need to get a CF card). D300 still able to give me better metering, betterlow ISO preformance, environment seal on the buttons, live view, etc.

In the future, I may get 35mm or 50mm f1.8 lens, 17-55mm f2.8 lens, SB800 speed flash, the battery grip and that's pretty much it. But that's for later and I am not in a hurry for them.

I have pushed my upgrade to D300 for a long time before I have put more of my "toy resources" into watches. For this time, the sales of the SMP GMT pretty much covers the cost of D300.

For my next watch, I am thinking about a Omega Speedmaster "moon watch" double sapphire, Omega Planet Ocean black/black 42mm, Rolex Y series Sea DWeller / Submariner Date (or LV) / Z series Submariner COSC, Paneria Submersible 24 / 111 (sandwich dial) / 183 / 287, Seiko Marinemaster SBDX001, etc.

Another one down

I really like the look of G-Shock MTG910DJ, I think its one of the best looking G-Shock. I didn't care for the time stamp feature since I can't find a good use for it. Overall I still think its a great G-Shock.

But I just find it sitting in the watch box most of the time when I own it. So I think its better for me to just move on with it. And I will be off to its new owner soon.

On the other hand, the Seiko 200m Kinetic SMY089 has been on my wrist ever since it arrived. My SMP is getting jealous ... LOL

All parties come to an end, ...

which it is the case for my Omega SMP co-axial blue Bond. The will be off to its new owner soon ...

I think its one of the my best buy for my entire collector "career". It has beautiful case and bracelet, comfortable to wear, looks fantastic, the lume is among the best I have seen, the co-axial movement with longer service period and best time keeping over the range of power reserve ...

But if its the "best", then why sell it? Good question. Just like the case of being the best man at a wedding. Per Jerry Seinfeld: "I was the best man at the wedding. If I'm the best man, why is she marrying him?" Ok, that basically got nothing to do with me selling my "best" watch and I just to post it somewhere. Haha~ :p

But the reason for me selling my SMP blue Bond co-axial basically comes down which one should I keep? the blue or black Bond SMP co-axial?

Well, ever since I saw the black Bond, I've always wanted one. I think the black color is deep and definitely gave the SMP a brand new look. The "whitter" lume though doesn't shine as bright as the C3 SL, but it makes the watch looks much better with the deep black bezel and dial. And since I could live with Rolex, which lume is definitely not one of their strength, then I think the "brightest lume" may not be the most important thing on a watch for me.

So, the black Bond wins, and bye-bye blue Bond.

I do think may be I shouldn't be collecting just one (SMP) case style. Diversity is good. May be my next watch would be a Panerai just to make it different. Who knows? LOL :D

Some other Panerai for me to drool on

Though I still can't convince myself of Panerai's pricing, I do like their watches.

Another Panerai that caught my attention is the Panerai 92 Arktos SE from 2004 of 500 units to celebrate the Mike Horn's Arktos expedition.

Panerai 92 Arktos SE

The SE model has a uni-directional compass bezel, the Crystal is 4.2mm thick, and its anti-magnetic up to 100,000 A/m. Water resistance 30 bar or 300m.

Also the PAM 252 North Pole GMT (2006 Limited Edition - 500 pcs) and PAM 186, both with GMT hands.

The wait is almost over

When I had my Rolex GMT Master IIc (116710LN), I like the size and the comfort of it a lot. And then I had to let it go because I almost semi screwed by the credit card company (and I have since stopped using ALL my Master Cards and would only use my American Exress and Visa). And then take a few step back, I tried on a Rolex Milgauss black dial (116400) when I still had my GMT IIc. And I found I really like the size and comfort just like the GMT IIc. Along with the exceptional capability for anti-magnetism, I knew I would want one ... :D

Fast forward to today, my GMT IIc was lone gone and I have a black Milgauss incoming. I opt-ed for the black Milgauss non-GV (no green sapphire for me) version because the regular black dial version looks much cleaner to me and i don't know the orange indice on the white dial version (not to mention the weak lume of the orange lume material).

I will give the Milgauss a try and see how much I like it, and see if I could like without the date feature.

One thing though, if I do like the Milgauss and decided to keep it, then at least one (or more!) SMP in my collect is in jeopardy! :p

Warzone: over 200k

Still playing Quick cash, land unit only.

It was over 200k but the computer was getting slow and I got bored. :p

Looks like I still have room to still keep it going. But I just didn't care enough to do it. LOL :D

Wave: 244
Score: 201817


(click on pix to view bigger image)

More on the Seiko Kinetic 200m diver SMY089

It has been on my wrist days and nights for almost the full work week. The more I wear it the more I like it. It wraps around my wrist very well. I found it comfortable to wear it for extended period of time. I begin to dig the board integrated lugs, the polished center links and curvy roundish case shape. .

The Marinemaster clasp works well with the watch and definitely adds a nice feature (adjustable diver extension) to the watch.

It lacks anti-reflective coating for the crystal, but I can't be too picky at this price point, LOL :D Though I wonder if the aftermarket sapphire crystal (with AR coating) for Seiko SKX divers would fit the SMY089.

The watch came with battery level at 10 min mark. After I put it through two of my running session, now its at the 20 min mark. I think it will takes a bit more work to bright up to full charge.

I plan on wear this one with bracelet only because of the integrated bracelet with odd lug size. I don't even know what lug size it is ... LOL :D (16mm lug size? May be?)

What should I "try" next?

Okay, so ... I am pretty happy with the watches that I have right now. But ... the hunter for the next watch can't stop right there (or here), right? hehe :p

So What should I get next?

Since I am a fan of Omega, I am thinking about a Speedmaster, the moon watch 3570.50 or the double sapphire (front and back) 3756.50. Things that I may not like are the lack of date complication and the water resistance is only to 30m. I am used to diver watches with WR200m or more, so 30m seems a little ... not enough. :p But the history of the Speedmaster definitely intrigue me.

Then maybe a 42mm PO with black bezel and white numbers. I like the PO and its definitely an "upgrade" from SMP. But at the same time, its a lot of the same watch as my co-axial SMP (same 2500C co-axial movement, same layout of the manual HEV) ... and yes, I am weird. Cause I can have 2 co-axial SMP with different color but think co-axial SMP and PO are somewhat alike ... LOL :D

I also toyed with the idea of yet another Seiko Marinemaster 300m automatic (SBDX001). I have had quite a few of them and I was never been able to keep them in my collection. But a Seiko 300m MM auto on rubber strap just seems like a proper tool (diving) watch. I don't think I want history to repeat itself (again, with the buying and selling of Seiko 300m MM auto), but I really dig that tool watch look.

Omega Seamaster 1200m Ploprof, Rolex GMT Master IIc and Panerai 243 or 312 seems to be a little out of reach right now. But if I happened to come across a good Rolex Submariner ND COSC, Submariner Date (Y series with lug holes or LV), Sea Dweller (Y series with lug holes), PAM 111 or 24 submersible (with the new strap change system). Then I might bite the bullet and get one.

I will just take my time, I am not in a hurry to get another yet. I think this is a good sign that I am happy with my watches right now.