Wow, what a cool looking watch, must confess I've never seen one of those before.
I hit a rare landmark this month - a straight year with a watch. I first posted about this SBDB005 Landmaster HERE and despite the odd SC post, it's still with me.
I was wearing it today, and playing about with my camera as I waited for the wife to complete some shopping.
And I was thinking about this endless tail-chaising that we do as WISs. I've just picked up Eddie's new Seafire, and it's a great watch, but it'll not displace the Landmaster. Of course - it's an eighth of the price! My 42mm GMT-II didn't last - it got sold. I've sold my CA M1 Breitling, or at least, the Blacksteel version of it.
I've still got a 40mm white dialled Explorer II, and a Seadweller. I've got an Explorer I waiting for me in the UK for Christmas. But... is there a watch that I'm missing?
The Landmaster has
- cracking lume
- date
- 100m WR
- good size, but low weight, because of the titanium
- (most importantly) proper GMT functionality. The hour hand steps.
So. Is there anything else I should be looking at? The Nautilus World Traveller is tempting, but I can't get my head around paying more for a service than I've paid for a watch! There are some Omega GMTs... Some Omega chronographs...
C'mon - let's see some pictures!
Last edited by Qatar-wol; 30th November 2014 at 05:34.
Wow, what a cool looking watch, must confess I've never seen one of those before.
Also wow from me, not into most Seikos apart from GS but this looks very nice.
Same here, not one I have seen before and I mus admit I have been looking at some seiko models lately..Very nice indeed, so keep it yeah...
Guillermo
Thats a great looking watch, have only seen pictures and did not realise it was titanium.
Thanks for the comments. itsgotournameonit, I had one of those about four years ago - the first one you posted. It was a good watch, but it didn't snag or catch with me. I've also had the Omega Speedmaster Solar Impulse, which on paper did everything I needed, plus a chronograph. But the comic font and carbon-fibre meant that I couldn't take it seriously.
The white dialled 42mm Explorer II was a hit for a while, but I sold it to buy something else, and I've not felt the urge to replace it. Which says something! The 40mm Explorer II is my daughter's, although she doesn't know this yet, so that's going nowhere.
I wore the Landmaster again yesterday to keep its power reserve up (been wearing the SeaFire all weekend) and I was reminded just how good a fit it is for me. I might just have to try to stop chasing, and enjoy what I've got!
There you are, answered your own question! Me, I think long and hard before buying as I buy to keep, my Sinns only went to fund my first Damasko. I think 5 or 6 is about right, with a variation in size and type to make a watch feel "fresh" when brought out to wear in rotation. I don't think I'd be letting that Landmaster go. As I say, a few to rotate, with variation, should keep the boredom imp at bay!
F.T.F.A.
Fabulous -stunning-want one-can't have one 46mm to big for me ,but love the watch do they do GMT in a smaller size?,and don't flip it
I suppose the current darling of GMT's might fit in quite nicely;
Landmasters are often forgotten.
Not by me! That is lovely.
Love the rear of these with the space for name, blood type etc.
Because you don't seem to hold on to watches (if it's rare for you to keep a watch for a year, and it's already been up on SC a couple of times in that short span, that speaks volumes), I think a much better watch for you than the land master would be a swatch.
You need to stick to stuff that's basically disposable, as there's no point in you buying watches that are designed to last you a lifetime.
On the other hand, I shouldn't worry about the service costs of the patek. You are unlikely to have it long enough.
Last edited by seikokiller; 30th November 2014 at 14:05.
Over the years Walter I've noticed that our tastes are very similar. I've found that the; drilled lug, luminova, coke bezel GMT II is all i need, other than a CWC Quartz diver as a beater. I sold or gave away everything else.
Looking at the current range i'm sure that its as good as Rolex will ever get.
White gold GMT would be my no cost option. But I really like the SMP 2535 and have had a couple - Id also buy another at some point.
The White dial Explorer 2 in 42mm is my favourite gmt, but the Speedbird GMT isn't too far behind.
It's just a matter of time...
Oh, I disagree! A Swatch would satisfy me for a day or two, but just because I've a short attention span, it doesn't mean that I don't get nice things! Also, if I stuck to the cheap stuff, I'd consistently lose money - with nice things, if I buy carefully, I'll not lose that much,
The Black/Blue GMT-Master is lovely, and the red/blue white gold GMT-MAster is gorgeous! But at a list price of £25k, it'd better be.
Also, I can't buy the Patek, because I'd shit myself at the cost of a service!
Oh, I absolutely love the Lange Worldtimer, but leather, lack of WR, lack of lume, kills it.
I think I'm with you on this, Ray - the perfect generation for Rolex, for me, is one generation ago. That's why I've got an Explorer I waiting for me in the UK! I've never tried the old size GMT-Master - I bought the new GMT-IIc when it came out, and it stayed a while, but....
That's a lovely watch. I think I would like a nice beater GMT-Master II. It would fit with my SeaDweller and the others... To the Sales Corner!
If you are scaling down to an Explorer 1 you will find the small(er) size a shock for the first few days. The best way to reassure you self is to look at it on your wrist in the mirror, it is perfect.
It was the last one i let go before settling down with the GMT II. The problem was that i needed the second time zone for travel and every time I came home the versatile watch stayed in place.
Having seen that very handsome Landmaster I would personally get rid of everything else. Why would you want to wear anything else?
That's a good call, actually. The blue World Timer is very pretty, but a little dressy. I normally wear watches on a bracelet, and the lack of lume would bug me, I think. If I'm going to travel with it, it'd better be water proof, and be able to tell me what the time is in a pitch black hotel room. Good suggestion, though.
And I'm wearing it again today.
It's big, but not huge, and the lightness balances it out a little. I love the Rhino configuration - it's not a Bullhead, as there's only one horn! (And not a Unicorn, as it exists.) It's supernaturally accurate, and WR to 100m. I really think I need to stop trying to replace it!
It's a little bulky to go under formal cuffs (what cad would wear this watch to a formal event? Maybe the kind of cad who only travels with one watch!) And as a Seiko, I'm unlikely to get mugged for it.
Walter I really love this new version of the Landmaster its elegant,funky and rare enough to warrant a place in a serious Seikoholic's collection.Kudos to You for sticking to one watch but what a watch!
I really like the Landmaster, light, good specs, the 12 o'clock crown. Just wished it was smaller for my wrists!
That looks great! Nice dial and case shape.
I'm bumping this six and a half-year-old thread as I've come back round to the SBDB005 Landmaster as the best real-world watch for me.
I sold it - the one in the earlier posts in this thread - in the summer of 2015, and then went through a number of interesting, good (and bad!) watches, then it came up for sale again a year ago. The same watch! So I did what any self-respecting WIS would have done - I bought it back!
And since then, it's rarely been off my wrist. OK, yes, last year I had a few dalliances with some LE Seikos, and the odd flirtation with a Vertex, but this calendar year, the only times I've worn something else (to try to break the Landmaster habit), I just can't wait to get home and swap back.
It's amazing for all the reasons that I listed seven years ago. But now? On the Nick Mankey elastic strap? It's simply the only watch I want to wear. It's accurate, tough, has great (I mean, great) lume, and decent WR.
In fact, last year, I bought another! This one of three hundred LE came up at a Bonhams auction in Hong Kong. It cost me a pretty penny, but I've never seen another one for sale. Plus, it counts as the same watch, doesn't it?
So, this post is part of my conscious decoupling from WIS-dom. There are still things I'd like to try - a decent Zenith El Primero, maybe? Another old XV?
But for now, I'm really not buying any more expensive watches. (For now.)
Thanks for reading this far!
What a cracker..never came across them before, but defo on my radar now .. and I'm not a big GMT fan.. thanks for bumping!
The winder on the top is a definite attraction for me, currently wearing a plaster on the back of my hand from crown gouging.
Also on the lookout for Titanium due to a suspected nickel allergy.
Spring drive too!
Qatar-wol, knowing that you’re such a Seiko fan, have you ever tried any of the Astron series? I thought they’d appeal to you. I know they’re not forum favourites, but I’m quite tempted by them.
I would have denied that I was a Seiko fanboy, but at some point last year, I had about seven of the damn things! And yes, I have had an Astron! Have a look here - https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...ghlight=astron - and some of my thoughts are in that sales post. It was a big watch! Very busy, but very interesting.
Cheers, Walter. Fortunately the Astrons have slimmed down a great deal during the six years or so since you listed that example for sale. From 47mm to a tad under 43mm. I read that the Citizen Satellite Wave models are much quicker to update when moving from one time zone to another. It’s just a shame they’re so damn ugly when compared to the less busy dials and smaller proportions of the Astron series.
I can easily see why - it's one of the most distinctive, unique and extremely well realised designs that Seiko have ever come out with.
Every time I see one, I want one - not something I can say about Seikos very often.
It speaks volumes that there are several regulars on this forum alone who seem to wear very little else.
I don't think more recent Landmasters are anything like as nice.
I know you're not really looking now, but Sinn have recently introduced something which covers a lot of the same bases while offering something different - the R500: bullhead layout, chronograph, titanium body, power reserve, robust toolwatch vibe etc.
~£3,500 (link)
That black MURA one is very very cool.
The 7x series is interesting. I had a DC56 years ago, and it was a bit of a barrel - quite thick. But a lovely watch.
The DC80, for me, feels like a fit - no date, centre minute, and that wonderful, wonderful bezel!
The black Landmaster - the Miura - might be for sale in the summer. I simply don't wear it and prefer the bare titanium of the 005!
Yep, the DC80 is lovely, wears fairly big, but not thick in quite the same way as the DC5x series do, albeit I wear the latter more often than the former.
7x is slightly wider than 5x, so the proportions will be a little better - I'll hopefully find out in the next 2 or 3 months.
don't think there is anything like the LM...so no need to make any comparison, just buy any other that you like
Always amazed by its design and I think it is at least 50 years ahead.
do you know there are...
Last edited by seikomatic; 11th May 2021 at 10:26.
Did you spot the new Sinn Centre minute chrono based on the Nabo cockpit clock?
Dave
That Sinn's interesting, Dave, but...
And yes, hughtrimble, the Spacewalk Seikos are quite bonkers. But even buy those standards, the one you posted is mad!The 717 is impressive in the manner that most of Sinn’s “tool” watches are – it is perfectly legible and the case is virtually scratch-proof – but it also seems way larger than necessary. At 45 mm by 15.3 mm it is massive on both counts, and will probably feel extremely chunky on the wrist.
Totally agree, it is a case of Sinn taking a perfectly great design idea and inflating it in size and technology (and budget) to a ridiculous level. A real opportunity dropped, I think.
I have eventually come to the conclusion that I need to do a custom watch, so I am trying to find someone to make the right case for a Lemania 5195 movement that I currently have in an Eberhard Cheftain Diascope.
I have a set of Sinn hands, a spare dial, and I need to find the right case with a bezel.
With central minutes and an independently settable GMT on the 3 sub-dial, it would seem to be your peferct combination of complications Walter.......
Shame it was never used in a watch that you'd like.
D
The 12-hour Damasko bezel is the correct bezel, especially for the centre-minute chronos - it enables adds an hour timer to the stopwatch, or lets you track a second timezone. Perfect.
You know I like an independent hour hand, Dave, but failing that, the lack of constant minutes of the DC80/DC82 means that I don't have to obsess over hitting the markers when I travel if that makes sense? I like the 80/82 - if I get some watches sold this summer, I think I'll pick one up, as long as Damasko can do it with the 12-hour bezel. They seem to be fairly happy to accommodate special requests!
The second, independent time zone as a subdial, or even as a 24-hour hand, appeals to me less than an independent hour hand.
Ah well, if the perfect watch existed, we wouldn't be here, would we?
With the ability to hour hack, I am quite surprised you have not tried anything powered by the Omega 8500 or 8400 movement, like one of the Seamaster 300 Master Co-axials, or possibly a Planet Ocean.
Available in Ti as well as SS, they might be worth a look?
If I could even vaguely justify the price, I would love one of the Ti Master Co-ax ones, lovely looking thing.