I recently had the chance to pick up a couple of mid range Seiko divers (albeit ltd edition variants) and have been very impressed. I wanted to make a comparison with my MM300 to see what delta there was in quality.
First up was the Thai market SPB099J1 'Zimbe' Shogun. Limited to 500 pieces the watch is based on the standard titanium Shogun but has a cyclops and a sapphire crystal upgrade. RRP was around £1300 in Thailand although now these are trading at prices at least double that.
The watch is (IMHO) stunning with an amazing red sunburst dial with gold accents. From a form perspective I actually think it is the best watch suited for diving I have had - better than the MM300, much better than the Rolex Sub and Omega Planet Oceans etc. Of course it is not a better watch than them but it is better suited for the purpose of diving (well the non limited version would be). Lightweight, supremely comfortable, very few shiny surfaces (which would alert fish), amazing lume. If you want a mechanical watch to go diving with my advice is get a Shogun over a MM300. The lightness and balanced feeling on the wrist is superb. This watch does what it says on the tin. The Zimbe edition just happens to look cool :). Fit and form wise it is below the MM300. No adjustable clasp (although there is a divers extension) and a courser bezel action being the most glaring. Pin links which are optimal for diving and keep the weight down. Lots of talk about the 'workhorse' movement in this watch not befitting the price point but it has the same accuracy and power reserve as the unadjusted Grand Seiko movement in the MM300 so I don't get the issue.
Yesterday the so called 'MM200' arrived, again in limited edition format (green dial SPB105J1). This is a stainless steel watch on bracelet and therefore the comparisons with the MM300 are more easily made.
First off again I believe the watch is stunning. The gold hands against the green dial is wonderful and brings comparisons with the SLA019 limited edition. The watch has a sapphire crystal and I believe an anodized aluminium bezel and feels very solid. Again no adjustable clasp (but again with the presence of the wet suit extension), pin links and nicely finished but the MM300 has a smoother bezel, supposedly better movement (but the point I made with the Zimbe still applies) although I believe the MM200 looks better and certainly feels less top heavy and chunky on the wrist.
RRP is £980 and I got 10% off using a discount code - it is cracking value at that price. Given the limited edition nature of the watch further discounts are unlikely and whilst it won't see Daytona levels of price appreciation like the Zimbe it should hold value better than the standard model. As a diver it would do a decent job but the Shogun is I believe an absolute point of reference for divers watches and would be more suited to that duty (albeit you would want to get the standard Shogun and not the bright red Zimbe version)
Couple of quick pics
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