My yellow Seestern just arrived, 12 days from order (from their own website) with no taxes to pay. Stupidly good watch for £129.62!
Case is amazing quality, bracelet is a little sharp on the edges. Bezel is looser to turn than I'd like, and dial lume is a tad misaligned here and there. But for the money, jeez cannot complain.
And I say all that having had near a dozen modern Doxas... certainly a great tester of said brand for those considering splashing £1,500+
It seems that a common complaint (or observation if you will) about these watches is their dial colours are subdued compared to the original so that's something to consider, I certainly wouldn't have complained if my TF had been a much richer orange.
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If anyone is considering buying a tactical frog or Seestern then 100% go for the Seestern as the tactical frog is garbage in comparison.
I've not previously heard of Seestern and having just checked their website, they do seem to offer some good value homages.
The one thing that is possibly unique, well which I've never seen before, is their lumed calendar wheels. For me, that's one of those things when you see it, you wonder why it's not been done before.
David
Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combinations
For reference, mein Seestern has dropped 8 seconds in 24 hours from its box. Not bad.
I posted this idea on the forum years ago but this is the first I’ve heard of it actually being produced. I guess you’d need to charge the lume with a torch after midnight as it won’t have had any sun exposure during the day as it’s been hiding under the dial in darkness. When you think about that it’s actually a pretty stupid idea!
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Right you bunch of b*st*rds, your constant praise for the Seestern means I had to order one. I've gone for the yellow. I didn't think there was much wrong with the Tactical Frog for the money but these sound even better quality and value.
Pics on arrival....obvs :)
I wonder if anyone would be buying these if Seestern, Frog et al used their own designs?
It’s all well and good saying they’re brilliant value, but they look exactly like something else, which is a problem for me.
Obviously Steinhart has built itself a company based on this model, but at least it creates its own designs as well.
They seem start out making homages to gain traction and a bit of profit before moving on to their own designs.
San Martin are a good example of this and I'd say have achieved micro brand status.
You can see their factory on YouTube and it's a lot more impressive than most micro's.
This might be a bit controversial, but having read so mamy rumours over the years about Doxa watches being made in China anyway - and with Doxa being pretty much unknown outside the Wis community, at least here in the UK, I don’t think a frog or a Seestern screams ‘homage’ in the same way a Steinhart sub-a-like does, nor does it feel like a cheap alternative to an iconic design (as most people have never seen an original one anyway). Imho the design lends itself to fun, colourful and affordable holiday watch territory and these scratch that itch, especially with the bright dial colours.
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In my case I have over the years been lucky enough to have owned some very nice and some pretty sought after watches, Iam now fairly settled with a collection of just a few I very much enjoy.
However this year I seemed to have started my WIS journey right from the beginning and I've discovered that many of the new models from the likes of Seestern, SteelDive and Undone have made me enjoy this hobby all over again.
Designs are copied in every sector, how many of you are wearing an item of clothing or a pair of shoes that gives a pretty big nod to a designer brand somewhere without even knowing?
If these watches borrow a design but allow people to own the look without owning a fake and they promote an interest in mechanical watches in people who otherwise wouldn't bother surely that's a good thing.
From a doxa point of view I doubt they're losing sales and in fact they might gain some. Seiko seem relaxed about supplying makers who copy their designs so little harm done there either.
Last edited by kace; 23rd September 2021 at 13:07.
A yellow Seestern has just arrived today and I must say I am very impressed. This is a seriously well finished watch for its £130ish price tag. In fact, the BoR bracelet on it's own would not be over priced at half of that cost.
For those wondering about HMRC/VAT, I ordered mine from the Seestern website and it arrived via RM 48Hour Tracked from a UK senders address, so no import issue at all.
Update:
I’ve had it pressure tested and it passed at the stated 200m. So far so good.
I have had a few Doxa Subs, both pre-Jenny/Marei and more recent models, but all gone. Somehow the older watches seemed more like genuine tool watches, possibly because they bore the evidence of years of use.
My main interest is in older Omega and Heuer watches and brand new watches just don’t hold my interest too long. Also, I find that older watches with plenty of patina are more relaxing to wear, despite their value.
My favourite Doxa, by far, is long gone, but hopefully still within the forum. It was an older, black dial watch with lots of patina. While I generally treat fresh and minty watches with ‘kid gloves’ maybe this is one that I can wear in a totally relaxed manner to allow it to gain its own patina. It certainly appears to be robust enough to stand up to a fairly tough life and, while I’m not going to deliberately bash it about, I won’t baby it either. It will be good to see how it survives.
I've just ordered a yellow one to be my new daily for when my Sea Dweller comes back from the spa treatment and becomes Sunday best only.
I paid the extra for courier delivery just hope I don't get hammered for duty and VAT.
These would still be a bargain with £40 of fees added.
Honestly, anyone on the fence, you really ought to just hit the buy button
All the Chinese stuff has really got my attention. I feel like a beginner collector again.
I've bought the big monoblock Steeldive Tuna, the Heimdallr Tuna, the Proxima MM300 and the Seestern, they're all amazing for the money and I still haven't spent half of what I paid for my Oris.
2 and 3 years warranty with some of these things too. It really is watch collectors dream once you get over the branding hurdle.
Does anyone have an Everest and a seestern? If you do could you post a side by side shot or a couple so I can try and gauge a size comparison
Well I’ve just ‘pulled the trigger’ on an oranged one, pictures when it comes: I bought direct from seestern aka wicked watches and paid the extra $30 for express delivery.
Great thread and the watches look excellent..God I’m weak!
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Just received this not happy given they had taken my money with additional £30 for 3 day Express with UPS. :
Hi Chris,
Your current order is a bit delayed. We are waiting for watch hands so we can assemble the missing ones.
We will update you with the tracking info this week.
I am very sorry about that inconvenience caused.
Kind regards
Coco
Update:
Coco has now replied and updated the website with those Out of Stock untill the next batch of hands have arrived.
Sales have gone through the roof but fortunately she had 1 left in Teal and has shipped that instead of the yellow I ordered with a free strap,so good comms and CS .
Last edited by SeePee; 27th September 2021 at 14:06. Reason: Stock update on website
I have 3 steeldives and all are amazing value. With the explosion in good quality Chinese watches and microbrands I find I'm spending more of my money in these areas than with more traditional mid to low budget brands.
The Steeldive logo reminds me of Goatse, so I won't be buying one. If you don't know the reference, do yourself a favour and do NOT google it.
Goatse, meh. The bloke sitting on the jar is better.