I would be very grateful if any owners/previous owners would share any opinions on the SPB143. I’ve never owned a Seiko but am very much drawn to this watch. I usually prefer smaller watches (around 36-38mm) but do have a couple around 42mm.
I can get the watch new from an AD with 28% off which I think is quite a good price. Is it worth it?
Thanks in advance.
I’ve been looking at them too and they seem to fetch around £700 second hand, although the last one on eBay only got to £650.
I think 28% off equates to just under £800? which is, in my opinion, a decent price for one.
I’m struggling on two fronts though, I’ve an SPB079J1 that cost me under £400 on here (they were on sale at 50% discount fro H Samuel recently) and I’ll always see it as a cheap SLA023 (one on SC at the moment)!
If or when they approach the £400 level, I’d definitely snap one up.
I owned one of these earlier in the year. Fantastic dial and bezel, really, really lovely. The things that put me off were bracelet related. The gap between the end links and case was significant and, for me, unacceptable. It seems to be the norm on that range rather than a random qc issue, and was one of those things where once you were aware of it you couldn’t let it go. The other thing, and this may be a small wrist issue that I have, was that the clasp seemed overly long and bulky for the bracelet. But that could just be me.
If you can get one second hand or new at a good price, I’d try one out and see what you think. It looked great on a rubber topic as well.
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Yes price is £792. I can see your struggle. If I had an 079 already I don’t think the 143 would appeal to me as much, especially at the higher price. Unfortunately the 079 is just a little too large for me, I have tried one on though and was very impressed. I was hoping the 40.5mm of the 143 would make it more wearable. The jury is still out.Originally Posted by Dave+63
Thanks for that. Very helpful. The bracelet clasp would probably be an issue for me also.
I was also considering the 38.5mm SNE569P1 Solar. Substantially less expensive at around £360 but obviously wouldn’t have the quality of the SPB range. But might be a good alternative for my first Seiko.
Last edited by Mr Tetley; 14th December 2021 at 11:34.
I’ve not owned one but have tried it on in the shop. I thought it wore surprisingly small / well, probably because the thicker bezel reduces the dial size. I had a previous gen mm200 and the 44mm was too much for me, so this was refreshing. I didn’t buy it because there wasn’t much of a discount being offered at the time and I try to be disciplined with how many Seiko divers are in the box at the same time but I think it’s a great watch and I might come back to it one day.
I did notice the bracelet but that sort of thing doesn’t bother me much, I’d probably wear it on a strap, or if it really got to me, get a strapcode replacement.
£792 is a very good price for it, new with warranty. I can’t see a decent used example going for less than £600 in good condition. I’m sure you could move it on without too much of a loss if you changed your mind.
The 079 is 40mm and wears about the same as my 40mm Rolex GMT. I also have a 43mm King Samurai which is 53mm but feels smaller as the case sides chamfer down towards the wrist.
I’ve not tried a 143 but expect it to be similar to the 079.
I’ve owned both the 143 and the 079, they are both cracking watches. I had no hesitation in paying £750 used for my 143 and to be honest I never felt like I’d overpaid. Much more wearable than the 079 but I would not say there was any major leap in quality, both fairly comparible.
Quick comparison on the size - they look the same but 143 definitely wears slightly smaller
Last edited by enndriz; 14th December 2021 at 15:04. Reason: Typo
Seiko’s website has the diameter of the 079 as 44mm with a lug to lug of 51mm. I did try a friends on and it was just a bit too large. If it was 40mm I would go for that one.
Whilst the Seiko website shows it as 44mm that has to include the crown at 4. There’s no way it’s 44mm across the bezel!
It’s defo the case that’s 44mm, and that’s excluding crown. Bezel is smaller as you say.
Just doesn’t seem that big cos of the case shape, plus it’s a seiko and they never wear like the specs suggest
I purchased mine from a fellow member here on TZ.
To cut a long story short, it has become my go to watch and gets the most wrist time of all my watches.
To the point where my other Seiko divers of which I have a few are pretty much redundant now. The quality of the dial, hands and case finishing are excellent. The bevels on the case sides are really beautiful and hide its 13mm or so thickness very well.
It has a great balance of aesthetics with a vintage case shape. It wears beautifully and feels a step up from your standard Seiko turtles and the like.
If you are already stalking this watch - just get one.
Last edited by namzo; 14th December 2021 at 15:05.
I’ve had the 079 too and it certainly seemed to wear bigger than the 143. Thinner bezel visually makes the difference.
i currently own the SPB149 and find the curved shorter lug to lug dimensions aid a far more comfortable watch vs the straighter lug dimensions of the 079, especially on my slender 6.5” wrists. It’s quite hefty on the bracelet and agree that there is a slight gap between the case and endlinks resulting in a bit of play but wasn’t a deal breaker for me. Look great on a host of straps too.........
Among the 150+ watches I've owned, I've not had one Seiko. And it tells it all that this is the first i fell in love with - well, really the 62MAS, but since that's pretty much unobtainable now, I'm left with this remake. I've been on the lookout for a 2nd hand one on eBay under £500 for nearly a year now, without much success - that's a good indication how the market has priced even the 2nd hand ones. If it's the right size for you, go for it!
41mm across the bezel
But actually 44mm on the case.
It does wear like a 40mm watch though even though it’s actually larger.
I echo everything that namzo has just written.
I too picked one up from SC about 18 months ago - was happy to purchase it at a cheaper price without the bracelet as I intended to put it on a rubber strap anyway.
I have slim wrists & pretty much all my watches are between 36 - 40mm - the Seiko wears like a 39mm watch & fits me perfectly.
I wear it on a nice tapered Tropic a lot of the time, but it also looks great on a grey / black NATO or a rubber waffle strap.
I’m lucky enough to also have a 1967 62MAS in my watch box & the SPB143 holds it own next to this watch (in a more modern interpretation kind of way).
Mine gets an awful lot of wrist time, you will not regret buying one!
Thanks to everyone for your opinions and input into the thread. It’s been very helpful. The watch has been ordered and I’ve now some serious man maths to do before presenting my defence to my wife.
Think I’ll put this one under the tree for Christmas Day.
Well done.
I don’t think you’ll regret it.
Be sure to post back!
Good decision - for the money they are worth it. You can also try an alternative bracelet if the clasp bothers you, strapcode and maybe uncle Seiko. Check the indexes on the dial when the watch arrives, there were examples of the lume not being centered, easy to miss if you dont look closely and will be sorted without question by Seiko if it bothers you.Thanks to everyone for your opinions and input into the thread. It’s been very helpful. The watch has been ordered and I’ve now some serious man maths to do before presenting my defence to my wife.
Think I’ll put this one under the tree for Christmas Day.
Keith
p.s. Ive got a GS bought from SC in Sept also to go under the Christmas tree...hard to resist for almost 4 months!
Haha me too. Bought an MM300 about a month ago and keeping it on ice till xmas. Didn’t think I had the willpower - not long to go now!
Thanks for the advice re:lume. Was this only on the earlier model without the lume plot at 3?
Enjoy the GS!
Really good comparison shot. I have the 079 but I think l'll either get the 143 or a Sinn for the office when we're all back to work.
I’ve had one of these and sold it. Seiko sell these at over £1k and I really didn’t feel it was value for money. They aren’t known for their quality bracelets generally, but I assure you I’ve had better quality bracelets on a £350 Steinhart.
The bezel on mine was misaligned. Now on a £200 SKX you could write it off as quirky. On a £500 Samurai it’s an annoyance. On a £1000 watch it’s unacceptable. Seiko have been bumping up their prices considerably but the standard of their quality control hasn’t followed suit. I also wasn’t a fan of the 6R35 movement - mine was about -23secs a day and the creeping date change again felt cheap and nasty at this level. I’ve got a £70 Seiko 5 that does that.
My opinion is they are robust enough watches (ISO certified) that look good on Instgram because Seiko always do dials and colours well, but they are massively overpriced. If you can pick one up for £650 used then it would be ok, otherwise I wouldn’t bother.
Can't argue with any of this to be fair.
The 'well known' QC issues are just that because they are reality for too many owners, they've been present in the all the Seikos I've had bar my SLA021, which at the mid-upper price tier, you'd expect. The SLA wasn't totally exonerated though, screwing in the crown took some care, that feeling of stripping the threads was real and bezel action lags way behind a lot of the Swiss competition.
I've recently bought a lightly used MM200 SPB187 (which occupies the same part of the range that the OP is looking at) for half retail and am satisfied with this level of outlay. I love it, the case design is all baby MM300 but without the heft and the blue dial is a bit special. QC with mine is 80% good, alignment a smidge off and a really sticky bezel action, like it's got some trapped treacle under it. At full retail, this would be unacceptable.
Come on Seiko, there is much love out there but the quality needs to be improved.
Bracelets and clasps are a major weak point for nearly all Seikos, even Grand Seikos.
They seem to put everything into the watch and then look into the parts bin from 1990 for the bracelet and clasp.
Alignment is spot on for all the MM200 and King Turtles I've seen but it really does seem to be model dependant.
It’s always been a QC lottery with the lower end seikos, but seems you have to go even higher than the 1k bracket these days to escape them completely.
I’ve been lucky with the ones I’ve had in the £500-1k range, but have seen some real horrors. When I was looking to buy my SPB143 i was sent a photo from an AD of one of the watches they had in stock, and it looked like the indices had been thrown at the dial from the other side of the room. unacceptable for that kind of money.
There were some QC horrors. Remember this one for sale at a bargain price last year which the seller was very upfront about.
https://forum.tz-uk.com/showthread.p...ghlight=Spb143
Watch has arrived and I’ve given it a good check over. Happy to report I’ve no visual QC issues with mine. Bezel lines up very nicely and all the indices and lume plots are bang on centre. Bezel action is also one of the best I’ve used. I’m actually very impressed at the quality on this one. For under £800 brand new from an AD it seems to be a great buy. It also seems a little smaller than any online videos make it appear (which for me is a good thing).
I did get the updated dial with the lume plot at 3 which I don’t mind. Read some comments about the original dial becoming “more desirable” but don’t think either dial variation will be doubling in value over the years
Only the time keeping to check out now but that will have to wait until Christmas Day.
Thanks again to everyone. Can’t wait to get wearing this one!
Last edited by Mr Tetley; 16th December 2021 at 14:41.
Congratulations, great watch at a good price. Some pictures would be nice now.
Thank you and pictures will be added on Christmas Day! I’m actually quite excited and feel like a child again waiting for Santa :-).Congratulations, great watch at a good price. Some pictures would be nice now.
Finally unboxed this morning. Very pleased indeed. Cracking watch for the money. I’m even overlooking the gap between the case and the end links. Would like to purchase a Seiko rubber strap. Any ideas where to source the strap from the SPB147 or any nice alternatives?
Seiko will sell you the rubber strap from the SPB149. I think from memory they are around £60 including the pin buckle.Finally unboxed this morning. Very pleased indeed. Cracking watch for the money. I’m even overlooking the gap between the case and the end links. Would like to purchase a Seiko rubber strap. Any ideas where to source the strap from the SPB147 or any nice alternatives?
Thank you. Having had a look I think the rubber strap might actually be too long for my 6.5” wrist. Might be difficult to get a rubber strap in a smaller length except for a Zulu rubber which I could cut to size. I’ve managed to get a good fit with the bracelet though, but would like an alternative.
Maybe look at the Joesph Bonnie Tropics. They are lovely but I found mine a little short on my 7 1/4" wrist but should work for 6.5"
https://www.josephbonnie.com/en/prod...-piece-straps/
Brilliant. They do seem to be shorter than most at 120/75. Thank you.
I have a wrist a bit smaller than yours & often wear my SPB143 on a Joseph Bonnie tropic, also an Uncle Seiko rubber waffle strap (a bit longer) both fit well & look great.
Black or Grey NATO is also a superb option.
Thank you. I’ll check those out. Think a rubber strap and a nato will give an nice variation. Really liking the watch. Early days and only been running for around 12hrs now but it hasn’t lost or gained a second. I was worried about accuracy but so far so good.
Have a look at the Barton Elite Silicone range of straps-
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Barton-Elit...NrPXRydWU&th=1
They come with a short and long 'hole' length which means you get a good fit for most wrist sizes.
Great choice you’ve made there.
These are decent watches and good value especially if you don’t pay retail price.
I think negative comments coming mostly from unlucky buyers who got lemons. I understand the frustration though.
Mine was free of QC issues and no rattling bracelet here as I bought the guilt dial version which comes on the silicon strap (wanted to wear it on rubber anyways). Although it’s the best silicone I’ve seen and not a dust magnet, but still I find it slightly thick for the watch and its has a matt surface.
In general I thought Tropic and especially waffle strap suits this watch best.
Both are authentic as the 62 MAS was supplied with Tropic first and the SLA comes on waffle.
(And thanks god I don’t feel this watch was an SLA wannabe.)
Fortunately there are plenty of strap makers now who supply tropic and waffle straps.
My waffle came from “chiepestnatostraps” and it’s pretty good for the price.
Enjoy your watch!
bilder hochalden
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I’ve previously gone on record as saying I’m not a fan of Jura but if you don’t mind them or can get someone to price match, these are available at just under £800 on their Boxing Day sale now with the code EXTRA10.
Hilliers seems to be doing the white dial blue bezel version for £795 too.
I can throughly recommend Hilliers, that’s where I bought mine from with an additional 10% off the sale price for being a new customer.
I’ve been wearing mine every day since Christmas Day and today it’s currently sitting +1 sec in total over the 6 days. It varies by around 1-2 spd on the wrist but this is ‘regulated’ by storing crown up (gain) or crown down (loss) overnight. I was concerned about accuracy of the movement but so far it’s well up there in terms of being able to maintain excellent time.
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