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The "Official" Shogun Thread

503K views 2K replies 418 participants last post by  Evolutionary Reject 
#1 ·
So we have an official Tuna thread, official Sumo thread, official Solar Chrono thread...we definitely NEED an Official Shogun Thread. I know that this will not be as popular as the others given most enthusiast's opinion of the Shogun however I would love to see a nice collection of pictures, thoughts and opinions in one thread. I'll start:

I've had Swiss divers more than any others and in all honesty (and for various reasons) just have not been happy with them. I've owned several Seikos in the past and have flipped them...but always missed them when they were gone. I've also never been a fan of titanium as I preferred the heft of stainless but I did not want to let that limit my choices.

I did my research and the biggest issues I found were the price point and the use of the Monster style hands. Personally I really like the Monster style hour hand...it really lends to the overall design elements of the dial. Another issue was Hardlex being used as opposed to sapphire...again, no issue for me as I prefer this. That left price...so I sold off a few items and that no longer was an issue.

The Shogun was delivered two weeks ago and I've been wearing it non-stop. At first I was taken aback by the light weight...it just felt "cheap". Everything is titanium; case, bracelet and clasp. Despite how it felt it looked like a million bucks! I've got pretty big wrists so I didn't need to remove any links, just the micro-adjustment. I immediately put it on my wrist and all weight issues were forgotten. It's just such a beauty with it finely brushed finish and complimentary polished areas. The lugs are angular, though not to the extent of the Samurai. This aspect of case design isn't always captured in pictures.

I must say, the feel of titanium is just so silky that it really makes up for the lack of weight. In appearance the Shogun is the best of both worlds...looks like stainless but with the slightly darker grey of titanium.

A couple things I do not really like. The included "rubber" strap is cheap...it just doesn't feel cheap, it IS cheap. It does have titanium hardware but it is very thin and composed of plastic...very stiff and non-conforming. I'm also not a fan of the titanium bracelet...it's also quite thin. I guess being titanium bulk is not needed for strength but it just seems "weak"..



 
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#196 ·
#197 ·
Thank you too!
I always thought two grades of DiaShield was just rumour because i could never find anything to confirm two versions. Your link finally confirms it!

I would guess the 'DIASHIELD HIC β' is for the more active/sports/diver type pieces like Shogun etc and the 'DIASHIELD HIC α' would be used on dressier pieces like on a Dolce that i have.

Also here is a scan from an old Prospex catalogue from (iirc) circa 2002/3/4. It seems to confirm the higher scratch resistance 'DIASHIELD HIC β' is used for Prospex pieces.




 
#202 ·
To everyone who has recently purchased:

Where are you buying from? Higuchi seems to have the best price, Chino says "out of stock", and Seiya is about $100 pricier than both.

Checked on Amazon and there is a seller called Hello Watch who appears to be reputable, plus Amazon makes returns easy if there are problems.

What do you guys recommend? Any good/bad experiences with these sellers?
 
#203 ·
.... And another question for those who have one:

What's the height of the Shogun on the wrist? (I don't plan on wearing it with French cuffs, but tall watches just don't work for me.)
 
#204 ·
I don't have calipers at work with me, but the Shogun feels lower on the wrist than my SKX007 or my Sumo when I had it. I was actually pretty surprised when I found out that it technically is a 44mm watch, it seemed smaller than my other dive watches.

To everyone who has recently purchased:

Where are you buying from? Higuchi seems to have the best price, Chino says "out of stock", and Seiya is about $100 pricier than both.

Checked on Amazon and there is a seller called Hello Watch who appears to be reputable, plus Amazon makes returns easy if there are problems.

What do you guys recommend? Any good/bad experiences with these sellers?
Higuchi is out of the Shogun and will tell you its discontinued when you email them. I ended up just buying on ebay for ~$1000. If you have time to fuss with it, you can use Amazon Japan to get the best price and have it forwarded using tenso.
 
#209 · (Edited)
I got mine from Seiya. Had to resize the bracelet with the help of an iPhone SIM card tool, and have been wearing it through the weekend. It sits very well on my wrist, and is very comfortable which I personally think is very good indicator of what the designers of the watch were trying to aim for.

Disclaimer: I switched from a massive 47mm Steinhart Nav-B Chrono to this, so I personally think it is rather small. Some people might disagree with me. Heh. :)

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#210 ·
We have conflicting evidence, Shogun is still listed on Japaneese official web page.Katsu San is saying that hi will not stock them any more.So I pulled the trigger too through rakuten it cost me ¥84000.
 
#212 ·
Must be a same seller Seikos3,it took them 3 days to send me a pay-pal details.Cant wait to arrive.
 
#216 ·
I picked one up from rakuten as well.it didn't take long to arrive but there was a small problem with the clasp not closing. After several days of emails going back and forth, i gave up and took it to a local watchmaker who made a minor adjustment free of charge.
It was difficult to communicate with them. I even sent some photos, but no real help.
I' m lucky the rest of the watch was fine, otherwise i'm not too sure what i could have done. In future, i think i will stick to the popular sellers that are mentioned on the seiko forum and happily pay a little more in the event i need something resolved.
Other than that, this is an excellent looking watch that i have not been able to take off my wrist.
It has a classic style with modern features as well.
I have never owned a titanium watch before and wasnt sure what to expect. It does feel lighter than what i'm used too, but it gives it a balanced feel when worn on the wrist and doesn't slide around as much on my wrist. Very comfortable indeed. One of the features that really appealed to me were the hands, even though some people have expressed concern. It's funny, I originally started looking at high end swiss divers, but settled on this in the end and have no regrets.
 
#217 ·
I would stick with Higuchi. I can't imagine his price being more than Rakuten when you figure that he includes shipping with his cost, Let's say, as an example, I paid $460 for a Sumo from Higuchi and the same watch costs $440 from Rakuten but would have to pay shipping from Rakuten. Is it reasonable to think that the cost for shipping would be right around $20? If so, the watches end up being the same price but you get the outstanding customer service when you purchase from Higuchi.
 
#218 ·
Sorry to hear bad experience from Rakuten seller,I got three watches from them and I got excellent service different sellers,Katsu San Higutchi don't stock them any more hi is excellent person and seller, I got my SARB from him.
 
#219 ·
LOVE my Shogun!!
It doesn't jump out at you, but it does grow on you. Just a great watch.
I picked up a Hirsch Hornback strap, here it is
Dave
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#224 ·
I have found that the addition of my Shogun has not resulted in diminished attraction to my 2 Sumos. I think it is because they are very different watches. I suspect that the addition of a MM300 would cause me to loose interest in the Sumos because they are much more similar to each other.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
#227 ·
It looks like it is the high time to get one before they are all really gone;) I have Stowa Prodiver but haven't been wearing it at all. It's great, keeps time perfectly but its "industrial" German look hasn't been growing on me. Since acquiring Blumo last year, I've been wearing it most of the time and Seiko JDM models are growing on me.

So I guess, Stowa's gotta go soon and make someone else happy...
 
#229 ·
Has anyone re-lumed the MM300 hands to match the stock shogun lume? I feel like I would be nitpicky if I swapped the hands and the lume didn't match. Also, are any other hands available to swap?

Also, I dont think its fair to compare the MM300 to the shogun. The shogun is titanium and likely a lot more comfortable. The titanium marinemaster costs a whole lot more than the shogun.
 
#237 ·
Can anyone make sense of the ratcheting clasp situation? I found a post saying that the SNDA59 clasp is the same as the MM300 clasp:

http://www.thewatchsite.com/21-japa...iko-s-own-alternative-marinemaster-clasp.html

However, I have found other posts saying that there are two clasps, one marked "Stainless" and one marked "stainless + Titanium". The poster said they were both the same because the one marked with titanium was referring to titanium contained within the bracelet of the watch it is supposed to go with, not within the clasp itself. He mentioned that both clasps, though marked differently, weighed the same and had the same dimensions.

When you read about the MM300, it is cited as being contructed of steel. This means the clasp would obviously be steel as well. However, the MM600 is made of titanium and this, by my assumption, would be the clasp to get for the shogun. However, this post here:

https://www.watchuseek.com/f21/mm-ratchet-clasp-where-price-885438-2.html#post6527293

Says that the one marked as "stainless + titanium" IS in fact manufactured of titanium and IS the one from the MM600

Can someone who has done a clasp swap/mod comment? I am keen on ratcheting extensions for wear during hot summer weather, but I dont want to add extra weight to the shogun by adding a steel clasp.
 
#239 ·
I had the ratchet clasp that was marked "Stainless + Titanium" as a mod for my Sumo bracelet. The clasp itself is all stainless but really does not weigh much at all. The clasps are probably the 4A291JT-Bk that was made for the Seiko SNDA59 that has titanium carbon nitride coated bezel and push buttons.
 
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