Opinions on the Seiko Marine Master 300

[Denizen]

i actually happen to agree with you that the Orient 300M diver is a superb value and offers a lot of bang for the buck. by rights, Orient should be charging more. the fact that they don't is partly due to (customer perceived) image & branding.

i think someone would be hard-pressed to find a swiss-made diver that competes well against the MM in the major categories and i find it rather ironic that a favorable contender to the MM would come from Orient, a company that is partly owned by Seiko and which is able to leverage some of the benefits of this Seiko partnership such as the MM bracelet and clasp influencing the one offered w/the Orient diver.

one of the drawbacks to the Orient is the non-hackable, non winding movement. it may not be that significant to you but for others it is significant as seen by a number of posts here on WUS.

but the difference in movement is one of the reasons why there is such a big price difference between the Orient and the MM, much as the co-axial in the PO puts it at $1000 more than the SeMP. there are obvious differences in cost of manufacturing and yeah, the 'in-house card' does get played as justification for higher pricing...that's the nature of the game.

Well for 1 I think the Orient Star 300m... beats the MM in every category except one... at a much lower pricepoint... I would say that the only advantage the MM has over the OS 300m would be the mov't, but I don't really give 2 flips about "in-house" or not when we are talking about "seiko movt's" and I would guess that the actual differences in movt's accuracy and durability would be very minimal between the 2... and honestly if the MM is accurate within 2 seconds a day.. and the OS 300m is 10 seconds... I still have to reset them both after not wearing them for a couple of days.. so what is the real difference.. to me? None....

[Denizen]

well, i posted that i think the MM is of approximately equal to the PO in terms of value and features.

however, when it comes to the SMP, neither the MM or the PO compares as well. the SMP is tops in my book.

It's still aand always will be a gorgeous watch, and IMHO a huge value, as Denizen has pointed out...anD I think, in the end, its a better value, than the PO or the SMP

[Fatpants]

imo the MM compares very well to the PO. see my post in this thread:

http://forums.watchuseek.com/showthr...27084#poststop

whenever PO owners or fans ask if the MM is worth the money, i would rather pose the question to them: is the PO worth the money since it is around $1000 more than the seamaster 300m pro and the only thing you're getting is a co-axial movement (i'm still a little skeptical on the benefits of the co-axial as it's not been around long enough for significant ownership feedback experience) and a larger case.

the way i look at it, you can send a MM to IWW for a sapphire crystal replacement and regulation and the end result would be, (again, my opinion) a better piece than the PO and still have some money in your pocket.

you can buy a new MM for around $2000, a pre-owned for around $1400.

to those who don't think the MM is worth the money, list the divers you can get new and pre-owned at those price points that you'd would say are better...i'd love to see your picks.

Den', your missing another "competitor" to the Marine Master. The Submariner. When you compare it, and its features (regardless of the mineral crystal, Seiko put it there for a reason) to the Sub, the price is sensational Combined with the sheer quality and presicion of the 8Lxx movement..






(Basically an undecorated Grand Seiko 9 Series movement)

...and that beautifully made and finished, monobloc case Its not even a contest, imho

Beautiful watch bud

[Denizen]

i've touched upon the high-grade movement in the MM but the merits of it is rather a harder concept to grasp for some people in terms of quantifying what that means in terms of value, relative worth and uniqueness.

my MM is unregulated and runs around +8-9sec/day and i've had a couple of watches that sported a common ETA movement that runs about +6 unregulated. there's a class of owner out there (and this includes a segment of WUS posters btw) who would look at that and say, "Yeah, do you see...so what's the big deal about in-house? It doesn't benefit me much in terms of practical time-keeping and other considerations."

a similar analogy is buying a mass-produced suit and getting it altered to fit compared to getting a custom tailored one. you pay a much higher premium for the latter because there are associated higher costs in labor, greater expertise & craftmanship involved. i understand that for many people, the differences between the two is not worth the difference in cost but at the same time i think they need to recognize that these differences do exist and why.

i'm glad you reminded me about the monocoque case. monocoque cases are a rarity nowadays and involve greater manufacturing costs & time compared to the standard two-piece case & caseback. it's yet another design decision that Seiko did to differentiate the MM from many divers out there. there's a reason why the MM costs considerably more than the Sumo, Orient Star, etc.

the question that many people can't seem to ask themselves is "What am I getting when I spend $2000 on a MM?" and asking that same question when they look at their other dive watches that go for the same price or more.

in the end, my posts in this thread isn't really about which watch better...it was more about posting the pros and cons of the MM and trying to explain to those who perhaps don't really know, why the the MM is priced the way it is.

the PO, SMP, MM, Sub...all very good watches which have their own strengths & weaknesses. as i said earlier, i've yet to find the perfect diver.

Combined with the sheer quality and presicion of the 8Lxx movement.....and that beautifully made and finished, monobloc case

[Crue4]

If anyone wants to send me a MM to test drive for a week... then feel free to do so.. I might just change my opinion! :)

[Biginboca]

For what it's worth, there is a significant difference between the movement in the Orient and the MM300. I have seen both movements with my own eyes regulating these watches and the Orient movement is finished the same as the 7S26 in run of the mill Seiko watches. It's not pretty by a long shot, although it is rugged and dependable low beat movement that could likely go 20+ years without service and not bat an eye. The MM300 movement is one of the best finished movements I have laid eyes on in a sub $2K dive watch, a real in house masterpiece.

I have owned quite a few MM's and Orient 300's over the years and although I prefer the Orient it's definitely because of what's on the outside of the movement.

For the Original poster, go for the MM300. It's not blingy, it's just refined. It's attention to detail is amazing and unmatched in any other diver. If I hadn't moved up to the Spring Drive version then an Auto MM would be likely be in my small collection still.





Regards,
Alphonse

[oldspice]

The MM 300 is a great piece and my first "grail". I regret selling it off a while back, but another one will probably make its way into my collection.

[samanator]

The MM is a joy to behold in your hands and a real beauty on the wrist. Somehow it has almost all the features of a perfect watch for me.
The Good:
- Nice solid heft and feel
- amazing case construction and finish
- nice mix of polished and brushed surfaces so it can also double up for dressy occasions
- unique monocoque case
- Beautiful dial and hands
- amazing bezel and insert
- ingenius ratcheting clasp system

Thanks for finally hitting one of the key items on this watch. The MM 300M has probably some of the nicest hands on a dive watch today. I wish that my Grand Seiko Diver had these hands on it . This is my next Seiko addition to the collection.

[GMCtrk]

You can't really compare the OS300m and MM in my opinion. Having had the OS300m I can tell you that it really just won't work with a suit in my opinion. It's just too big and bulky. Also, the bracelet on the OS is really not all that great in my opinion, which is why I switched it for Omega Mesh. To me the MM is a much more versatile watch in that you could wear it with a suit AND in a casual setting. The Ostar is a much more rugged, tool watch. Apples and oranges. I'd like to try the MM some day.

[zippofan]

Saving up for the Marine Master now, it's my grail diver and I'll be selling a few of my current favorites to get one. I might even sell some Zippos(!)

Cheers,
Griff