The Japanese watchmaker Seiko has recently updated its family of cheap fake Seiko Prospex Marinemaster Golgo 13 diving watches with a new limited edition model.
Presented in a huge stainless steel body that measures whole 47 millimeters in diameter and is decorated with a layer of black PVD coating, the new Seiko Prospex Marinemaster Golgo 13 is powered by the well-known Seiko caliber 7C46 magnetically shielded quartz movement. Created together with the local Shogakukanpublishing company, the new Seiko Prospex Marinemaster Golgo 13 Limited Edition (Ref. SBBN023) watch pays homage to the iconic “Golgo 13” series of manga comic books, which is centered around the eponymous character who happens to be a professional assassin. Although the character clearly prefers to do his job with a scoped M-16 automatic rifle (a strange choice of weapon for a professional killer, but at least it looks nice on pictures), there is always a room for a diving suit and a good old speargun.
Built on 7 jewels and having an approximate battery life of about five years, the movement is equipped with a standard end of life indicator with the central seconds hand starting to jump in two seconds intervals when the battery needs to be swapped for a new one.
Although lacking the thermo-compensating technology that the high-end Swiss quartz is known for, the mechanism is still very good in terms of both reliability and accuracy with acceptable monthly loss/gain of less than 15 seconds (with actual timekeepers often loosing or gaining no more than a second or two per week judging by customer reviews I have seen on a number of popular message boards).
Although the line of quartz-powered models is sometimes referred to as a ‘poor man’sMarinemaster‘, the watch is not particularly cheap with some specimens available for pre-order on eBay for pretty much impressive $1450 USD.
As usual for this family, the dial of the timekeeper sports a very legible, highly contrast layout with huge hour markers and wide luminous hands (even the seconds hand has a large luminous dot on its counterweight so that you can always be sure that the Seiko copy watch keeps ticking, even when deep underwater).
Photos: Seiko
Seiko Prospex Marinemaster Golgo 13 Limited Edition (Ref. SBBN023) diving watch specification
Price: Approx. $1450 USD
Movement: Quartz, Seiko caliber 7C46, in-house, Made in Japan
Number of jewels: 7
Movement frequency: N/A
Power reserve: Approximately 5 years
Movement decoration: N/A
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, diving scale
Case material: Stainless steel, black PVD-coated
Bezel material: Matches case
Crown material: Matches case
Case shape: Round
Bezel shape: Round
Case size: 47.00 mm
Case height: No data
Lug width: No data
Dial: Black
Numerals: Arabic (on the bezel)
Hour markers: Luminous
Hands: Steel, luminous
Water resistance: 300 meters
Strap: Black rubber band
Crystal: Hardlex (hardened mineral glass)
Case back: Solid
Although the price may scare away a great deal of cash-strapped enthusiasts, the watch still seems to offer a good value for money since, in return, you not only receive a nicely executed limited edition model (Seiko plans to limit the Seiko Marinemaster Golgo 13 watch replica’s production to meager 500 pieces), but also get a chance to enjoy the legendary Japanese quality even in your part of the world.
