This is my first foray into watch reviews so please be gentle in your comments.
The series of Seiko Divers watches has been popular for many years and for some of us was the first real watch we owned. There seems to have been a recent interest in the automatic versions of these watches, maybe because they are becoming more difficult to find. Many of us have had to find these in Singapore, Malayisa or Japan. Prices also are rising on them and the Titanium version is even more difficult to find. I recently acquired a TI with TI bracelet and thought it would be interesting to compare it to the more readily available S/S version.
Both of these are the 200m automatic.
Here is the TI version
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: And here is the regular s/s version with the red/blue bezel
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: Both of these watches use the famously rugged and reliable in house produced 7S26 automatic day/date movement. This movement is used to power many of Seiko's sports watches and their Divers watches. I own several of the Seiko military watches which also use this movement. The only drawback I hvae found with the movement is it cannot be wound, nor does it hack. You can hack it by putting a little back pressure on the stem but the movement is so slick that you have to be careful to not move the hand backwards.
: The s/s version is a hefty watch and has a width of 22mm at the lugs with a case of 41mm.
The TI version is not quite as big, 20mm lug width and 40mm case (at the bezel in both cases). The crown is at the 4 o'clock position on the s/s and traditional 3 o'clock in the TI. Both crowns are screwdown.
The case of the s/s is 14mm deep while the TI is 13mm (measured with a caliper). But the s/s looks much bigger than the TI in overall look. Please note that the crown on the TI is smoother, smaller and has an indentation in the middle. Neither on is signed.
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: The bracelet on the s/s is jubilee and is getting quite hard to find in the US. It uses the double folding flip lock while the TI bracelet is an oyster with the double folding flip lock with pushers to open it up. I prefer the TI bracelet as it is more secure.Both use solid links.
The dials are quite different. This S/S has the red/blue bezel and the round markers are applied. The hands of this one have an arrow pointer on the end. Note the marking around the outside of the dial are large and are marked in 1 sec increments. The bezel is very smooth to operate but is rugged on the edges, not ragged, but rugged looking.
The TI dial has a smooth bezel in TI, no color here. The hands do not have the arrow pointers and the markers are actually applied inside a small s/s enclosure. The outer markings are small and marked in 1/5 of a sec increments. The bezel operates very smoothly and is polished and smoother and more rounded than the S/S version.
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: On the arm, which is where it all counts they both look very similar in size. I think the big difference in looks is the s/s bezel is not as wide as the TI bezel so more of the dial shows on the s/s. This makes it look bigger.
And here is a comparison with both watches on.
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: My opinion is that both of these watches make great all around sports watches. One that can easily be worn in the ocean or anywhere else with little fear of damage. They are the only watches I own that I would wear in the ocean.
: They also are great values, although prices are beginning to climb on these. I paid too much for the TI version, but finding one with the TI bracelet is very difficult. The TI is much lighter on the arm, but has a very distinct look to it. Especially with the TI bezel. Both have very bright luminescence to them and you don't have to worry about not reading the time in the dark.
: Bottom line, the s/s with the jubilee bracelet red/blue bezel is dressier but that could be changed with a black or blue sharkskin strap. The TI is more business like but again rugged in appearance. It will be difficult to decide which one to wear.