# Seiko SBDC101/SPB143 Review



## Sambation

_"You know that feeling, when a beautiful girl passes you by on the street and gives you a glance, and you feel that your heart just missed a beat? So this"._

This is how a watch bud first reacted when I sent him a picture of my new SBDC101 (JDM reference) / SPB143 (worldwide).










*Some Background*

2017 saw the release of watch models which were, according to Seiko, "modern re-interpretations" of the classic 62MAS diver, Seiko's first diver from 1965. The most popular models were the SBDC051 (black) and SBDC053 (blue). These were dubbed the "6RMAS" after their 6R15 movement. I owned the 53 and these were really great watches, BUT.

In relation to the original 62MAS, they were much larger at 42.6mm compared to 39mm, and they had a lug to lug of 50mm which made them wear huge on the wrist. Apart from that, the hands were so wrong - they were big and crass and totally unfitting the aesthetic style of the watch.

2017 also saw the release of a true 62MAS re-issue, the 2000-piece limited edition SLA017 which sold for a notable sum of around €3800 at release, and has since skyrocketed in the secondary market.

So the new 6RMAS models were a success overall for Seiko and many fans liked them, but the wish for a true modern re-interpretation of the 62MAS remained in a void. Fast forward to the corona ridden spring of 2020, when Seiko announced their new line of watches, among them another modern re-interpertation of the 62MAS. Four models stood out: SPB143 (gray dial), SPB145 (champagne dial), SPB147 (black/brown gilt) and SPB149 (blue limited edition to 5500 pieces).










*The Watch*

I had a huge crush on the SPB143 the moment I laid my eyes on it. Something in that gray sunburst dial just hynpotized me. I pre-ordered it and it arrived this week. I was never so hyped about a new watch, and that's a new standard for me. I was a little afraid during the unboxing that all this hype could have been nothing. Thankfully, I wasn't disappointed - quite the contrary, it even surpassed my expectations. I'm stone in love with this watch.



















*Size*

The sizes of the SPB143 are among the refreshing news from Seiko. The company which has, in the last few years, for some reason developed the habit of releasing large watches, has heeded the call of its fans and released a very correctly sized watch. 40.5mm in diameter, 47.6mm lug to lug and 13.2mm in width make it much closer to the dimensions of the original 62MAS, and in my opinion also turn the watch into more elegant and delicate. These also allow for wearing on smaller wrists. I predict that from now on we'll start seeing more watches from Seiko in those sizes, one testament for that is the new *40mm Grand Seiko GMT models* scheduled to release sometime this year.

*Dial*

The dial is quite minimalistic which is something I like. Seiko logo at 12 o'clock, Automatic, Diver's and 200m at 6 o'clock and of course, the X in the room: the Prospex logo. Hate it or love it, it's there to stay, and I learned to accept it, even if it would have been nicer if it wasn't there to begin with. Standalone, it's not such a bad logo honestly - it's not really an X but a combination of P and X - Prospex.

The markers are applied, creating for a nice depth to the dial which is beautifully sunburst, playing with the sunlight. It's a really interesting dial, no dull moment with it - the sun is always interacting with the dial when outside, and inside there's still a nice light play even with the office florescent lights. One needs to actually see the watch in order to understand. The lume is what we've come to expect from Seiko - strong and remains for a long time.

*Glass*

The scratch-resistant sapphire glass is slightly domed, making for a nice vintage effect and nice distortions of the dial.










*Bracelet*

The SPB143 comes with a stainless steel bracelet in a brushed 3-link configuration for that classic look. The bracelet is very comfortable and feels quality and substantial on the wrist. It's the best I've experienced from Seiko apart from Grand Seiko bracelets which I had the honor to wear. Seiko upped their clasp game as well - no cheap metal, it feels high quality and is brushed, something which I have not seen from Seiko before. There's a standard diver's extension and the watch tapers from 20mm to 18mm. The links are held by the love it or hate it Seiko pin & collar system - just be patient, do it in a sterile environment preferably under a towel or something similar - and you should be good to go.




























*Case and Finishing*

The finishing is impressive as we've come to expect from Seiko. There's a nice circular brushing on the case with polished bevels on the sides which are just a sight to behold. The lugs bend a little giving the wearer a better fit on the wrist. Drilled lugs allow for a quick change of straps and turn the SPB143 into a serious strap monster. I've put it on an Uncle Seiko waffle strap and Baltic tropic strap so far and it sings! The case and bracelet are DiaShield coated which supposedly should be a better protector against scratches.









































































*Hands*

The hands are true to the 62MAS, very fitting to the watch's overall aesthetic and like in the SARX models, they are half-brushed half-polished, something super impressive and pleasant on the eyes and also makes for a great meeting with the sunlight. For more macro shots *see my video here**.*










*Bezel*

The bezel feels great and there are no alignment issues here. There is some backplay but nothing substantial. Similar to the dial and hands, the bezel also has an interesting relationship with the sun, see the attached picture. The bezel is not ceramic, I think it's steel, that's unconfirmed yet. Some argue that the bezel is too wide, personally I don't see it, I think the proportions are good and compliment the entire package.










*Movement*

The SPB143 is powered by the 6R35 movement which is relatively new from Seiko, an upgrade of the 6R15. 21,000 beats per hour, 24 jewels and 70 hours of power reserve. Accuracy wise, Seiko fans have come to expect "all over the place" - it all depends on the mood of the robot at the factory. Well, I think I was lucky (finally!) - my watch is +7 seconds after 3 days of wear including sleeping with it, may it last forever! In any case this is a good movement, the tolerances are +25s/-15s per day.

*Price*

The MSRP is $1200. The watch is currently available for purchase only in Japan, Singapore and a few other Asian countries. I understand it should arrive in the West during July-August, its lateness being attributed to corona. It definitely feels like a $1200 watch.

*The Negative*

I've been gushing about the watch and I really struggle to find bad things to say about it, but if I must, then one can see the springbars peeking between the bracelet and the lugs. I've seen this on other brands like DOXA and Yema, in watches in the same price range and pricier, so I'm not surprised and this doesn't irk me one bit but I know some people can go mad about these things.










*Summary*

So as you can probably tell, I am in love with this watch - it's my summer crash. I think this is a stunning success by Seiko, it will become very popular and be a top seller and the Nostradamus in me predicts that soon we will be seeing all kinds of dial variations, limited editions and so on built on this watch, like Seiko did with the Turtle re-issues.

In my book, a true masterpiece from Seiko - watch of the year 2020 for me.

Thanks for reading up to here and I'll be happy to receive any feedback, comments or questions!

*Video version of this review:*






*More Pictures*









































































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## rokman

Great watch and review.
Enjoy, your summer just got nicer 

Sent from my EML-L29 using Tapatalk


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## JohnM67

Great write-up and pictures. Can't wait for mine to arrive.


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## ck2k01

rokman said:


> Great watch and review.
> Enjoy, your summer just got nicer
> 
> Sent from my EML-L29 using Tapatalk


Great review. Thanks for all of your pics and thoughts. I too am loving my SBDC101 on day two 

Pin-and-collar system, maybe not as much 










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## jlatassa

Great pics; it looks exceptionally nice on the tropic strap!


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## Avidrider

Thanks for the in-depth review. I recently traded away my spb051 and I’ve got an opening for a new dive watch. I’m really liking these new interpretations...either this or the Sinn U50? Gonna be a tough call.


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## jvaudreuil

Stunning! I'm not a dive watch person, when I saw the first pictures of this when it was announced I realized it's as close to perfect as a dive watch could be in my eyes. Love the dial, the markers, and especially the hands.


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## boatswain

Nice work!


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## Sambation

Avidrider said:


> Thanks for the in-depth review. I recently traded away my spb051 and I've got an opening for a new dive watch. I'm really liking these new interpretations...either this or the Sinn U50? Gonna be a tough call.


Well, I never really got the Sinn U50 so my answer is obvious, but the best is to, if possible, try them both on.


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## Predictabilly

Great review! Came here from the main thread. Oh man so many watches so little in the watch fund. GS coming out with a 40mm diver this year?! I read every single online watch website I can find and have heard nothing. if that’s the case, I’m sure to eventually get one as i wouldn’t get a sub (new one anyways, 5 digit sub yes though).

In the meantime, I’ll have bought a few watches. Really planned to get this grey dial one but the dark brown and gilt keeps calling my name. Too bad that one doesn’t come on bracelet though as I’m definitely a bracelet guy.


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## Sambation

Predictabilly said:


> Great review! Came here from the main thread. Oh man so many watches so little in the watch fund. GS coming out with a 40mm diver this year?! I read every single online watch website I can find and have heard nothing. if that's the case, I'm sure to eventually get one as i wouldn't get a sub (new one anyways, 5 digit sub yes though).
> 
> In the meantime, I'll have bought a few watches. Really planned to get this grey dial one but the dark brown and gilt keeps calling my name. Too bad that one doesn't come on bracelet though as I'm definitely a bracelet guy.


I think I was mistaken - they're supposed to come out with new 40.5mm GMT watches, not actual divers.* Here's the source.*


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## melons

Great review, it may have pushed me over the edge on getting one!!


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## Nokie

Excellent review and pictures. 

I have been considering this one for a while as I love that dial color, so thanks for helping me make up my mind.

Enjoy it!


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## mtbmike

Thank you. Excellent review


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## Predictabilly

Sambation said:


> I think I was mistaken - they're supposed to come out with new 40.5mm GMT watches, not actual divers. Here's the source.


COOL! added to want list.


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## jomal66

Great photos! Thanks for posting this. Patiently waiting for these to arrive in the US.


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## Dissident

Great post. I really like this watch and can't wait to get my hands one. I'm glad that Seiko went with a smaller diameter.


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## denis0007dl

I like your extensive writeup with many pictures included, I wish all do approx same job.


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## Toooooooonyyy

Great watch and great review. Really appreciate the feedback for those of us in the market for a piece like this.

it’s already tough making a purchase on watches sight unseen when needed. When making them on higher priced watches makes it even more difficult.

Thanks again and congrats.


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## rayrayhey

Nice review and macro shots! I think this is my next watch!


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## eyeoftheliger

An absolute gem with this piece. Thank you Seiko for making it reasonably-sized.


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## siliciferous

How is the automatic date-change on the new 6R35? Is it the same as the 6R15, where the date wheel begins moving a couple hours before midnight?

This is hardly a game-changer for me, I'm still absolutely going to purchase an SPB149, but I'd just like to set my expectations there.


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## brianinCA

Well done, thanks! Great watch. I wish it came with a non-sunburst dial option though.


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## dct876

I was thinking about doing some the bezel and crystal mods on the turtle.
But after this i'll save my coins to get this MAJOR upgrade instead.
Thanks for such a very detailed write up and great pics.


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## swissra

Great review! Thanks for sharing.


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## Sambation

siliciferous said:


> How is the automatic date-change on the new 6R35? Is it the same as the 6R15, where the date wheel begins moving a couple hours before midnight?
> 
> This is hardly a game-changer for me, I'm still absolutely going to purchase an SPB149, but I'd just like to set my expectations there.


Yep, same as the 6R15, begins slowly before midnight but I'm not sure that a couple hours, but more closely to midnight.


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## Talktochad

Well done. I just bought a SDBC105/SPB147 (the gilt dial) from a member here and very stoked to get it.


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## Talktochad

Talktochad said:


> Well done. I just bought a SDBC105/SPB147 (the gilt dial) from a member here and very stoked to get it.


Here she is.


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## Sambation

Talktochad said:


> Here she is.
> View attachment 15412290


Beautiful, enjoy!


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## jespersb

Is there a dfference between the sbdc101 and the spb143?


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## Sambation

jespersb said:


> Is there a dfference between the sbdc101 and the spb143?


AFAIK no, just different names, SBDC101 for JDM and SPB143 for ROTW.


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## OneEyeMan

NIce review.
Thinking of getting one myself.
How big is your wrist?
Thanks


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## Kjong

Thanks for the write up! Watch looks amazing, really falling in love with these new Seikos!


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## secmar44

Great job, thank you


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## Sambation

OneEyeMan said:


> NIce review.
> Thinking of getting one myself.
> How big is your wrist?
> Thanks


7"


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## mgreen089

Great review man. Just put my name on the waitlist for this piece yesterday, just waiting for the call haha


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## 307

Great review - would love to see it on a nato!


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## motorjon68

I love this watch. Could be a candidate for ‘one watch’. I have 149 and 183. I could irrationally own this and the 147. Seiko hit a bullseye with these.


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## Cart3rlfc

Brilliant review, love the bevels on the case, don't know why but the watch reminds me of a black bay 58.

Sent from my SM-N976B using Tapatalk


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## joseferbrenes

Great pictures and review, I still can't decide between this one and the Captain Willard. It's very hard to decide without being able to see them in the metal.


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## Sambation

joseferbrenes said:


> Great pictures and review, I still can't decide between this one and the Captain Willard. It's very hard to decide without being able to see them in the metal.


Thanks! I ended up choosing the SPB143. Had the Willard and sold it. The 143 is just more interesting IMO.


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## guysmiles

Question - I lost the spring bar where the bracelet attaches to the clasp. Would any normal 18mm spring bar do? Or do I need a fat seiko spring bar?

Thanks.

- edit - wrong thread! will post elsewhere.


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## Sonny243

Nice! Thanks


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## KevJohn

Thank for the review, I’m hoping to get one of these in the new year. Any further thoughts after owning it for a couple of months? Still loving it? Thanks again!


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## Jeff_T

Sambation said:


> "So as you can probably tell, I am in love with this watch - it's my summer crash. I think this is a stunning success by Seiko, it will become very popular and be a top seller and the Nostradamus in me predicts that soon we will be seeing all kinds of dial variations, limited editions and so on built on this watch, like Seiko did with the Turtle re-issues.
> 
> In my book, a true masterpiece from Seiko - watch of the year 2020 for me.
> 
> Thanks for reading up to here and I'll be happy to receive any feedback, comments or questions!


Hey mate, keen to hear some feedback after 6 months of ownership.

Discovered any new likes or dislikes?

How are you finding the timekeeping and the comfort?

Still loving it?


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## Sambation

Jeff_T said:


> Hey mate, keen to hear some feedback after 6 months of ownership.
> 
> Discovered any new likes or dislikes?
> 
> How are you finding the timekeeping and the comfort?
> 
> Still loving it?


Hey. I sold it a few weeks ago 😅 Just didn't get enough wear and thought it should move on, financed new purchases.

I still stand behind what I wrote here though, it can definitely be a keeper for others. There was no fault about it, it's a great watch, I just didn't bond with it - meaning it was left in the watch box more mornings than not.

Timekeeping was quite wonky and inconsistent, I gotta say, which was weird - the movement never really settled in and would keep showing different accuracies.


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## Jeff_T

Sambation said:


> Hey. I sold it a few weeks ago  Just didn't get enough wear and thought it should move on, financed new purchases.
> I still stand behind what I wrote here though, it can definitely be a keeper for others. There was no fault about it, it's a great watch, I just didn't bond with it - meaning it was left in the watch box more mornings than not.
> 
> Timekeeping was quite wonky and inconsistent, I gotta say, which was weird - the movement never really settled in and would keep showing different accuracies.


Thanks for the reply, somehow I had this feeling you might've sold it!

Guess it's a common enough occurrence and I know the feeling, I've had plenty of watches that others have loved but I just haven't clicked with.

Maybe I'll just need to buy one for myself to see if it's a keeper for me.

Shame about the timekeeping but that's not so uncommon either for a Seiko 6R movement.


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## Sambation

Jeff_T said:


> Thanks for the reply, somehow I had this feeling you might've sold it!
> 
> Guess it's a common enough occurrence and I know the feeling, I've had plenty of watches that others have loved but I just haven't clicked with.
> 
> Maybe I'll just need to buy one for myself to see if it's a keeper for me.
> 
> Shame about the timekeeping but that's not so uncommon either for a Seiko 6R movement.


Yeah, different strokes. If this one attracts you (and it keeps attracting you for more than a few days) then I'd certainly look into getting one, preferably used. I do believe it can be a keeper for many.

Sometimes we fall in love quick with watches and then slowly fall out of love, which is what happened to me. Nonetheless I think this is Seiko's best release in 2020.


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## SeikoBaritone

I've been loving mine since December. It's so much better in person than in photos too. When i opened the box i cracked a huge grin. Really still obsessed with this watch. Great detailed review!


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## STL_Railmaster

Nice review, thank you for taking the time to put this together!


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## mvkn

You couldn't have sold it better. It's about time they made such a well proportioned watch for those of us with 6.5" wrists!


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## troy334

Excellent review. I've been looking at this watch daily online for a while now.


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## Xilikon

Great review! I'm now torn up between SPB143 and SPB145 (probably going with the latter for the more interesting dial color).


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## Z06Biker

Sambation said:


> Hey. I sold it a few weeks ago ? Just didn't get enough wear and thought it should move on, financed new purchases.
> I still stand behind what I wrote here though, it can definitely be a keeper for others. There was no fault about it, it's a great watch, I just didn't bond with it - meaning it was left in the watch box more mornings than not.
> 
> Timekeeping was quite wonky and inconsistent, I gotta say, which was weird - the movement never really settled in and would keep showing different accuracies.


If you don't mind me asking, how much of a loss did you have to take on the sale?


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## Sambation

Z06Biker said:


> If you don't mind me asking, how much of a loss did you have to take on the sale?


Around $900.


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## acidrain33

Maybe it's just me. Not really fan of Seiko's 62mas case style. Would rather have them made a shrunk down version of MM200 instead.


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## PhotoPI

Well done review. Thanks for your time and effort. As the man who doesn't own one I'm wondering how this is $700 better than my Samurai (SRPB51) which I love. I understand it has a better movement; however, it doesn't meet current ISO 6425 standards as there is no illumination at 3:00. Not trying to be crass. I welcome any opinions.


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## fransiscus

Such a beautiful watch!

Sent from my SM-G980F using Tapatalk


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## djwoblely

OP, great review. I felt almost the same initially when I first had the watch as well but yeah those end links ended up bothering me way too much for $1200 watch


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## Kasset1975

I love this watch but the accuracy is so poor. One day it's gaining 24 seconds, the next day losing 10 seconds. I complained to Seiko SC as it was even worse after a recent service! 
How is the accuracy on your watches please?


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## grizzlykoala

jespersb said:


> Is there a dfference between the sbdc101 and the spb143?


 Yes. The SBDC has lume at 3 o-clock marker (to the right of the date), and the SPB has beveled edges to the date window.








SBDC








SPB


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