Thanks for sharing. I definitely prefer the green strap one. I use a digital Solar Tuna quite often to work and is definitely my most worn watch since it arrived. People get scared of the size but the short lug to lug makes it wearable for everyone, in my opinion.
The shroud looks like its glass reinforced plastic...same as some digital cameras manufacturers use on their cameras... its hard and resilient... dont start to melt down with use.
Absolutely beautiful and I'm a huge fan of solar...but Seiko is really jacking up the prices lately. I know it's just MSRP and street price will be lower, but $400 is just absurd for these. You're easily entering quality microbrand territory. I would buy a Bombfrog Professional 500 instead.
c0nsci0usness , interesting take on value, but Seiko will be around long after your preferred micro is gone. I’m a Swiss fan so it’s possible I’m out of the loop. Bombfrog? Sounds like salmonella after a meal of frogs legs. Cheers
People focus way too much on specs . What is important is whether the watch speaks to you over features/spec per $$. Seiko/Rolex etc spent 10's to 100's millions to establish it's name and popularize the design ....no micro homage would exist without Seiko having spent the money to get the design out and spend the millions marketing(biggest cost) vs almost no cost to pump out rebadged Chinese homages( which they order in volume from companies like Shenzhen for next to nothing/no production cost/no marketing and distribution cost)...thus why 1000's micro pop up daily because it cost them nothing to upsell you a rebadged Chinese copy for multiples ) All I can say is for those focusing on features is my Seiko get more wrist time vs literally 100's of Swiss/German brands ..every brand you can think of , I have or had.. It has magic, so many iconic and original designs, as well as history and credential of being an actual manufacturer vs 99% other companies with rebadged or outsourced and assembled watches Seiko will be desired by collectors and written in history as iconic watches with collectibility. The micro homages even with solid endlinks, sapphire, AR, most likely would have folded, gone and none will retain value/collectibility as it's "a copy/fake/no collectible value/no contribution to horology" That's what you are paying for and getting with Seiko vs ever tiring my micro offers better value crowd
@@shawnchinnery663 1000% correct. Micro Brands can offer what deceptively appears to be better value because all they're doing is rebadging Chinese catalogue watches they get for 1/10 to 1/20th cost in volume quantity. They haven't spent the tens to hundreds of millions of dollars to become a well respected manufacturer ...micro don't have marketing, designing, distribution cost and wouldn't exist if Seiko haven't spent the money to design and Market it. That's why it's cheaper...but 99.9% it's a rebadged blatant copy with absolutely no contribution/importance in horology. Seiko's will be collectible and go up in value. Those micro will be long gone.
I'm currently wearing my Ninja Tuna and I too never took the baby tuna seriously but I've gotta admit those look good. No one is going to pay MSRP on these, deep discounts will come.
thanks for another excellent review Don, just curious ...on these newer street series, is that vintage style Lume they are now using a Lume green ...or blue (or more of a green blue aqua hue) ...been searching and all pics i find seem to be more of a blue. any info appreciated. thanks again !
@@humansrants1694 the v157 movement is very inexpensive to make for Seiko. For comparison check out the SNE039 which uses the v158 movement which is day date version of it and it sells for less than $100. Granted it doesn’t have 200m WR but it has a stainless steel bracelet. These watches come with a very inexpensive silicone bands. These watches are very nice but they are cash cows for sure. I got the SNE541 for about $260 when they weren’t hot and I modded it to look like a mini marine master.
@@carlmanu The Seiko v157 movement would cost over $100.00 to replace. Not exactly cheap... People seem to be "gaga" over their mechaquartz (with the sweeping hand) that's been used in some microbrands and it's about a $10.00 movement. That being said, I own this watch and it only loses a few seconds a month. It's a nice piece but I only wear it occasionally to give it some sun. I mainly use it to set the time on my automatics. Btw, there's a cool mod idea for the watch on Peter Kotsa's channel. www.esslinger.com/genuine-seiko-3-hand-quartz-solar-watch-movement-v157-date-at-3-00-overall-height-5-8mm/
@@squinkygordon1322 I think you misunderstood what I wrote. I said it is inexpensive for Seiko to make. I didn’t say the movement was inexpensive to buy from a supplier/retailer.
@@carlmanu I stand corrected. Although, I'm willing to wager that all components for Seiko's watches are inexpensive for them to make in comparison to what we pay for them.
Know that tuna is Seiko's baby, but under 200 usd you have a bunch of non-original watches with far better specs, including sapphire, automatic movement, ceramic bezel, better bracelet, more colour options, properly centered bezel😏 etc. Of course, I am talking about San Martin, Sharkey, LTJ, Mercur.... Lots a reviews about their quality, "best bang for the money" etc. I am one who pay for the specs and product not for old glory and name. Of course, I respect others who have different view and attitude. And yes Chinese watches have zero of heritage and originality. But everything else have. Greetings to all watch lovers. Good review
Nesa M. I know what you mean. I’m a Seiko fan but lately they have become pretty greedy. The have jacked up the prices to all their newest products and upgraded almost nothing out of them. In fact in some cases they have downgraded the specs. Chinese watch brands have become the better bang for the buck in some instances even offering unique styles. Check out Spinnaker and Phoibos they tick all the specs you mentioned plus the unique styles that I’m talking about. Cheers!
@Blob B I can only speak for Spinnaker and Phoibos since I own a Bradner and a Reef Master DLC respectively. Both brands are made in Hong Kong and not mainland China. Both brands make very good use of quality materials e.g. sapphire crystal, 316L stainless steel, NH35 movement, etc. The Reef master has AR sapphire coating, 300m WR, very good blueish lume and a very tight clicking bezel ring. Also the DLC black coating has held up quite well after two years of daily use. No cracks or visible scratches. I bought them with a grain of salt and came out quite impressed.
This Seiko is fantastic. Wears beautifully, I have a myriad of automatic watches with one G Shock GW5000 as my quartz addition. Recently picked up a green Seiko Solar mini tuna and it seriously is fantastic, light to wear, sits on the wrist very well and looks awesome on an Isofrane strap. The lume lasts all night long and is still very bright at 4 AM, better than other Seikos that I have had in my rotation. Just a great everyday piece that you can grab and go or wear all day. I hate the term "beater" but this could be worn to dinner, on a dive, and then out on a weeks hike in an African Game Park or at a shooting range with ease. Cannot compare this to an auto as it ticks a different box. Helps that the local dealer had it for the equivalent of just under USD 300 too.
Seiko's quality is frankly crap. I've never seen a mis-aligned chapter ring or bezel on a Citizen or Casio. Yet that's the "new normal" with Seikos made in CCP-land. For a company that's been producing watches for over a century, and which makes untold millions of watches per year, there's no excuse for bush-league BS like what's going on with Seiko's divers and Arnies, especially when they're asking over $500 for these mis-aligned craptastic examples of Chinesium garbage.
Just thought I would comment on your voice. It is rather boring. You keep saying 'aaah' every sentence, which is very wearing. I would suggest you write a script which is more concise and stick to it, instead of wasting time wandering back and forth like that.
I have the black one, and love it a lot. The dial and hands of it is so cool.
The black coated watch with the green silicone strap look like a tactical maneuver "hardware" piece for someone in combat arms.
Thanks for sharing. I definitely prefer the green strap one. I use a digital Solar Tuna quite often to work and is definitely my most worn watch since it arrived. People get scared of the size but the short lug to lug makes it wearable for everyone, in my opinion.
Oh I’m in love with green!
The shroud looks like its glass reinforced plastic...same as some digital cameras manufacturers use on their cameras... its hard and resilient... dont start to melt down with use.
I bought it for $220 or so 😁
This is a really nice watch!
Absolutely beautiful and I'm a huge fan of solar...but Seiko is really jacking up the prices lately. I know it's just MSRP and street price will be lower, but $400 is just absurd for these. You're easily entering quality microbrand territory. I would buy a Bombfrog Professional 500 instead.
c0nsci0usness , interesting take on value, but Seiko will be around long after your preferred micro is gone. I’m a Swiss fan so it’s possible I’m out of the loop. Bombfrog? Sounds like salmonella after a meal of frogs legs. Cheers
@@shawnchinnery663 OK, you like big brands? Citizen's solar divers defecate all over Seiko in terms of value, especially these models.
Yes 400 bucks for quartz is crazy, I got mine for 190 tho and I love it!
People focus way too much on specs . What is important is whether the watch speaks to you over features/spec per $$.
Seiko/Rolex etc spent 10's to 100's millions to establish it's name and popularize the design ....no micro homage would exist without Seiko having spent the money to get the design out and spend the millions marketing(biggest cost) vs almost no cost to pump out rebadged Chinese homages( which they order in volume from companies like Shenzhen for next to nothing/no production cost/no marketing and distribution cost)...thus why 1000's micro pop up daily because it cost them nothing to upsell you a rebadged Chinese copy for multiples )
All I can say is for those focusing on features is my Seiko get more wrist time vs literally 100's of Swiss/German brands ..every brand you can think of , I have or had..
It has magic, so many iconic and original designs, as well as history and credential of being an actual manufacturer vs 99% other companies with rebadged or outsourced and assembled watches
Seiko will be desired by collectors and written in history as iconic watches with collectibility.
The micro homages even with solid endlinks, sapphire, AR, most likely would have folded, gone and none will retain value/collectibility as it's
"a copy/fake/no collectible value/no contribution to horology"
That's what you are paying for and getting with Seiko vs ever tiring my micro offers better value crowd
@@shawnchinnery663 1000% correct.
Micro Brands can offer what deceptively appears to be better value because all they're doing is rebadging Chinese catalogue watches they get for 1/10 to 1/20th cost in volume quantity.
They haven't spent the tens to hundreds of millions of dollars to become a well respected manufacturer ...micro don't have marketing, designing, distribution cost and wouldn't exist if Seiko haven't spent the money to design and Market it. That's why it's cheaper...but 99.9% it's a rebadged blatant copy with absolutely no contribution/importance in horology.
Seiko's will be collectible and go up in value. Those micro will be long gone.
I'm currently wearing my Ninja Tuna and I too never took the baby tuna seriously but I've gotta admit those look good. No one is going to pay MSRP on these, deep discounts will come.
What’s your wrist size? the baby tuna looks small on your hand
thanks for another excellent review Don, just curious ...on these newer street series, is that vintage style Lume they are now using a Lume green ...or blue (or more of a green blue aqua hue) ...been searching and all pics i find seem to be more of a blue. any info appreciated. thanks again !
Definitely more of a blueish tint.
@@watchreport thanks much Don, extremely helpful !!
The profit margins with these Solar quartz lately have become obscene.
How do you know what their profit margins are?
@@humansrants1694 the v157 movement is very inexpensive to make for Seiko. For comparison check out the SNE039 which uses the v158 movement which is day date version of it and it sells for less than $100. Granted it doesn’t have 200m WR but it has a stainless steel bracelet. These watches come with a very inexpensive silicone bands. These watches are very nice but they are cash cows for sure. I got the SNE541 for about $260 when they weren’t hot and I modded it to look like a mini marine master.
@@carlmanu The Seiko v157 movement would cost over $100.00 to replace. Not exactly cheap...
People seem to be "gaga" over their mechaquartz (with the sweeping hand) that's been used in some microbrands and it's about a $10.00 movement. That being said, I own this watch and it only loses a few seconds a month. It's a nice piece but I only wear it occasionally to give it some sun. I mainly use it to set the time on my automatics.
Btw, there's a cool mod idea for the watch on Peter Kotsa's channel.
www.esslinger.com/genuine-seiko-3-hand-quartz-solar-watch-movement-v157-date-at-3-00-overall-height-5-8mm/
@@squinkygordon1322 I think you misunderstood what I wrote. I said it is inexpensive for Seiko to make. I didn’t say the movement was inexpensive to buy from a supplier/retailer.
@@carlmanu I stand corrected. Although, I'm willing to wager that all components for Seiko's watches are inexpensive for them to make in comparison to what we pay for them.
Feeling the green version. Are these solar tunas made in China like the Arnies?
I believe Malaysia
I recently acquired the green one and its MADE IN JAPAN.
Those are very nice... 👍👍... Try Pro-spec... 😉
Know that tuna is Seiko's baby, but under 200 usd you have a bunch of non-original watches with far better specs, including sapphire, automatic movement, ceramic bezel, better bracelet, more colour options, properly centered bezel😏 etc. Of course, I am talking about San Martin, Sharkey, LTJ, Mercur.... Lots a reviews about their quality, "best bang for the money" etc. I am one who pay for the specs and product not for old glory and name. Of course, I respect others who have different view and attitude. And yes Chinese watches have zero of heritage and originality. But everything else have. Greetings to all watch lovers. Good review
Nesa M. I know what you mean. I’m a Seiko fan but lately they have become pretty greedy. The have jacked up the prices to all their newest products and upgraded almost nothing out of them. In fact in some cases they have downgraded the specs. Chinese watch brands have become the better bang for the buck in some instances even offering unique styles. Check out Spinnaker and Phoibos they tick all the specs you mentioned plus the unique styles that I’m talking about. Cheers!
@Blob B I can only speak for Spinnaker and Phoibos since I own a Bradner and a Reef Master DLC respectively. Both brands are made in Hong Kong and not mainland China. Both brands make very good use of quality materials e.g. sapphire crystal, 316L stainless steel, NH35 movement, etc. The Reef master has AR sapphire coating, 300m WR, very good blueish lume and a very tight clicking bezel ring. Also the DLC black coating has held up quite well after two years of daily use. No cracks or visible scratches. I bought them with a grain of salt and came out quite impressed.
This Seiko is fantastic. Wears beautifully, I have a myriad of automatic watches with one G Shock GW5000 as my quartz addition. Recently picked up a green Seiko Solar mini tuna and it seriously is fantastic, light to wear, sits on the wrist very well and looks awesome on an Isofrane strap.
The lume lasts all night long and is still very bright at 4 AM, better than other Seikos that I have had in my rotation.
Just a great everyday piece that you can grab and go or wear all day. I hate the term "beater" but this could be worn to dinner, on a dive, and then out on a weeks hike in an African Game Park or at a shooting range with ease. Cannot compare this to an auto as it ticks a different box. Helps that the local dealer had it for the equivalent of just under USD 300 too.
I think these are a total one off I think they are set for cult classic status
Seiko's quality is frankly crap. I've never seen a mis-aligned chapter ring or bezel on a Citizen or Casio. Yet that's the "new normal" with Seikos made in CCP-land. For a company that's been producing watches for over a century, and which makes untold millions of watches per year, there's no excuse for bush-league BS like what's going on with Seiko's divers and Arnies, especially when they're asking over $500 for these mis-aligned craptastic examples of Chinesium garbage.
Just thought I would comment on your voice. It is rather boring. You keep saying 'aaah' every sentence, which is very wearing. I would suggest you write a script which is more concise and stick to it, instead of wasting time wandering back and forth like that.
That’s normally what I say! However on this occasion I haven’t
noticed, can’t be that bad.