Titanium AND Fully Lumed for $60?? Field Watch from Seiko Alba - AQPJ403 Review
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- Опубліковано 3 жов 2024
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As Creative Director responsible for managing the Alba brand in the Middle East (UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, most of the GCC) during the early 90s I was happy to see your report on the brand. Other brands I was tasked to work with were Westar and Raymond Weil. I was privileged to attend the Basle Fair back then. After 30 years I find that the major players from the 90s continue to hold their own. And a titanium piece with excellent lume? Wow, I feel like a kid again :)
Hello there, can you give me a hand finding this watch? I live in Europe and I can't find it anywhere online. I wouldn't mind paying shipping from asia or middle east or anywhere else if I had your recommendation for a good seller. Thank you for making great watches 🎉
Hi! Where can we find this watch? Will it be available soon?
Lol 😂 @@john5243
bump re: Titanium Alba field availability
Someone who reviews low, and moderately, priced watches. Thank you!
just put a battery in a 31 year old lorus this morning...square gold plated case/ bracelet...working fine.
I wound my half century old Vostok "botchhka" this morning and it carried on working.
I put my sundial out in the garden it’s still working 😂
@@MrDkgio
I put three sticks in the ground this afternoon, it works!
I pissed in the wind , wished I didnt
My knee hurts. It's gonna rain.
Yes please!! More JDM, Asian market or under the radar watches. It is very refreshing to take a look away from the mainstream hype from time to time. This Alba has such a good value for money... nothing to complain about.
I live in Scotland so Alba watches aren't very well known here whereas Lorus are. I have a few and they're great watches. You might be interested to know that Alba is the Scottish Gaelic word for Scotland! Love your content Dave, keep up the good work. Many thanks for keeping us watch folks informed and entertained.
Nice to know, Alba means sunrise in italian :)
that's really cool. I'm going to have to get one when I move to Scotland
where did you buy it? cant find any shop in Germany or Europe
So where CAN one buy it for $60 ?
I'm betting, nowhere
Been seeing Alba watches on other people's wrists since I was a kid but I never knew they were from Seiko!
I would like one of these in the usual 40mm case+20mm lug width, it would be quite a value piece as well even if it turns out a bit more expensive.
It's even more annoying when things are so close to perfection. 40/20 of course! why don't they make that?
I have a few Seikos, Citizens, Rue Du Rhone, Bulovas. All great watches, but the most enduring is a cheap Casio I bought in 2010. Apart from a new strap, the watch has the same battery and is still going strong.
I remember getting an Alba dive watch in the 90s for my birthday as a kid... i was the coolest kid in class with a gigantic dive watch on mt scrawny wrists! It was a blessing and a curse, a blessing because it made me love watches, but a curse because i spent a lil too much on them 😂
Have owned the Lorus version of this watch for a few years. Great little watch and stunning value for about £35 - 40 here in the UK. Oh and the Lume lasts ALL night. Great review, thanks.
Please create more videos like that, Asian brands like alba should reach out the world.
Love this one! I owned a Lorus Lumbrite but sold it because I want to get this Alba, an amazing little watch. The only shame is it's not as easy or cheap as it is to get it in Japan.
I've ran into these a few times on Ebay. Very tempting. Thanks Dave.
My father left me a Seiko 5 automatic 50 years old! It still works today! Hello from Bosnia and Hercegovina!
A watch working and working according to specifications is two different things. I am not a big fan of the Seiko 5 automatic.....because I have worked on them. Sentimentality doesn't make up for a lack of quality.
I have a full lume dialed watch from Momentum. They really do look cool in the dark.
Great watch I could only find one or two on eBay but at extortionate prices. Almost £100. But I managed to get hold of a Seiko Alba Titanium Vj32-Kjfo Mens Quartz which is also titanium and has a lumed dial (or the dial lights up) I’ll find out when it arrives. But great channel 100% one of my favourite watch channels on UA-cam
Out of stock in most of world wide watch shops.
That is what a Japanese online watch shop told me today: "Unfortunately, this model was sold out and discontinued. It will not arrive again.
We are sorry that we can't help you this time."
I found one version of this watch in Ebay for 120$ aprox.
This watch would be great for my collection.
Well Dave, I was going to tell you what you already knew but I decided to watch and learn first. I'm still frustrated over the Seiko "Explorer" which I can't find in green or any colour. I managed to get something similar from Seiko though. This one will frustrate me too. I bought the Lorus with Lumibrite for zilch and found out about the similar titanium one afterwards. Why not combine the two? I thought and that's what you've reviewed today. Seiko seem to be upping the quality of Lorus watches with an automatic movement (7s26) now available here. The Pulsar quartz range is great bang for the buck too (I have a Speedie lookalike). Yours is a great watch, it's a great video and I learned something. The search begins. 👍🇯🇵🇬🇧
two years later and that watch has doubled in price to 120$
yeah, it's great to see watches more available in the asian markets, both for their often having a different aesthetic, and because it's fun to hunt them down
[edit] oh, and that brown leather strap you paired it with, really sets it off in a way i can't quite put my finger on -- a sort of bauhaus/scandinavian quality
ALBA is very common her in south east asia, sub brand from seiko group, afforable watch, really great perfomance with seiko quality, here you can buy alba watches with saphirre glass only 30-40 usd, really love alba
The Lorus available on amazon uk is I think the RJ655AX9. £50 . It really is a value proposition for these autumn evenings. Edit. Argos ( UK retailer ) £29.99
At last a review about alba watch. Hope to see more alba watches cause very few makes review about them.
Sounds like a keeper. Seiko's doing a great job with these watches. I have an Alba AQGD403, a simple solar model with really excellent proportions and legibility. Curiously, the black text wore off the bezel within about 9-10 months, so they're certainly not over-investing in their manufacture for ~¥7,000.
I'd love to understand Seiko's brand strategy. I also have a J. Springs, a hand-me-down from my father, and for about fifteen years had a Lorus. With Pulsar as well, there seems to be no shortage of Seiko sub-brands that offer similar models at similar price.
I have a Seiko solar watch (Stainless steel, black face, arabic numerals, day/date). I am not sure if it would be considered a field watch. I love the solar power. I paid about $110 on Amazon about ten years ago... And the solar feature has kept it running all this time. The only fault is that the luminescent numbers fade almost instantly.
I don't think these will replace my Bertucci watches but this was interesting. The price is incredible.
Field watches really got going in WWII and the Vietnam conflict and in those days field watches were about the size of this Alba. It looks just fine on your wrist Dave, so if you like it, wear it. It's easy to wear a watch that is too big (like the 50mm monster I bought on the cheap for my brother-in-law) but it's really hard to get down to too small. Fashion is fickle so ignore it :-D
I had a JDM Alba, I used to get so many compliments.
wish i could find it today, super slick
I like the easy to read numerals, day date function and the lumibrite face. Looking forward to finding this watch.
Not sure if anyone cares, but I just received the very similar AQPJ401. Initially looked like the same model on a folded titanium bracelet, though I did notice the hands looked a little grey. Turns out it's not full lume... Just hands and the day/date wheel. A bit disappointed but still a snazzy watch and pretty good deal for the price. For anyone considering it also keep in mind the bracelet is pretty short. I could fit it just by using the micro adjust on a 7.25" wrist.
I think it is one of the few best field watches I have ever come across. Perfect for ladies and also for slim built guys. It is also good for senior citizens. It has a no frill, no fuss display. Why do you say that the day date display is as bit cheap? It ought to be looking like that.
Wow, $60 for this! I'll be on the look out for Alba (and maybe Lorus). I've seen Alba in Philippine ecommerce sites.
Alba / Lorus fields look fantastic. Great dimensions and no-brainer pricing. Wish they weren't so hard to source.
I just ordered one. Thanks for the review!
Where were you able to buy one? Im in the US and cant find it anywhere not even online. Would love one myself
This is something that I would wear. It's difficult for someone like "me" to wear a watch, because nothing fits my style. I'm a big manly-man, but too much shine or too many dials and gizmos and I feel like I'm trying too hard - as if placing a banana in my trousers. I'm neither an astronaut, nor do I dive. I liked (the look of) the Traser H3, but for what it is, the price is stupid. I'm also a bit of a lume freak - but I blame that on radiation poisoning as a lad hiding under the blankets fascinated with my grandfather's glowy watch in the late 60's, lol.
I did have a Timex Datalink (model 50?) in the late 90's with a tan faux leather strap that I liked .. but hadn't yet done my due diligence as to what "water resistant" meant at the time. Whoops.
The fact is I have no actual need for a watch (I have both a phone and a car .. and rarely care what time it is anyway), and feel foolish wearing 'just' jewelry - but this is different somehow. I want one. It doesn't yell silverback displaying the dollar store Porsche key fob on the tavern bar - even though the key itself is for a 14 year old Pontiac with a baby seat, or the opulent 'neeners' of a Submariner .. I think they got this very right even if they perhaps didn't know why.
First of your videos I've found, but if this is who you are - look forward to watching .. no pun intended - more.
Nice review Dave. Great legibility and value.
Whenever I visit Japan , I would see Alba’s sold in local stores (Equivalent to Target, Walmart here in US). What do you think of their automatic watches compare to entry level Seiko?
A very nice no frills watch.
I own the Lorus Lumibrite stainless (40 Dollars when buy it months ago!) very good and accuracy of + 1sec/month !!
Very cool! I don't know how I missed this one until' now, but, apparently my *watch conversation* w/ a customer yesterday
caught the ear of the spying-microphone on our phones and through the 'magic' of big-tec, decided to suggest this in my feed.. lol
Anyways.. 1st time learning of the Alba brand/name.. I used to be ridiculously big into watches / time-pieces..
Some will remember the Male-version-of-QVC on TV back in the day, where Invicta used to be sold..
I'd stay up and watch the different models, and usually just say out loud: "It's gotta be nice"...
Fast forward: K-Mart stores start going extinct, so I wander into one to find that they actually had some Invicta models..
Going out of business Discounts? Yuuup! So I liquidated my savings and bought every single one that I could! =D
[They're still all unopened in their clear retail cubes - NOW, I'm starting to think that I might just finally break into them]
Great vid, Great heads up, and thanks for sharing!
Sam -
This is the watch I really want but cannot find it here in CN. I have the Lorus Lumibrite and day/date which I love and wear all the time but the Titanium would be nice - don't like the Lorus Titanium because no day/date.
Would love to see this fully lumed Alba with an automatic movement. I would probably try to get my hands on one then.
Love watching JDM's that are hard to get here in Europa. Makes it all the more enjoyable when you finally get your hands on one. Like my JDM SARB017 Alpinist, non-x.
I wouldnt have even known about this brand if not for this video. thanks!
I was just looking at one of these Alba watches on eBay. I better jump on it because the more these become recognized the more expensive they are going to become.
So this watch is discontinued, and came out in 2019. Great you're doing a review on it, but we can't find or buy it.
great review! what a good looking watch. its got all the features i like in a field watch. Unfortunately not available in India.
I’ve had my rare black face Lorus Titanium quartz field watch since the early 1990s. Only bought it as a stopgap because I lost a Longines. But it’s now my favourite, not least because it always keeps great time (unlike me) - gains maybe 6 seconds over 12 months!
The reason to buy a cheap quartz with a Seiko movement is a no brainer. I paid £35 for mine, when £35 was worth £35. Today the money is worth less, but the watch is actually cheaper!! But I can’t find a black face anywhere.
I adapted a two piece 22mm military strap to fit. I have an 8” wrist, but I still love this little watch.
Im from Australia I only saw my first alba today,bought 2 of them this morning. 31.12.21
Where Seiko makes it's money is from servicing. I bought a high end watch many years ago. An annual service and battery replacement cost as much as the watch purchase price, as it had to be done under pressure to preserve the waterproofness. After 10 years the service prices was £100 more than the original purchase price. By the time I sold the watch on ebay for parts, if I had serviced it when recommended, it would have cost me in total well over £5,000 on top of the £350 purchase price. For that reason I would never, ever touch a Seiko watch ever again.
Currently I have a Casio Tough Solar. It is light powered so I never have to replace a battery so that high cost of doing so is not there. The 100m waterproof lasts about 10 years. The purchase price? £45. Seiko can kiss my airy ass, they're just there to fleece anyone foolish enough to buy into their moneymaking exercise.
Is it still possible to buy this somewhere new in Japan? Can't find it anywhere.
In 2024? Tis Click-Bait, me hearties? It doesn't exist.
I should probably change the thumbnail or something. This video is a couple years old but UA-cam started randomly showing it like crazy.
Damn!😢
Timex makes one that is very similar looking with an illuminated background on the dial, but I don’t believe that it has a titanium case. The Timex watch was about USD $75.
This is exactly what I have been looking for.
I bought this watch after I saw your unboxing earlier this year, so, thank you. To say I love it is an understatement. The size is perfect for my 6 1/2 inch wrist, and there's excellent legibility. Plus, it looks great, and plays far above its weight, especially given its price. I also own an Alba solar diver, which is also excellent. But this watch provides great enjoyment whenever I wear it, and it does look great on lots of straps.
Dammit! Just when I thought I was out...these watches pull me back in!
I love it but it hard to find today in Australia
I really think that is a heck of a value. I like it on that nomad leather👍
Great review 👍, awaiting more Alba watch review from you!
I just returned two very similar watches except they had no lume. I bought a $32 Timex Indiglo 100m Expedition which has the which in my opinion is the best lume on the market. Other than that you may as well go with tritium if you're not as budget oriented. Tritium is the second best lume on the market next to Timex's indiglo. All of those light charged lumes seem to fade too quickly no matter who makes the watch. Some last a little longer than others but there's not a lot of difference. At least that's been my experience.
I have the Lorus, despite the fully lumed dial, it's less legible than I expected, basically because the hands are quite short and the dial ist cluttered with bold writing. Better than most watches, but not as good as my clean Seiko, and Citizen divers, where you only see the hands and indices at night. The Alba seems more balanced!
Hi Dave I live in the UK and I purchased the Lorus stainless steel version of this watch which I purchased only last year. It's an amazing watch which I managed to purchase for only £25. I really love it but as you say the strap is very thin so I bought a nice leather strap for it. Great legibility with it though and the second hand hits the minute markers every time.
I also purchased both versions of the Lorus Titanium field watches and they are really great and very comfortable to wear. The green version is polished Titanium and the other version is matte but still looks great but both are priced on Amazon UK at £59.99 which is the same price in the shops if you can find them as they seem to sell very fast. Thanks for showing this Alba.
Hi, hope you are doing good! I have been trying to buy this watch from UK but am not able to find it online anywhere could you please let me know on where you bought it? Thanks.
Seems like it's a great deal until you discover it's just more Chinese crap.
Thanks but no thanks.
Funny how different field watches within the brands of Seiko group are and what a monster you would get if you would combine all their strengths…
I have the lorus titanium field watch and it is frustrating that they only put lume on the hands, even if there are tiny markers on the dial where you could put a little spot of lume for indexes.
I also got a Pulsar solar field watch with black/grey sunburst dial (PX3219X1). With 39mm it also fits nicely but the lumed hands and numbers on the dial are so weak in comparison to the other Seiko watches I own.
Was having a look on alba field watches as well but could not find reliable infos on wether the numbers and hands of the watches were lumed or not and how good that lume was. Also they are a bit hard to get here in Germany.
Could you manage to brighten up that Lorus manually? I was also thinking about getting that titanium modell, just wasn't sure about the readability of it. Are the hands visible at least?
I feel like you doing a great job-cheap,no uploud and straight to the point..you do not gave tot buy a expensive watcht a smartwatch tot have a good one....lol
I’m stationed out here in japan, looking forward to hunting for this watch.
Mike Myers of watches
I have a Lorus Lumibrite. What I love most. I can scratch it without concern. I have a reliable watch that I've tested intensely in the outdoors. It's taken knocks rock climbing, plunging into the sea from cliff jumping and tested a good 25 feet snorkeling. They're just beast watch and I have the memories connected to it. I love it so much, I'll actually put it in a frame when it eventually dies.
Alba AL4215 is similiar dial, but automatic movement(y676 aka. 7s26, unhackable, no manual winding), it is cheap, yet best value at its price, even far better lume compared to Fossil ME3201(i have both, just feel bad, if I knew Alba first, I would buy it with Seiko, but both is fun in the end🤣)
I'm not having a go Dave , but does it not feel wrong contacting companies and asking them for free products ? why not spend your own money on Nato straps ?
They actually reached out to me and offered to send straps over whenever needed. I took them up on it since i don't have that many 18mm watches that I would buy straps for on my own.
Might help if you had a link to the actual watch in the review.
I have the Lorus stainless version. Comparing lume to my dive watches, it is much easier to read lumed hands against a black background than black hands over a fully lumed dial. The thinness of the black hands makes them disappear against the lumed dial after 20 minutes. The eye loses resolution at lower light levels. Lorus lume brightness was comparable to the C3 dive watch in the short test.
I second that.
The full lume dial watch I have experience with is the Momentum atlas titanium which has lume that is less intense than the lume on the Seiko sub brand watches but wide hands and large markers.
Normally lumed watches(hands and markers lumed) like my medium intensity lume Swatch once again(which has a white dial actually) and my high intensity lume Citizen promaster diver are both easy to read all night long.
Hope I can find one.
I just purchased a 38mm Atlas Titanium watch from the Momentum Watch company here in Canada. It comes with a 20mm lug spacing which l think is a better proportion. Although I still sometimes think that 38mm is a bit small, but it is a classic size.
A bit like a Benrus Type 1 - but $1500 cheaper. We can get these Albas on eBay in Australia, but for roughly $150 US. Not quite the same bargain.
With a 10” wrist I am afraid this will get lost on my wrist! Although in the 80’s it would have worked. Thanks for the great content
10 inch wrist, is that even a thing lol
It's not an anklet bro, it's for your wrist. 🤣
THICC
A grandfather clock would get lost on your wrist. Eat some salad.
Perfect for my nephew, thank you
Missed the boat on this. Sold out everywhere I looked. bummer
I can't find this watch anywhere, I'm looking for two of them
I feel like everyone should buy a well spec'd quartz watch early in their watch collecting career. its a great way to learn what you like and don't like. Also it allows you to save for the expensive automatic that you want, and the automatic will feel like a huge upgrade
That's odd, as I've realised automatic's are a bit of a downgrade compared to a good quartz.
Quartz watches are just more reliable against knocks and vibrations and are just MUCH more precise.
@@DanRC69 both are good in their own way, kind of like comparing a manual and automatic transmission car. I went into a frenzy looking for the perfect starter automatic after getting into watches and ended up with two seikos. Now i am looking for a quartz field watch as something that i can wear in scenarios where the watch may take a beating. Chopping wood, jumping into a lake, or shooting a rifle dont seem like the best things for a watch with intricate mechanical parts inside, no matter how robust. So i’d say we should appreciate both for their strengths and what makes them individually cool and interesting. At the end of the day, I think most of us would love a Rolex, for instance, despite the ‘dated’ mechanical movement 😂
Hi sir, can you review Q&Q field watches? I've seen QB12J, AD200J & Q76B series but are only available in Japan and Indonesia I think. Thanks.
I can't find it! it's sold out almost everywhere... one vendor did have one with bracelet at $104. It would be great if you could give us a link where to buy! Jomashop does not carry it.
I have the stainless steel Lorus Lumibrite model mentioned in this video and love it a lot. Couldn't resist the allure of a fully lumed dial combined with a titanium case though and just pulled the trigger on one of these. I like the cleaner layout of the dial over the Lorus. I'm a big fan of the channel and would love to see more JDM models covered to help set the channel apart from other watch UA-cam channels. I love my Casio S100 Oceanus and Seiko Dolce SACM171 which are both JDM only models.
Did you order the Alba from Asia? Thinking of buying one but live in the UK. Hope you enjoy the watch!
If you're in the USA can you link where you found it? I can't find it anywhere.
That is such a value at $60! Your strap pairings were all perfect, it really is a strap monster. Enjoyed the video!
Just wanted to express my appreciation for you phenomenally well put together show, absolutely love it, being in North America it is next to impossible to get these watches, would love one though, years ago I had a pulsar ( also Seiko ) orange dial dive watch, almost identical to the Seiko version, so sorry I sold it now, also I have a request, could you please do a review of the oceaneva deep marine GMT, there is no in depth review for it, and since it's the world's most water resistant GMT at 125 bar or 4101 feet of water resistance, I'd love it if you could do the review, think it would be a great review coming for you, and as a fellow GMT fan I think you'll really enjoy it... Best regards and as always great work...
I'll keep that Oceaneva in mind!
Holy cow, is that an engraved QUAD set on your desk? (Im not talking watches)
Cool find! Thanks for posting!
Searching numerous vendors web sites, not a single one has this in stock. Very aggravating. Per your review, the perfect watch for my but NO one carries it any longer. What a shame. Nor can I find an updated, newer version.
5 bar is all they got not a 10 bar but you can still swim with it thats 50 meters anyway the lume is really good and lasts all night for me.
Anyone know of any places online (besides Amazon or eBay) where one can purchase Alba watches? Saw a couple of neat models on their website, but can't purchase any of them unless I plan a trip to Asia. Would've been nice if they had an online store.
You can send an email to this website authors for asking where to buy at your location.
Speaking of frustrations (9:43), trying to track down the exact product code (eg AQPJ403) and finding similar ones and not knowing what the difference represents (eg AQPJ401). Usually the differences are insignificant (straps, colors), but sometimes you just gotta be sure! e: It seems as though most of the AQPJ are $95+ and the AQPK are $40 to $60, but may have a brass body.
It’s a nice little watch. Maybe this is a good business opportunity for you dave. Send us some jdm watches like Sakura
Could NOT find this watch for sale anywhere! Not on your Amazon Store either.
Dave, can you recommend a online retailer that sells Alba watches that is reputable for us guys in the USA? Thanks in advance!!
Impossible to find this watch under $200 USD In 2024 now... GG boys
A budget Seiko……bet their QC is amazing 😂😂
I have an Alba, it's 3 years old. My dad bought 4, they are all working normal. The movements inside are still seiko (SII)
i know its a bit late, but thanks for the great review for this watch ! got one for my bf birthday, albeit not the AQPJ403 model as it is not available. instead got the AL4215X1 :
fully lume dial
42mm diameter
automatic movement (no hacking available)
flat mineral glass
display case back
stainless steel
10bar water resist
he liked it so much that he even put on a 9H glass protector on it !! i thought these things exist only for mobile phones :(
Do automatic j.springs please
Please Where Can I buy this Alba - AQPJ403 ?
Your link didn’t work to this watch. Can you send me a link please
Great video as always Dave, would love to see more JDM products
After watching your video I was trying to track down this model but seems not readily available here in Malaysia. I do see the other variant with similar specifications except it's stainless steel with only 50m water resistant.
At the end I got myself a smaller, discontinued used Alba APBT 211, which comes with titanium body, 200m WR (no screw down crown), 35.5mm diameter quartz. Not full lume black dial and no drilled lug lugs for easy strap changes. Still I am liking this type of cheap, robust field watch.
Looking forward to seeing more video on interesting affordable watches coming from Japan.
Thank you for the great work.