Being new to watch collecting and having started with one old Heuer and one sort of old Omega, my eyes were closed to what the rest of the world had to offer. Then, slowly, things came into focus. I discovered a couple of things:

1. That I was very fortunate to have been exposed to vintage before I was exposed to modern.
2. Japanese watches are not all quartz powered and cheap. (Understatement of the millenium.)

So...I was desperately trying to learn the infinite little details that separate a worthwhile vintage watch from a piece of junk, but in the meantime, I was burning to buy a watch. New was out, modern Omega and Tag/Heuer was out...so what should I look at?

Enter Seiko. I get the impression that more than a few people in these parts are less than impressed with the current state of the Swiss watch industry. Someday, set some time aside and learn a little about Seiko. It's a trully fascinating company that produces some beautiful, unique and distinctly non-Swiss watches.

Anyway, after a lot of consideration I settled on a very clean used Seiko. The example I chose is a Seiko SBDS001 Flightmaster, which is from one of their upscale Japan-only product lines called Prospex.

It's got Seiko's 6S37 movement, which is a highly accurate 40 Jewel, column wheel, automatic chronograph with date and power reserve complications. It is packaged in a very large, very comfortable titanium case and is a joy to wear. The operation of the crown and pushers is silky smooth and it is the most accurate mechanical watch I own. The display back provides a great look at one of the few actual "in-house" movements you can buy these days. The titanium changes colour wildy depending on what sort of light it's exposd to, as do the rings surrounding the sub-dials. I have never seen another one in person and I kind of like that aspect as well.

Anyway, enough of my blathering and on to the pics...