No 272, 367 & 468 - Seiko SRP775

Wow! I can really remember the hype of when the rumors about a reissue of the iconic 6309-7040 diver, a.k.a. Turtle, started to surface. Then all of a sudden a blurry photo taken from an upcoming Seiko catalogue leaked out and spread like wildfire among the watch forums. I think this must have been in the late summer or early fall of 2015. There were four different turtles showing in the low resolution photo but you could clearly make out the differences. A classic black, a pepsi, a navy blue and a black version with gold details. I wanted them all of course!

I think the release was scheduled to sometime in the beginning of 2016 but I managed to track down a seller in Asia that either wasn’t aware of this or either they didn’t care but I got my delivery right before New Year’s Eve. By this time no one really knew how many was going to be produced. Was this a limited series? Was it a new line perhaps replacing the SKX? I figured that if any of the four was a limited version it would have been the black with gold details so I decided to get that one first in case it was going to be hard to get later. I of course replaced the bracelet with a DAL1BP rubber, or perhaps it was a Bonetto 284, I don’t remember. It looked really cool anyhow.

#272 - The Seiko SRP775.

The reissue of the Turtle was an absolute success and even if none of the first four that were released were limited there was going to be plenty of variations and limited editions of it and I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of them. The design is timeless and to me it is as up-to-date as I guess it must have been forty years ago. I’d say I prefer the modern SRP Turtle compared to the SKX diver. The only thing making the SKX a better entry watch is its less wider case which I think appeals more to the non-watch nerds. I would of course chose the wider cushion case any day!

#367 - Ordered my second one together with a SRP779 to make a golden pepsi version. The project never happened and the watches were forgotten in their boxes and later sold.

This was just my first encounter with the new Turtle and there will be plenty of upcoming posts about the other versions. I was thinking of making one big post with all of them but to me they all have their own story so I decided to present them separately.

#468 - My third that I received as a part trade in mid-December 2018. Bought an original rubber for it since wearing the bracelet wasn't an option. Sold it soon after this photo was taken.

 

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 271 - Seiko SCED035

I know, it’s been ages! ‘What’s going on?’ you might think. ‘Did he quit?’ No, I did not. I just started to work again and it’s been an intense three months and it’s not going to get less intense any time soon. But, I’ve managed to scrape together a few hours and I’ve chosen to use them wisely. That means writing a piece to end this three month drought!

While writing this I’m expecting the delivery of a grail. A Seiko 7A28-6000, a.k.a. Bishop. It’s not only supposed to be in NOS condition but it is also manufactured in May 1984. Say what?! I know, it’s insane! It’s pretty funny then that the next piece I was going to write about was this SCED035, a.k.a. Ripley, which completely opened up my eyes for a whole new segment of Seiko watches that I hadn’t even looked at prior to the announcement that Seiko made of their upcoming reissues of the Giugiaro designed 7A28 chronographs back in 2015. Unfortunately I had already missed out on the re-release of the Bishop, the SCED003, but I managed to get a hold of a Ripley on eBay to a fair price. Growing up in the eighties and loving science fiction of course led to me watching all the Alien movies over and over again. Just like with the Abyss (another favorite movie) the watches the characters wore wasn’t something I reflected over while watching the movies as a kid. So after my purchase was done it was time for a marathon of Alien, Aliens and Alien 3 just to build up a good vibe.

#271 - The Seiko SCED035, a.k.a. Ripley. Reissue of the 7A28-7000.

I received the Ripley in the middle of December 2015. The watch was really super cool and much more comfortable to wear than I had imagined. But seriously, if this watch wouldn’t have been comfortable to wear I don’t know what I would have done. What a goddamn pain it was to size that bracelet! Jeeezzz! Usually you can always find a tutorial on Youtube to solve most matters but at the time there was no information anywhere on how to do this (now there is though!). I knew this was going to be a collector’s item so I didn’t wear it that much and stupid like so many times before I ended up putting it up for sale (WHY?!?!). Some clever dude of course made a good deal and every time now when I try to find a new one, the only thing I find are just increasing prices. Well well what the hell. It was a reissue. Nothing to cry over. And now when I have an incoming original Bishop it would of course be an ideal quest trying to find an original 7A28-7000, in equally good condition, to pair it up with. That would make a sweet duo that I perhaps should consider keeping for some time. 

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 394 & 395 - CWC Tactical Diver

In the beginning of February this year they finally arrived! The first batch of my specially designed CWC Quartz Diver; The Tactical Diver. I guess we could call it my signature watch. Talk about a dream coming true! 

Receiving a large shipment of twenty watches was a new experience and while I unboxed the first one I must admit I was quite nervous. The watches were built and assembled in Switzerland and sent to the Cabot Watch Company HQ for quality control and that’s when I received the first live pictures. Up until then I had only had the prototype I made and computer renderings but this was the real deal. It looked perfect so I already knew they had succeeded but later when I finally held no. 001 in my hand it really was something special and it looked even better than in the pictures. It was much better than the prototype I had made because it felt so solid and new while the prototype was built out of old used parts. I knew right there and then that I had found my perfect watch. This is honestly the watch I would chose if I could only chose one watch for the rest of my life to wear. To me it is perfection. I honestly don’t think that a Patek Nautlius, a Blancpain Fifty Fathoms or a Rolex Comex Sea-Dweller would make me happier. 

#394 - The CWC Tactical Diver. This is the first picture of no. 001 that I received.

The caseback with the exclusive FDLETD engraving.

Lined up at the CWC office for QC.

Packed and ready to ship out to their owners.

This project mostly took place during the fall of 2017 and it was something I did out of pure enthusiasm. I was looking for my perfect watch, which I couldn’t find anywhere, and finally decided to take matters in my own hands, and with a little help (not so little!) from my favorite watch brand I succeeded. Mixing the bead-blasted finish together with PVD details (love that!) was an inspiration I mainly drew from the Sinn U1 SDR and having the crown on the opposite side was a given feature because that is something I’ve always preferred. For the full list of specifications you can check them out here.

Works absolutely best together with camouflage!

Zero deaths.

The curiosity had been pretty big after I first introduced the project and the twenty watches were quickly booked but it wasn’t until I posted the first picture of the final product on Instagram when shit really hit the fan. I never anticipated that there were going to be that many who wanted one. I really should have made more of them. I was really happy to see that the design also was appreciated among others (and not only by myself) and even though most of the watches stayed here in Sweden some of them managed to find their way to New York, Hong Kong, Zürich and Dubai. I got so many e-mails from people saying they wanted one and to calm some of the most eager customers that missed out on this unique limited edition, CWC launched a similar version with bead-blasted case and a PVD bezel. The only thing that really differs is that it’s a non-destro and doesn’t have the PVD-crown. It doesn’t have the caseback engraving either which technically doesn’t make it an official Tactical Diver. I kept watch no. 001 and 002 for myself which in the future will be passed on to my two sons. I wear one of them on a green nato and the other on a grey nato. That way I can tell them apart and my sons will know who’s watch I wore when one day looking back on old pictures of their dad being out fishing.

No. 002 on the wrist on a snowy day in February.

While developing my Tactical Diver concept I also had a logotype made. I had visualized this jacked up dolphin in my head with a knife between his teeth in this stereotypical army logo design and I really felt that the guy I was working with did an awesome interpretation of my vision and making it come to life. I decided to have patches made that would be sent with the watches as a small surprise gift just to show my appreciation. I also decided that the logo would become the future official logo for Flipper’s Diary.

The Flipper's Diary logo ©.

No. 002 again resting on top of the Tactical Diver patches.

Right now when writing this I’m in the final stage of planning the new Tactical Diver together with CWC which I hope they will have ready at the end of this year. It will carry the same DNA as the first but will have a few significant changes. They changes won’t make it feel like a whole other watch but it’s enough to make it feel like a new model in the same series if you know what I mean. I have received so many questions regarding if or when a second batch of watches will be made. I knew right from the start that if I decided to go for a second run I needed to make some sort of twist. I wanted to make an updated version and not just do twenty new watches looking the same as the first batch. Why it took so long to make this second version was because the first one fulfilled all my needs and trying to find inspiration in creating a new watch when I already had the perfect watch was more or less impossible. But now more than a year has passed since I came up with the first design and during that time I have come up with a couple of ideas that I think are so cool that they really ignited a new spark inside of me which now led to into creating the gen.2 of Tactical Divers. More information regarding the details of the new Tactical Diver will be announced in a separate post in the near future.

I know, I know, I’ve said it now a couple of times but to me the Tactical Diver is perfection. This watch is absolutely killing it! Ever since I received it I have been using it as my main watch. It is a true tool and a reliable instrument and it will be used as such for as long as I live. I will of course continue to try out new watches but it feels really nice to no longer be obsessed by trying to find the perfect watch becuase I already have it.

Finally a huge thank you to the Cabot Watch Company and to all of you who supported me by buying a watch!

UPDATE - August 21th 2018.

Not long after I wrote this piece CWC contacted me with some disappointing news. Unfortunately they had trouble with solving two of the most critical details for the gen.2 diver. So until we have managed to find a solution for that issue the gen.2 project will be paused. I’m not making a watch that isn’t 100% how I want it would be. I would definitely regret doing that.




© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.