Seikos are beautiful, and this watch in particular is gorgeous.
But Seiko movements are horribly imprecise, and they drift (diverge) making regulation an exercise in futility. This watches are sold as “unregulated” and I’ve read they come from the factory without proper lubrication ad with low amplitudes hence the drifting. I don’t know if it is true (the lubrication part, I can attest the low amplitude bit is true) but at this price point Seiko’s performance is unacceptable, and subpar when compared to other watch makers offerings.
My old Seiko 5s with the 7S26c movement (a cheaper non-hacking, non-winding movement) don’t drift and can be regulated to single digits precision, and they cost dramatically less. I have 2 watches with this movement, and my 3 kids each have one, so I do have a lot of experience owning and regulating Seikos.
The two (2) Seiko Alpinists I bought for me and my wife both drift, and are terribly imprecise. And each costs over $600. The 6r35 movement is simply a huge dissapointment.
It is supposed to be better than the 7s26c but it performs way, way, way worse, and in my experience, as it comes from the factory, is impossible to regulate as it drifts. Perhaps paying a full service and getting a watchmaker to disassemble, lubricate and put together the movement will make it perform as it is supposed to, but that will cost 150 to 200 dollars, and this is are new watches that should NOT require service.
And to make things worse, Seiko is placing it in watches that cost over USD$1000.
I will NEVER buy another Seiko. Orient, on the other hand, offers low cost watches, and each one I’ve bought offers excellent performance and great precision, some even stay within COSC specs (-4 to +6 seconds per day). The same goes for Hamilton, Tissot, Certina, Mido… at this price point, there’s a lot to choose from, both in looks as well as in performance.
Seikos became the bimbos of the watch industry. Great looks, but not a lot of substance. Stay away.