As I wrote above, the SBBN031 takes a more graphic approach to the design, pulling from the Spring Drive Tuna variant first introduced in 2013. There’s some contention over the crown signature, with some rightly arguing that the “X” etching is a bit light relative to the former engraved “S.” I could see one finding issue with this, but I personally wouldn’t let this dissuade me from the watch. Now that the Tuna line is under the Prospex umbrella, Seiko’s designers have decided to bring the Prospex “X” logo to the crown, doing away with the Seiko “S” of previous iterations. It’s large and tactile, and the threading feels better machined than what you get on the SKX007 and SRP7xx. The offset crown at four is a Seiko signature. At 12 is an upside-down triangle, and within that is triangular pit-deep-set and filled with luminous paint and shielded with a small piece of Hardlex. The insert is fully marked, with Arabic numerals painted in white at every interval of 10, lines at intervals of five, and dots for the rest. The bezel is unidirectional and a total joy to operate, with a smooth ratcheting system. Polished hex screws hold the shroud in place. Rightly so, the shroud is brushed to minimize shine (this thing would be a bling monster were it polished), and it’s in keeping with the line’s tool-watch ethos. Its functional purpose is to protect the case and bezel, only exposing the latter on the upper right and bottom left positions for easier grip and operation. Now moving on to the defining feature of this watch-the shroud. In terms of its proportions, it’s right on the money. It’s not a subtle watch, that’s for sure, but it’s by no means ill-sized either. Furthermore, with the shroud and bezel occupying major real estate, which in turn brings the dial in, the SBBN031 also doesn’t look like a dinner plate on the wrist. So yes, this is a big watch, but it’s one that is wearable on a range of wrist sizes. Due to the short lugs, the effective lug-to-lug length is essentially the width of the case. The case measures 48mm wide and approximately 14.7mm thick. For the sake of brevity and reader sanity, I’ll simply refer to this watch by its reference number going forward. SBBN031, one of the latest members to join the Tuna family.
#Shrouded in sanity watch professional#
Today, I’ll go over the Seiko Marine Master Professional 300M “Tuna,” ref. The Marine Master Professional 300m SBBN031 “Tuna” is a tool watch through and through.
And as I glanced down to my wrist to admire the watch, I thought, there’s nothing else out there like this. What surprised me the most was how well it wore given its size, and how great it felt and looked on a nylon one-piece (that’s how Li wore his). It was the first time I had seen one in person, let alone tried one on.
What Li didn’t disclose in that article was that the Tuna was his, and that I was one of the people present and totally smitten with the watch. SBBN017, and despite it being among some great competition, that watch was the star of the show. The Seiko on the table was a MM300 “Tuna” ref. In that article, our long-time contributor Li Wang recalls a collector get-together over some pizza where the usual suspects-worn&wound staples like Sinn, Damasko, Squale, Hamilton and Seiko-were well-represented. Introducing the Seiko Marine Master Professional 300M SBBN031 “Tuna.”Ī few years back, we published a guide titled, Buying a (Seiko) Tuna. Well, seeing is believing, and my preconceived notions got a jolt when I finally saw one in the metal and strapped one on to my wrist. To each his own, I thought whenever I came across glowing praise from people on forums swearing by these beastly things, but it’s not for me. To be completely frank, I had considered the Seiko “Tuna”-a nickname given to these watches because of their tuna can-like cases-to be quite ugly. For the longest time, I struggled to understand the appeal of Seiko’s family of shrouded divers.
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