Shark Attack- Chinese Sea Shepherd
Jun 9, 2017 11:53:07 GMT -8
feca67, condor97, and 2 more like this
Post by pollythecat on Jun 9, 2017 11:53:07 GMT -8
I like 300m Seiko SBBN tuna's and have four of them plus I was one of the first to jump on the TST band wagon. What I specifically like about them is you get a large good looking tool watch that will fit a puny wrist comfortably. Somehow I have ended up with a Chinese Sharkey Sea Shepherd Tuna copy, how did this happen?
It started a few weeks ago when there was a thread about the Sharkey 6105 copy on TOF and Dennis was putting his head above the parapet and making a case for them. I always wanted a Seiko 6105 but they have gone from expensive to un-affordable and the Sharkey version looked worth looking into as it seemed to have the best case shape reproduction of the 6105 copies on the market. A bit of interweb searching for the Sharkey 6105 ultimately lead me to the WUS forum where there is a massive thread/topic on the Sharkey Sea Shepherd Tuna copy.
Much reading later and I thought I could justify buying a black PVD Sharkey Tuna copy because it was different to my Seiko SBBN's in as much as the Sharkey is powered by the NH35 and I could get a black PVD one and it would be so cheap I could use it as a beater.
This is what I got (sellers picture)
The watch was bought from China via ebay and took about 3 weeks to arrive, mainly due to the slow Chinese postal service. When I unpacked the watch I was a little cheesed off because the buggers had sent me a stainless steel watch and not the PVD one that I ordered and paid for, which was the main reason why I bought it. I read elsewhere of people receiving wrong watches and I rather suspect the Sharkey seller just sends out whatever stock they have.
Anyway, stuck with the wrong watch I decided to keep it. For the £140 it cost it represents good value and you cannot quibble about the quality which is not up to Seiko SBBN standards but is acceptable. It is mainly subtle finishing standards that let it down, the shroud could be finished with more finesse and it would make all the difference.
Comparison with my SBBN039 PADI and TST
I duly took it apart to check the quality, minute track appears to be brass
The Sea Shepherd maybe a copy of a SBBN but there are many subtle differences, not for the worse necessarily but just different. The Crystal is a shallow Sapphire dome and runs seamlessly into the rotating bezel and gives the Sharkey Tuna a different look compared to the Seiko SBBN, it's more like a BubbleBoy effect. The rotating bezel rotates precisely and is fitted with a shiny black ceramic effect insert that looks nice.
Although superficially looking like the SBBN’s crown/stem it is different in implementation (look at the case) with a telescopic spring loaded stem similar to used on the SKX and it appears the gasket may be inside the crown somewhere? It screws in and out nicely but the stem is a tad short and the keyless works do not always click back and disengage the day setting position.
The main area that lets the Sharkey down is the dial and hands. The dial printing is not too bad but the lume is the horrible aftermarket green type and it spoils the look somewhat. The hands lack the finesse of Seiko hands and when you have a close look at them you can see they are stamped out of a sheet of steel with no polishing or plating, on the plus side they are thick and robust but also have green lume. The other element that effects the character of the Sharkey Sea Shepherd is the rehaut/minute track which when combined with the domed crystal to lets you know it’s not a Seiko.
I set too and re-lumed the dial and hands with some white Bergeon lume and fitted a spare Seiko bracelet to replace the silicon rubber strap that came with it. This strap is very good, nice and soft and compliant similar to the current straps fitted to the Seiko Turtle reissues but I do not get on with rubber so I replaced it.
The Chinese appear to have no respect for copyright and intellectual property rights and their ability to let the original makers carry out all the costly design and R&D enables them to produce good value slightly cheesy products with minimal outlay. I feel a little uneasy supporting this culture but at least I have already paid Seiko for four SBBN’s and the Sea Shepherd does have a Seiko Movement.
Here I am wondering what to do with the Sea Shepherd, I already have a SBBN015 the watch it is copying and I do not feel the need to wear it. If it was the black PVD one I ordered it would be a different matter because with the new lume and a black shark mesh (I have in stock) it would make a refreshing change. As it is I will probably use it as a beater or………yes you guessed it……put it on ebay.
So why would you buy a Sharkey Sea Shepherd? They do have their place but do not buy one if you need proven performance or want the look and feel of the genuine article. It does not show in the photographs but when you handle a SBBN the tactility and quality is tangibly superior. Do buy a Sharkey Sea Shepherd for a good value tool watch to use without the worry of damaging it, an SKX with a shroud if you like. Although the Sharkey can be modded to a degree because Seiko hands and dials will fit the NH35 movement a TST is the way to go for this.
It started a few weeks ago when there was a thread about the Sharkey 6105 copy on TOF and Dennis was putting his head above the parapet and making a case for them. I always wanted a Seiko 6105 but they have gone from expensive to un-affordable and the Sharkey version looked worth looking into as it seemed to have the best case shape reproduction of the 6105 copies on the market. A bit of interweb searching for the Sharkey 6105 ultimately lead me to the WUS forum where there is a massive thread/topic on the Sharkey Sea Shepherd Tuna copy.
Much reading later and I thought I could justify buying a black PVD Sharkey Tuna copy because it was different to my Seiko SBBN's in as much as the Sharkey is powered by the NH35 and I could get a black PVD one and it would be so cheap I could use it as a beater.
This is what I got (sellers picture)
The watch was bought from China via ebay and took about 3 weeks to arrive, mainly due to the slow Chinese postal service. When I unpacked the watch I was a little cheesed off because the buggers had sent me a stainless steel watch and not the PVD one that I ordered and paid for, which was the main reason why I bought it. I read elsewhere of people receiving wrong watches and I rather suspect the Sharkey seller just sends out whatever stock they have.
Anyway, stuck with the wrong watch I decided to keep it. For the £140 it cost it represents good value and you cannot quibble about the quality which is not up to Seiko SBBN standards but is acceptable. It is mainly subtle finishing standards that let it down, the shroud could be finished with more finesse and it would make all the difference.
Comparison with my SBBN039 PADI and TST
I duly took it apart to check the quality, minute track appears to be brass
The Sea Shepherd maybe a copy of a SBBN but there are many subtle differences, not for the worse necessarily but just different. The Crystal is a shallow Sapphire dome and runs seamlessly into the rotating bezel and gives the Sharkey Tuna a different look compared to the Seiko SBBN, it's more like a BubbleBoy effect. The rotating bezel rotates precisely and is fitted with a shiny black ceramic effect insert that looks nice.
Although superficially looking like the SBBN’s crown/stem it is different in implementation (look at the case) with a telescopic spring loaded stem similar to used on the SKX and it appears the gasket may be inside the crown somewhere? It screws in and out nicely but the stem is a tad short and the keyless works do not always click back and disengage the day setting position.
The main area that lets the Sharkey down is the dial and hands. The dial printing is not too bad but the lume is the horrible aftermarket green type and it spoils the look somewhat. The hands lack the finesse of Seiko hands and when you have a close look at them you can see they are stamped out of a sheet of steel with no polishing or plating, on the plus side they are thick and robust but also have green lume. The other element that effects the character of the Sharkey Sea Shepherd is the rehaut/minute track which when combined with the domed crystal to lets you know it’s not a Seiko.
I set too and re-lumed the dial and hands with some white Bergeon lume and fitted a spare Seiko bracelet to replace the silicon rubber strap that came with it. This strap is very good, nice and soft and compliant similar to the current straps fitted to the Seiko Turtle reissues but I do not get on with rubber so I replaced it.
The Chinese appear to have no respect for copyright and intellectual property rights and their ability to let the original makers carry out all the costly design and R&D enables them to produce good value slightly cheesy products with minimal outlay. I feel a little uneasy supporting this culture but at least I have already paid Seiko for four SBBN’s and the Sea Shepherd does have a Seiko Movement.
Here I am wondering what to do with the Sea Shepherd, I already have a SBBN015 the watch it is copying and I do not feel the need to wear it. If it was the black PVD one I ordered it would be a different matter because with the new lume and a black shark mesh (I have in stock) it would make a refreshing change. As it is I will probably use it as a beater or………yes you guessed it……put it on ebay.
So why would you buy a Sharkey Sea Shepherd? They do have their place but do not buy one if you need proven performance or want the look and feel of the genuine article. It does not show in the photographs but when you handle a SBBN the tactility and quality is tangibly superior. Do buy a Sharkey Sea Shepherd for a good value tool watch to use without the worry of damaging it, an SKX with a shroud if you like. Although the Sharkey can be modded to a degree because Seiko hands and dials will fit the NH35 movement a TST is the way to go for this.
