Seiko sbbn033 quartz Tuna

[@khronokraze]

I love the SBBN033 I used to own. Works and looks great on a StrapCode Endmill Bracelet.. but, pretty much any bracelet and strap option works with this watch. I sometimes regret selling mine, but, I did make up for at least the style with my own SKX Tuna Mod which has its advantages. But, going back to the SBBN033.. Yes, the 48mm ROUND lugless design is very important in its wearability.. and it definitely wears delightfully smaller than the specs would indicate. Next to a lot of other Seiko divers (such as a Turtle, Samurai, etc.) about 45 mm and even a little smaller, the Tuna next to them visually looks smaller. It's like the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz where somebody you know is suppose to be taller can look shorter standing in that cabin next to a person you know should be shorter. Trippy, but so cool. And, like just about every Seiko diver, they wear so comfortably and smaller than specs dictate.. but the Tunas wear particularly smaller than others because of its unique round case design... and in fact, although similar, the Baby Tuna's are actually a little larger than the actual Tunas, Bruce Williams pointed out... but, maybe not larger than the automatic & Spring Drive Tunas which are at 50mm and up. And, with the SBBN033, I personally believe the lack of a colored bezel insert and just having a stainless steel one further lends itself to appearing smaller since the black of the dial is not visually extended to the bezel insert IF it were also black, thus the visual impact of the dial, which dictates a lot of how a watch appears size-wise on the wrist, is cut shorter/smaller. And, yes, the Lumibrite formula on this watch is one of the best on the market. As I am aware, it is supposed to be the same as in the MM300. You can read this watch any time of day.. it's so high contrast in the daytime and the lume is so reactive, strong and long lasting when you go into dimmer conditions its instantly readable. It is meant to perform and why Seiko eventually made the movement quartz as the standard for the Tunas... Although there are some hi-beat and Spring Drive versions, I believe, the quartz will always excel at ultimate accuracy and reliability for a tool watch. Yes, these are one of the rare quartz movements that just looks so tight and perfectly ticking. It's subtle, but you can see it moves without fault. And, the quartz movement is specifically designed for the tuna and only in these tunas and no other watch. I think too many people who don't have enough experience don't know or somehow forget just how much Seiko puts into their range of watches that is all "in-house".. They grow their own quartz crystals, they have their own lume, they have their own mineral crystal, all in house movements both mechanical/automatic & quartz (and don't forget they are so good that they are probably a major adopted movement for other watches who want a robust and quality movement), all original designs, innovative technologies (Spring Drive), they actually have higher tolerances for accuracy than Swiss watches (that's anything but COSC, I think), and there is much more to list.. I don't think anything is sourced from outside of Seiko which is a cool fact.

[@jonabitstream]

Khrono Kraze I have seen elsewhere on KZbin that when this watch was first developed in the 70’s it had an automatic movement that was changed a few years later to quartz because the professional deep divers in Japan complained that the all-mechanical movement was failing under the stresses of their work. With this high-quality quartz movement that issue was resolved.

[@MrBacchus18]

Great little hockey puck, wears a whole lot better than I thought it would.

[@BadSeraphim]

Purchased identical watch and bracelet after watching this video. Love them both. When I first got it I tested accuracy ... after six who month it was only off 2 seconds! I stopped monitoring accuracy. Super cool watch.

[@TheTimLara]

Pretty sweet piece. Grail for me would be this exact watch + solar + atomic sync. I am a fan of high end quartz too, but for me it needs to have the solar/atomic tricks to fully counter the cool factor of mechanicals.

[@drwindsurf]

Thank you for the comparing the Tuna with other known watches; I thought the Tuna was way larger. I still love the sweep of the seconds hand in an automatic...but I can appreciate this watch. Thank you for another great video :)

[@miguelmaldonado6049]

The mirror polished shroud keeps me away from this one but the 031 makes me smile 😊

[@emaciatedchef]

I have the 031 and I really love it. The first time I wore it I was a little surprised how small it is on my wrist. I was expecting it to be larger. But now I am grateful for the size because I can wear it everyday to the office.

[@22Phanatic]

Just got the 031 a couple weeks ago! Excellent watch!

[@Lee_K_5555]

I have the brushed stainless steel SBBN031 Tuna and can heartily agree with your assessment of the watch, Rob. It wears remarkably small considering the measurements. Between it and the Sumo, I think these are my favorite all-time divers. Speaking of C.G., I guess she just stopped doing videos due to life getting in the way. Which is really unfortunate -- she did a fantastic job on her channel.

[@jnrjnr77]

Just waiting on mine to arrive thanks to yourself, Bruce Williams and Jeffrey McMahon 👌

[@jerrymccalister683]

As a watch collector, I have purchased these watches in the past and rotated them throughout my collection. The build quality is excellent with great attention to detail. My only complaint is that Seiko should move to a sapphire crystal. No matter how careful you are with the watch, you will ultimately scratch the dome and it made me crazy every time it happened because it is very easy to do and it usually happens around the center of the watch making it annoying to look at. These are tool watches, expensive ones at that and since they are designed to do heavy duty they should not get scratches on the face of the watch. The Marathon GSAR for example never experiences this issue and they cost about the same and have the ETA 2824-2 Elabore movement making it a better deal all the way around. Other than that, great watch.

[@Mark-sd7fc]

This is one of my grail watches just looks so cool! I miss C G sooo much !

[@arlocorp]

I have one and love it as well as many of my Seiko's . It's as cool as my 7017"s

[@stevenuk]

I've never pulled the trigger on the Tuna, but I am thinking about it.

[@atomik7223]

steven uk1 same... The only thing that is making me not pull the trigger is that I have around 1000 to spend and I love the Oris sixty-five So its this or that Still thinking after 4 months

[@hidad5601]

Most people use a fishing rod but i'm sure a gun would work too!

[@iHaejeog]

I used to own the Sixty-Five but I ended up selling it due to the combination of the black dial and black bezel that I ended up getting bored of. Also it ran at about +17s/d which I was not too happy with. I used to have the SBBN017 and might end up repurchasing it in the near future or the SBBN015 with the bracelet. I'm not too in love with the new handset on these tunas but they do have better lume. Then again, I like the huge lume plots on the older models.

[@ADNeverCalling367]

Another example how quartz movements are tough and accurate but I just can’t do it. Great watch though- Looks great

[@elarson312]

Cool watch! Thanks for the review!

[@MyWatchTherapy]

Is the polished shroud easily scratched? It looks so nice but don't want to worry constantly about scratching it.

[@janreeves5443]

Not sure if it’s the lighting and camera in this video but I swear that the bezel on the sbbn033 shown here has a bezel that is much “duller” in color than the one on mine. Mine is polished just like the shroud - thus one looks like it has been sandblasted.

[@richardbosh4522]

I have two watches in mind that I'm interested in around 1k are Tag Heuer Aquaracer 300m Stainless steel look bezel quartz and the Seiko Tuna Marinemaster Quartz that you have on your video with the black rubber strap hopefully you can let me know what's your opinion ? Thank you

[@alfredsfunvideos4270]

Great video Rob, still think that the Tuna is one of the most comfortable watches I own. Second to a Sumo due to curvature of Sumo case. I feel that the Tuna wears smaller though. I have my sbbn015 on a nato or newer style Seiko rubber strap and it’s amazing. My watch is now +.5 seconds after 6 months! Amazing.

[@martinskoda8725]

Hi Rob, I pulled the trigger for this watch. I have problems finding out what strapcode endmill to order. Can you link this one from the video?Its brushed finish, not polished, as far that I can see? Tnx

[@DrFrankLondon]

Is the lime even better than the new Superluminova C3X1 used by Borealis? Because that's just insane. Great video, Rob.👍🏻😃

[@Lee_K_5555]

I'm not Rob, but I have a Borealis Cascais with C3X1 as well as a Tuna and can say that they are pretty much equal in overall brightness and longevity.

[@derfdswed]

never was interested in these thought they were too big and also ugly....but now really like Seiko Monsters and will have to give one of these a go. These are way nicer looking than the 3rd gen Monsters...hate the cyclops

[@mitchmatic8029]

It’s my watch now.

[@evaninnewport]

Got it. Love it. Great vid Rob. Thank you. Do you think the Strapcode endmill bracelet is worthwhile??

[@RandomRobReviews]

For the most part yes. The edges seem a little sharp for me, but not as sharp as the new citizen I just tried. Factory Seiko bracelets seem to feel smoother on wrist to me.

[@khronokraze]

I used to own this exact configuration with the SBBN033 on the strapcode endmill, but with a ratcheting clasp. Quick note, the ratcheting clasp is a cool idea for instant adjustability. BUT, I'll be honest, I don't wear the watch over any sort of dive suit or layer and just on the wrist, so having the +1" adjustability is overkill. And, like a lot of ratcheting clasp bracelets, when they are extended, it does not look good. Functionally it works, but aesthetically I think it looks ugly seeing the ratcheting portion exposed and basically a gap is opened up on the bracelet when you do this. Also, I find the edge finishing a bit sharp and something to consider.. especially with a ratcheting claps as the edges where they separate are also kind of sharp. So, both the aesthetically displeasing and sharp edges generally makes me not even want to extend the bracelet rendering it a more or less useless feature.. Thus, not worth the extra money. But, if you are going to use this over a dive suit more often than not, then it may wel be worth it in that case. Any strapcode are well built. But, I have to agree, going back to this point before, the edges are cut a bit on the sharp side.. very clean, but the edges are noticeable.. I would not say uncomfortable at all, but I can't deny I think they could use a tiny bit of refinement and smooth out the edges with the smallest of bevels to make them near perfect for a high-quality aftermarket bracelet.

[@evaninnewport]

Thanks Wing that's very kind of you. You make lots of good points. I have the ratcheting clasp on my MM300 and in Australia in summer, it's very useful. When it's 45 degrees CELSIUS even my small wrist expands a lot. But you're right, it doesn't look great. I wear my Tunas on leather straps most of the time and don't swim with them. I have Sumos, black bay & pelagos for swimming. But yes I certainly love this Tuna. Thanks again and best wishes

[@russoclark1244]

Long Island's Mark called these *tuna can* watches. That's alot less flattering than just "tuna"

[@jeepcat1]

what is the easiest way to get the 5 year battery replaced for those of us who live out? No handy seiko dealer out here

[@bower230]

Dude check out the new digital tunas. Guess they just got announced.

[@ianbarber2937]

I’m looking for an automatic diver watch with a big steel bezel. Do you know of any?

[@RandomRobReviews]

Take a look at Seiko srp637

[@nort4315]

Great watch!

[@meltdowngrfx969]

What happened to the CG channel?

[@benec5816]

Oh wow

[@amrashraf9559]

Will seiko add sapphire crystal to this watch?

[@LeeePowers]

No. From a price standpoint,with mass production,I'd guess no.

[@richardmurphy9006]

Gotta say prefer quartz the mechanical are a job in themselves and not purchasing auto winder just wear automatic to the gym but quartz as good as gold

[@rangered2010]

So why do they cost soooooo much??!!!

[@davidwatson3035]

Shroud should be brushed. It looks cheap. Plus beware I had a 015 whose 2nd hand was all over the place, missing the marks, best to check before buying, especially if you're importing one. Get the dealer to check.

[@fungusfoong9080]

Seiko should have come out with an automatic version.

[@tezzanewton]

650-800??? Ha, I’m in Australia, try $1200-$1500. 😢

[@Montres_tempus]

Terry Newton i just picked up a sbbn031 for $1200aud from Japan! Keep looking :)

[@CHMernerner]

spent 1400usd(incl.tax)

[@atomik7223]

How large is your wrist? I’m thinking abt pulling the trigger on this and I want to know how it’ll fit on my wrist (my wrist is 6.75 inches)

[@RandomRobReviews]

7.25” wrist. I will be showing the new solar tuna very soon. Think they are little better for smaller wrist. Stay tuned

[@josephnguyen851]

Sbbn033 or GMWB5000D?

[@RandomRobReviews]

Square

[@eddiejones.redvees]

Not for me it looks like sum one has repaired it with a wheel bearing

[@fungus70]

It's an expensive quartz

[@inkitatus1]

I don't doubt its a great watch,tho it's a bit "marmite" - I get that it's design appeals to some but I think the Tuna's are ugly - to each their own tho. Cheers 👍

[@Shurup33]

quartz cant be expensive, its just a decoration....