Let's discuss the LX

[Locust]

So I'm just curious to guage everyone here on what the problem with this watch is to them. Going over to WUS and seeing comments on here it seems like the watch either gets "meh" or vehement dislike. My confusion comes from the marinemaster 300, and more specifically, how it is a universally praised model.

Seiko basically took the MM, fixed the lug width, upgraded the movement, made it way more comfortable, gave it grand seiko finishing, upgraded the case, upgraded the bracelet design and brought in a world famous designer to bring it all together into a flagship model in 6 different versions for taste. Yet all I read is indifference or anger at the pricing model, diashield, pricing model, oh and also the pricing model.

As an owner of the land version (SNR025), this watch gets about 75% of my wrist time on the weekends, if not more. My brother owns the sea 029 and feels the same. It's really hard to put on something else. My GS SBGE245 has just been sitting there lately. As an owner I can also really emphasize that the 5k price tag feels justified. I certainly think it's more justified than on the SLA025.

So what say you? Pricing? Design? The Seiko badge? Too safe design wise? Just curious to discuss this model and if y'all have issues other than the cost or if that's really the root of the problem.

[icnbne]

I dont mind it, if i was a fan of the spring drive i can see how it would justify the 3k premium on the marinemaster? But for me i like mechanical movements and find the monoblock case insanely cool

I have the sla025, and with the high beat movement and design heritage, i cant agree with this model being more justified than it

[Randy63]

I like the LX line a lot, I really do and the SNR025 land is my favorite model in the lineup. I've tried one on and it exudes quality. I'd love to own one but it would be very hard for me to commit unless I was almost certain I was going to keep the watch for the long haul. I'd just have a hard time accepting the loss that would be incurred if I wanted to move it on in the near term.

Having said that, I'd be happy to own one at ~ $3000 for a LNIB example.



Randy

[SUPERDOC]

Originally Posted by Randy63

I like the LX line a lot, I really do and the SNR025 land is my favorite model in the lineup. I've tried one on and it exudes quality. I'd love to own one but it would be very hard for me to commit unless I was almost certain I was going to keep the watch for the long haul. I'd just have a hard time accepting the loss that would be incurred if I wanted to move it on in the near term.

Having said that, I'd be happy to own one at ~ $3000 for a LNIB example.



Randy

I think that the price point and the blurred lines between Seiko and GS are a bit of the issue - at least for me

add to that, a bit of contempt with the lack of good diver in the GS line up.

After making a great effort to divide the lines between GS and Seiko, it seemed strange to then escalate Seiko upto the level of GS with the LX..

the irony, is that if they had put a 'GS' on the dial... they could have charged more, and everyone would probably be buying them like hot cakes...

The Seiko love and goodwill comes from great watches that aren't prohibitively expensive... the 200m diver line at ~ 1k are so so amazing, the Presage is Value proposition that is unparalleled ..

But, when you get to that $5k range - you are into Omega Aqua Terra, Breitling, etc...

Some of it is a bit of the knee jerk impulsive reaction that we thought we were beyond as "woke" watch collectors...

I guess old habits die hard...

[Fleetlord]

I spent a long time yesterday at the Seiko boutique in Miami...pretty much going over all the watches available....including the LX lineup.

I was quite interested in these as I have an MM300 and other Seiko's of course, so I am a supporter of the brand.

As I held the LX Diver with bracelet I like the styling of the watch and the finish of the TI had a very slick industrialistic feel to it...like a nice piece of machinery.

I then noticed the bracelet had some sharp edges that created hotspots on the wrist. Not my favorite thing to feel..but I can put it on a strap..yada yada.

Then I unscrewed the crown and went to screw it back down...what did I feel?

Gritiness. Yep. Crown was gritty. It didn't feel happy at all screwing back down.

Then I looked at the price tag. $5,000.00 . Yep, that's a pass on that. I can't spend that much and have to fiddle with that crown action...

I have 3 other spring drives, so that movement is not going to sway me to overcome the crown issue. I'm sure the OP's LXcrown is great and all that, but the one I tried absolutely was not and that highlights the inconsistency in Seiko. For that $$ they ALL should feel great. ALL of them.

I moved on and found they had the SPB105 with the green dial.

Tried it out. Everything felt right and the crown was smooth as could be. Bracelet felt nice too. Price? $1050.00

SOLD...so I bought that instead.

There in lies the problem from a WIS POV. The LX are just too expensive in comparison to other Seiko offerings that cost less and seem to have better QC.

For the general public, there is no way they will spend $5K on a watch with the same name on it as a $250 watch at Macy's. NO WAY.

So, both markets (WIS and GP) will struggle with these references. Just too much $$$

[MasonDixon]

My heart skipped a beat when I first saw a picture of the SNR029. It's everything I've ever wanted in a Seiko diver. Then I scrolled down and read the one piece of info that broke my heart....it's titanium. That's my issue with it. I just don't like watches that feel too light for their size.

[JR16]

The price tag will kill the LX line IMO unless they produce tiny quantities just for super WIS and seiko-haulics.


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[GB-man]

For that price I want a GS and I also want a tidier package.

No idea how GS could have planned this new rollout in the US market without having a nice 40-42mm diver ready to go.

[Locust]

Originally Posted by Fleetlord

I spent a long time yesterday at the Seiko boutique in Miami...pretty much going over all the watches available....including the LX lineup.

I was quite interested in these as I have an MM300 and other Seiko's of course, so I am a supporter of the brand.

As I held the LX Diver with bracelet I like the styling of the watch and the finish of the TI had a very slick industrialistic feel to it...like a nice piece of machinery.

I then noticed the bracelet had some sharp edges that created hotspots on the wrist. Not my favorite thing to feel..but I can put it on a strap..yada yada.

Then I unscrewed the crown and went to screw it back down...what did I feel?

Gritiness. Yep. Crown was gritty. It didn't feel happy at all screwing back down.

Then I looked at the price tag. $5,000.00 . Yep, that's a pass on that. I can't spend that much and have to fiddle with that crown action...

I have 3 other spring drives, so that movement is not going to sway me to overcome the crown issue. I'm sure the OP's LXcrown is great and all that, but the one I tried absolutely was not and that highlights the inconsistency in Seiko. For that $$ they ALL should feel great. ALL of them.

I moved on and found they had the SPB105 with the green dial.

Tried it out. Everything felt right and the crown was smooth as could be. Bracelet felt nice too. Price? $1050.00

SOLD...so I bought that instead.

There in lies the problem from a WIS POV. The LX are just too expensive in comparison to other Seiko offerings that cost less and seem to have better QC.

For the general public, there is no way they will spend $5K on a watch with the same name on it as a $250 watch at Macy's. NO WAY.

So, both markets (WIS and GP) will struggle with these references. Just too much $$$

My crown is all good, but Seiko replaced my first LX cause the holes on the clasp were milled off center and you couldn’t micro adjust so I definitely see your point here. But the replacement I received is flawless.

[Locust]

I also own a mm200, it’s a great watch. But the quality control ain’t all there on those. That’s the Seiko I have where there seems to be an issue with the threading whereas my $400 turtles are fine. I feel like wherever you go in the Seiko brand there seems to be QC issues. It’s a universal problem.

[mattmartin]

My first post here in about a decade but wanted to share my experience.

Ive had the snr029 for about 4 months now. I posted a writeup on WUS about 3 months ago. I bought mine at the London boutique. I love mine and have not had any QC issues at all; especially the crown. Mine shows exemplary QC and quality. In fact, the beefy crown tube and threads was part of why I selected the Lx diver over the sla mm300. By the way, the tube on the LX snr029 is the same as on the GS 600m based on my evaluation. The boutique had a disassembled GS600m that i got to hold and play with, and i was able to inspect the threaded tube having been unscrewed from the gs600m case.

When I bought mine I was at the boutique to buy the legacy mm300. But, all 4 copies they had onsite had very gritty crowns. I couldn’t even get one to engage the threads no matter how much reversing I attempted. I’ll admit, I was preoccupied with the crown threading action before I ever got there and its the primary reason that I have never owned the mm300. The gritty crown on the 8l35 mm300 really upset me. Very much a let-down by the brand.

When I compared the LX and saw the giant threads and smooth engagement, on top of the styling, quality and feel, I made the leap for the LX. The hands on the LX are an obvious step above the mm300.

But for the price delta b/w LX and mm300, i think the whole piece should be GS level. Mine, luckily, is. However I 100% believe the reservations regarding QC, verbalized by others here. To hear that two LX owners have had bad experiences is disturbing because there probably are only a handful of owners at this time. This is upsetting and I hope Seiko takes note.

I think one thing Seiko may need to overcome is the possibility that an abnormally high percentage of LX buyers are avid enthusiasts- unlike Rolex/Omega/etc owners - so any QC slip-ups will make it to online communities. This means their average QC standards need to exceed the industry standards. Although GS isn’t immune to QC slip ups, they take care to treat the watches like jewels needing magnified inspection. The LX models deserve the same attention.

Here is a picture of the LX crown threads for those who care and haven't handled one in person.

Originally Posted by Locust

My crown is all good, but Seiko replaced my first LX cause the holes on the clasp were milled off center and you couldn’t micro adjust so I definitely see your point here. But the replacement I received is flawless.

[Txkill]

Great write up Matt!