Anyone have a Seiko SLA033? Thoughts?

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Mr_Pacman
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Anyone have a Seiko SLA033? Thoughts?

Post by Mr_Pacman » Thu Oct 07, 2021 9:17 am

Ok, who has an SLA033. What are your thoughts on it?

Bonus points if you have also owned an SLA025 and can't give a quick pros/cons between the two. I've owned the SLA025 before and it was too chunky.

Thanks
james

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tmw
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Re: Anyone have a Seiko SLA033? Thoughts?

Post by tmw » Thu Oct 07, 2021 10:17 am

I own the SLA033, and a huge fan of the 6105 style.

The sla033, to me is the most true to the original 6105 (which to me could be a one watch similar to the 6309). It is slightly thicker than the original 6105, and has a ceramic bezel (which is pretty cool), and uses 20mm lugs vs 19. To me, it is much better than the newer willards (i like them , but not enamored by them - and rare the vintage more - in fact right now).I had pics on here somewhere that shows the three different versions.

I dont have the SLA025, but I may be the only one here that is not a MM300 fan - as I think they are way to chunky for what they are.
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I bought a cheap watch from a crazy man
Floating down canal
It doesn't use numbers or moving hands
It always just says now
Now you may be thinking that I was had
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jtbenson
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Re: Anyone have a Seiko SLA033? Thoughts?

Post by jtbenson » Thu Oct 07, 2021 10:23 am

i have the sla033 and love the way it wears. the large but relatively thin case is well balanced/distributed and is quite comfortable.
i haven't tried on the sla025, so can't directly compare. But I have owned several iterations of the mm300 and while I find that watch comfortable on the right strap, the sla033 wears far better for me.
Also owned sla017 and it did not stick with me long, just did not sit comfortably. seemed like not enough diameter to distribute the relative weight/height on my wrist. sla033 does not suffer from this---for me, on my wrist.
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Ryeguy
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Re: Anyone have a Seiko SLA033? Thoughts?

Post by Ryeguy » Thu Oct 07, 2021 10:49 am

jtbenson wrote:
Thu Oct 07, 2021 10:23 am
i have the sla033 and love the way it wears. the large but relatively thin case is well balanced/distributed and is quite comfortable.
i haven't tried on the sla025, so can't directly compare. But I have owned several iterations of the mm300 and while I find that watch comfortable on the right strap, the sla033 wears far better for me.
Also owned sla017 and it did not stick with me long, just did not sit comfortably. seemed like not enough diameter to distribute the relative weight/height on my wrist. sla033 does not suffer from this---for me, on my wrist.
I was right there with you up until your SLA017 thoughts. As we all know, the SLA017 is
Image
IMG_2007.JPG
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tmw
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Re: Anyone have a Seiko SLA033? Thoughts?

Post by tmw » Thu Oct 07, 2021 11:29 am

BTW, If you could find a good 6105, i am sure you will like it more than the SLA033. Good 6105s are getting harder to find, but the original imho is still the best. I grab for the original 99% of the time vs the SLA033.

6105 > SLA033> Modern willard
Stan, don’t you know the first law of physics? Anything that’s fun costs at least eight dollars”
-- Eric Cartman

“To absent friends, lost loves, old gods, and the season of mists; and may each and every one of us always give the devil his due.”
― Neil Gaiman, The Sandman

I bought a cheap watch from a crazy man
Floating down canal
It doesn't use numbers or moving hands
It always just says now
Now you may be thinking that I was had
But this watch is never wrong
And If I have trouble the warranty said
Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On

- Jimmy Buffett

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BBK357
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Re: Anyone have a Seiko SLA033? Thoughts?

Post by BBK357 » Mon Oct 11, 2021 5:53 am

Ryeguy wrote:
jtbenson wrote:
Thu Oct 07, 2021 10:23 am
i have the sla033 and love the way it wears. the large but relatively thin case is well balanced/distributed and is quite comfortable.
i haven't tried on the sla025, so can't directly compare. But I have owned several iterations of the mm300 and while I find that watch comfortable on the right strap, the sla033 wears far better for me.
Also owned sla017 and it did not stick with me long, just did not sit comfortably. seemed like not enough diameter to distribute the relative weight/height on my wrist. sla033 does not suffer from this---for me, on my wrist.
I was right there with you up until your SLA017 thoughts. As we all know, the SLA017 is
Image
IMG_2007.JPG
When these were released I was on vacation. Left the hotel room, guzzled some beer and walked to the beach and called whichever LA area AD that someone suggested.
When I got home I realized I didn’t want that $3500 charge so I sold it.
I never even took it out of the box… if I would have known this would double in price..
Seiko defiantly got the case size and dial details down with this one.


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DEATH FROM ABOVE
:ak:

Mr_Pacman
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Re: Anyone have a Seiko SLA033? Thoughts?

Post by Mr_Pacman » Tue Oct 19, 2021 12:16 pm

Thanks for all of the replies. I pulled the trigger on it and it should be arriving this week. This one was worn for a few months so it's got scratches on the case. Bezel insert has a few minor hairlines but nothing major, strap buckle has wear. However all that is fine as I plan to wear this one quite a bit and not keep it in the sock drawer. Price was fair ($2,250 USD) due to the condition but I wasn't interested in paying 3k++ for a brand new one. As long as it wears more comfortable and is of similar quality to the SLA025 that I recently sold, I'll be happy as the SLA025 was perfect from a quality perspective but wore massive on my wrist.

Mr_Pacman
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Re: Anyone have a Seiko SLA033? Thoughts?

Post by Mr_Pacman » Tue Oct 19, 2021 12:22 pm

tmw wrote:
Thu Oct 07, 2021 10:17 am
I own the SLA033, and a huge fan of the 6105 style.

The sla033, to me is the most true to the original 6105 (which to me could be a one watch similar to the 6309). It is slightly thicker than the original 6105, and has a ceramic bezel (which is pretty cool), and uses 20mm lugs vs 19. To me, it is much better than the newer willards (i like them , but not enamored by them - and rare the vintage more - in fact right now).I had pics on here somewhere that shows the three different versions.

I dont have the SLA025, but I may be the only one here that is not a MM300 fan - as I think they are way to chunky for what they are.
I was under the impression the SLA033 also had 19mm lugs and not a ceramic bezel. I thought the bezel was the same material as my previous SLA025 and the same as the SLA017 and the older style MM300's which is like a glossy lacquer?

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