What happened to the 300m Tunas?

Torrid · Post by **Torrid** » Fri Sep 08, 2023 8:49 am

Are these not a thing anymore? I thought the SBBN045 came out just a couple of years ago. I'm getting an itch for another Seiko and for around the $1k mark the 300m Tuna is a watch I've owned multiple times and I can rely on the quartz a lot better than their hit and miss autos. I can't find a new 300m Tuna in stock anywhere at the usual outlets. I didn't know if now was just a bad time for availability or if they'd been discontinued. They're easily the best value in Seiko divers especially considering reliability.

BBK357 · Post by **BBK357** » Fri Sep 08, 2023 8:56 am

They still produce them

Torrid · Post by **Torrid** » Fri Sep 08, 2023 8:59 am

BBK357 wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 08, 2023 8:56 am
They still produce them

I thought so, I just can't seem to find one in stock anywhere.

BBK357 · Post by **BBK357** » Fri Sep 08, 2023 9:16 am

Torrid wrote:
BBK357 wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 08, 2023 8:56 am
They still produce them
I thought so, I just can't seem to find one in stock anywhere.

Oh gotcha. I think this happens sometimes with Seikos top sellers.
I was looking at new Darth tuna early in the year and I found I stock- but a few months later everyone had them in stock

jswing · Post by **jswing** » Fri Sep 08, 2023 10:04 am

Sakura says they can ship in 2-4 days. I've never bought from them, but a lot of the Seiko guys do.

https://www.sakurawatches.com/seiko-prospex-sbbn045

Torrid · Post by **Torrid** » Fri Sep 08, 2023 10:49 am

jswing wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 08, 2023 10:04 am
Sakura says they can ship in 2-4 days. I've never bought from them, but a lot of the Seiko guys do.

https://www.sakurawatches.com/seiko-prospex-sbbn045

That's a good price. I may try contacting them.

Post by **toxicavenger** » Fri Sep 08, 2023 3:46 pm

Stock/production seems to fluctuate during certain times of the year.

Henryj · Post by **Henryj** » Sat Sep 09, 2023 4:17 pm

toxicavenger wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 08, 2023 3:46 pm
Stock/production seems to fluctuate during certain times of the year.

As a side note, anybody else notice that Seiya’s inventory is pretty thin.

Torrid · Post by **Torrid** » Sat Sep 09, 2023 11:57 pm

Henryj wrote: ↑
Sat Sep 09, 2023 4:17 pm

toxicavenger wrote: ↑
Fri Sep 08, 2023 3:46 pm
Stock/production seems to fluctuate during certain times of the year.
As a side note, anybody else notice that Seiya’s inventory is pretty thin.

Yeah, I noticed that too. It was the first place I looked since I've bought so many watches from him over the years. I just bought a GW5000 from him a few months ago. It seems he has a lot less G-Shocks than he used to as well.

spring-diver · Post by **spring-diver** » Sun Sep 10, 2023 11:08 am

jswing wrote:Sakura says they can ship in 2-4 days. I've never bought from them, but a lot of the Seiko guys do.

https://www.sakurawatches.com/seiko-prospex-sbbn045

That’s a smoking deal

They were $1,200+ last year.

Isn’t a 45-50 year anniversary edition coming up soon or in a year or so?

I can’t remember when the 300m Tuna’s were first released.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Baffo · Post by **Baffo** » Sun Sep 10, 2023 2:27 pm

The Yen is also completely in the tank

Mr_Pacman · Post by **Mr_Pacman** » Wed Dec 06, 2023 10:21 am

Did you end up buying one? I'm also looking for one SBBN045 (or the 43 which is the blue) and none to be found anywhere. The one at Sakura seems like a fair price but shipping to Canada and taxes/duty negate the deal.

hoppyjr · Post by **hoppyjr** » Wed Dec 06, 2023 10:27 am

Mr_Pacman wrote:Did you end up buying one? I'm also looking for one SBBN045 (or the 43 which is the blue) and none to be found anywhere. The one at Sakura seems like a fair price but shipping to Canada and taxes/duty negate the deal.

I bought one (045) then set out to tighten the bezel because it seemed loose to me. Big mistake.

I removed the shroud, then scratched the case around 10 o’clock under the shroud, trying to remove bezel. I ended up also bending the bezel!

Seiko would only replace the entire case. I ordered a bezel for different model, but it didn’t fit. Jack @ IWW was initially unable to get a bezel, but then found one for about $400. I decided not to do it because I’m already way too deep in this watch.

Watch functions fine, but needs that new bezel. If you don’t mind scratches (under shroud, not seen when assembled) and want to order your own bezel, I’ll sell it for $375 shipped.

Edit: it may even be under the customs duty daily limits if I recall correctly. You’d have to inbound shipments instead of one large one.

Mr_Pacman · Post by **Mr_Pacman** » Wed Dec 06, 2023 9:05 pm

hoppyjr wrote: ↑
Wed Dec 06, 2023 10:27 am

Mr_Pacman wrote:Did you end up buying one? I'm also looking for one SBBN045 (or the 43 which is the blue) and none to be found anywhere. The one at Sakura seems like a fair price but shipping to Canada and taxes/duty negate the deal.
I bought one (045) then set out to tighten the bezel because it seemed loose to me. Big mistake.

I removed the shroud, then scratched the case around 10 o’clock under the shroud, trying to remove bezel. I ended up also bending the bezel!

Seiko would only replace the entire case. I ordered a bezel for different model, but it didn’t fit. Jack @ IWW was initially unable to get a bezel, but then found one for about $400. I decided not to do it because I’m already way too deep in this watch.

Watch functions fine, but needs that new bezel. If you don’t mind scratches (under shroud, not seen when assembled) and want to order your own bezel, I’ll sell it for $375 shipped.

Edit: it may even be under the customs duty daily limits if I recall correctly. You’d have to inbound shipments instead of one large one.

That sounds like quite an adventure you have had. My last 300m also had a loose bezel but I'm glad I didn't try to fix it as it sounds like they are a challenge. WHile your offer is tempting ,I don't think I'll go for it as I suspect I'll end up spending more than I want for one of these.

Bob1035 · Post by **Bob1035** » Thu Dec 07, 2023 4:07 am

hoppyjr wrote: ↑
Wed Dec 06, 2023 10:27 am

Mr_Pacman wrote:Did you end up buying one? I'm also looking for one SBBN045 (or the 43 which is the blue) and none to be found anywhere. The one at Sakura seems like a fair price but shipping to Canada and taxes/duty negate the deal.
I bought one (045) then set out to tighten the bezel because it seemed loose to me. Big mistake.

I removed the shroud, then scratched the case around 10 o’clock under the shroud, trying to remove bezel. I ended up also bending the bezel!

The exact same thing happened to me when I tried to pull the bezel on my solar tuna. I was luckily able to find a replacement on ebay for $80.

Bob1035 · Post by **Bob1035** » Wed Jan 03, 2024 12:11 pm

Hop - did you ever sort this out? Not for nothin, but I think shroudless tunas look kinda cool. Wonder how a shroudless/bezel-less one looks

hoppyjr · Post by **hoppyjr** » Wed Jan 03, 2024 12:14 pm

Bob1035 wrote:Hop - did you ever sort this out? Not for nothin, but I think shroudless tunas look kinda cool. Wonder how a shroudless/bezel-less one looks

Someone should make a low profile type fixed bezel that attaches like shroud and gives it a smooth bezel look.

Mr_Pacman · Post by **Mr_Pacman** » Thu Jan 04, 2024 8:47 pm

SBBN045 showed up today after a 12 days of shipping from Ireland. Outer box looked like a truck ran over it, but the seller had it wrapped up in so much bubble wrap, that the Seiko box and watch were fine. I've already lost one of the 22mm FAT sprinbars pulling off the strap. Anyone have a good source for genuine 22mm FAT bars?

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