Customer Reviews

Seiko Men's SNA413 Flight Computer Chronograph Watch

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a great chronograph,extremely well finished with precision movement and handsome looks. One good feature of this chrono is that all the three controls, crown and both the chrono controls are lockable... so you cannot accidently start a chrono, which happens often enough. I have knocked off one star, from an otherwise five star rating that it deserves, coz. a) the alarm rings only for 20 secs (too less for someone who sleeps like a log!)and b) the alarm has to be reset every time. Otherwise for the price it is available at it is a steal. My wife and daughter joke around that there's enough steel used in this watch to have made a SUV. So all those with a decent wrist... go ahead and indulge.

This watch is beautiful, but the white hands against the white face can make it difficult to see in low light conditions. It is a VERY accurate timepiece- I set it by the USN observatory atomic clock and a month later it was within 2 secs. of being accurate. It is a heavy watch, but you get use to it. My biggest complaint about the watch is that the knurled stem has a rather sharp edge that can dig painfully into the back of my hand. I normally prefer a watch with a somewhat loose band, but it was necessary to tighten the band on this watch to prevent it slipping down and digging into my hand. Overall though, I am very happy with this watch.

First of all I'm not 13, just really lazy to get an account.

My parents just got this for me as a very early graduation present, and out of the box it is just marvelous. It really attracts attention because of it's blue dials contrasting with the white inner dial. It is a heavy watch but that makes it feel all the more manly.

I do have a complaint though and it's not the watch it's the manual-it doesn't really a beginner how to use the flight computation methods. So i had to go online and look them up, not to big of a hassle but dissapointing considering the price; that is why it only gets 4 stars.

All around a great watch-and at this price just a steal.

I will have to follow this up with a more extensive video review, but for now here are the highlights.

1) It arrived on time with free holiday shipping from amazon.com. PLUS

2) It arrived without protective plastic covering the crystal, case back, crown and pushers, or bracelet. MINUS

3) It also arrived with a slight scratch on one of the link-segments on the band. Since it was the polished portion of the link segment, it was very noticeable. ** BIG MINUS ** , but I remedied this by choosing this link segment as the links I would remove when I was sizing the bracelet, so no harm, no foul.

4) The bracelet measures just over 21mm consistently all the way around (no tapering), is solid stainless steel, and has solid end links. Also, it was erroneously reported as being a 3-link band (two brushed links on the outside and one polished link in the center with a vertical crease). In sizing the bracelet and moving the links, I quickly learned that it is actually a 4-link bracelet since the polished center is actually made up of TWO links side by side, each with a brushed link on either end (brushed+polished+ polished+ brushed). I

5) Diameter of case/bezel is listed as 42mm (w/o the crown), but it seems to be closer to 40mm.

6) Dial - The dial is protected by a domed Hardlex mineral crystal that does a magnificent job magnifying the fine writing of the EB6 rule, Telemeter, and Tachometer, and all other info including he date on the face/dial.

The domed crystal also does an excellent job throwing back a lot of LIGHT and shimmer to onlookers, so it tends to get a lot of WOW responses.

7) The bezel is non-ratcheting and bidirectional. It has a highly polished coined edge. It has a very solid and smooth in its movement.

8) The weight and balance is just right. It is slightly lighter than the Seiko "Monster" divers, about the same weight as my Omega 40mm (heavier than a Chase Durer Pilot Commander Alarm chronograph).

9) The alarm (located at the 6 o'clock position) can be used as a GMT to track a secondary time zone. It has its own fully independent minute and hour hands, so this is quite nice.

10) The chronograph second hand (the BIG second hand) and chronograph hour hand (in the small sub-dial nearest to the 12 o'clock position) are in bright yellow. All other hands are in stainless steel with or without lumibrite (luminescent paint for glowing in the dark). The chronograph sub-dials at 12 and 9 o'clock are outlined in white paint, but the alarm sub-dial a 6 o'clock is nicely outlined with a stainless steel circle/ring.

11) The crown and pushers are all screw down and the threads are very well engineered. This allows not only for the true 200 meter depth water resistance rating, but also keeps dust and moisture out of the watch. Dust and moisture are the biggest enemies of any all watches, regardless of the price-point.

12) ALL the chronograph hands and sub-dials can be manually reset to "zero" or manually aligned with the pushers if the need ever arose.

Conclusion: This is a dressy watch. The picture really do not do it justice. I purchased both this watch, as well as the Chase Durer Pilot Commander Alarm chronograph. This one for dressier, more formal attire while the Chase Durer for more casual occasions. Both watches have Japanese quartz movements and respective of style, quality, and function, they are easily on par with or better than most if not all of the other watches in my collection, including several well-known swiss automatics costing $3200 to $4000 each.

The only thing I would change about the Seiko SNA411 is the crystal. This is my first time owning a watch with a Hardlex crystal, and besides my Casio beater watch, all the other watches in my collection have sapphire anti-reflective crystals, which I've never had scratch, shatter, or fracture on me...so we'll see how this Hardlex holds up, especially in it's domed and slightly protruding fashion.

BTW - for all those considering automatics, consider this...what I've found out in extensively researching before making my recent purchases:

1) Automatics MUST be cleaned/lubricated/"maintained" every 2-3 years, which runs anywhere from $150 to $399 for EACH automatic watch....depending on the brand and complication of the movement (basically, the more you paid for the watch the more the jeweler will charge you)

2) Automatics are not even remotely close to as accurate as quartz watches. Quartz are usually accurate within +/- 5 to 15 seconds a month, whereas automatics are usually +/- 5 to 15 seconds a day (for there best swiss movements).

3) Seiko invented the world's first quartz wristwatch - the 35SQ Astron Watch - in Tokyo on Christmas day, 1969.

4) Quartz movements only require a quick and relatively inexpensive battery change every 2-3 years, some even every 10 years, and if the movements ever get so bad that an overhaul is needed (I've never heard of this happening, but anything is possible), you can buy an entire new movement wholesale from between $30 - $80 and find a friendly jeweler to install it for you. With one of my better known swiss automatics, before I invested in a watch-winder ($199) to keep it constantly in motion to keep the internal 37-jeweled parts lubricated, it cost me $750 for a complete overhaul when the movement went bad after 4 years. AND that was DISCOUNTED!!!

It's nice owning swiss automatics (prestige, hype, exclusivity), but not that nice. After buying one of them, I always have a bad taste in my mouth...like I know I just got ripped off...no matter how much "swiss watch-masters hand-made craftsmanship" the sales person touted about). With my two purchases of the Seiko SNA411 and the Chase Durer Pilot Commander, I've never felt so good about a luxury watch purchase.

I'll take a high-quality quartz watch (swiss or japan movement) any day over ANY of my swiss automatics now that I know better. So go out, find a watch that suits you...enjoy it :-) I know I will be enjoying BOTH of my latest additions :-)Seiko Men's Flight Alarm Chronograph Watch #SNA411

It's no Breitling, but it sure feels, functions and looks like one. I don't use the flight bezel since I use a computerized E6B so I can't rate that. I use it for the looks and the sheer enjoyment I get from the watch. You will get many compliments by wearing this watch. If you like watches that are big, bulky and heavy, you will enjoy this one. The construction of the watch is A-1. I recommend it.

Very good quality for this item. It has lots of features and you really have to read the manual if you want to properly use it.

And for this price it's a bargain.

Salut a tous,cette montres est fantastique,toutes les fonctions que vous
demander dans une montre y sont,chronographe,reveil,date,lunette tournante et beaucoup plus.Je dis dans mon titre une brietling pour le prix d'une timex et c'est vrai,ok vous avez peut-etre pas un mouvement swiss automatique mais vous avez le look et ce n'est pas une fausse montre.Cette
montres Seiko est une montres de tres grande qualité avec ces couronnes
visser elle est etanches jusqu'a 200 metres,elle a un look extra,la taille
est parfaite pour ce type de montres.Avec une fabrication digne d'une montre beaucoup plus cher.J'ai cette montre depuis un mois et je lui trouve
aucun defauts et en plus elle est beaucoup plus belle en realité que sur
photo.Je vous conseille fortement cette merveilleuse montre de qualité
pour le prix d'une fausse montre.

I was a little on the fence regarding this purchase, and before it came I sent a request to the seller to return. Well, the watch came and I was flabbergasted. It looks extremely beautiful and it has a distinct look that sets it apart from other watches in this price range. There's no way I'm going to part with this watch any time soon unless someone steals it from me. I hope that it will keep well over the next few years as I plan to wear it A LOT!!!

This watch especially in Black keeps outstanding time, Looks great and is useful. I am an instrument nerd I love analog dials. The Dials on this watch really resemble the Dials in air craft Black and white with the yellow chronometer. The Face is average sized however the slide rule around the crystal makes it look exponentially larger. I love showing my friends that I can do complicated equations with the slide rule, your friend s mouths will drop when you break down the simplest equation or show them you you can figure out fuel consumption or how much fuel it will take to cover a certain distance with just the turn of the bezel.

THIS WATCH IS EVERYTHING IT CLAIMS TO BE, ALTHOUGH FAIRLY HEAVY IT FEELS VERY COMFORTABLE. THE ONLY THING THAT AMAZON DONT TELL YOU IS AS THEY ARE NOT SEIKO AGENTS THERE IS NO SEIKO WARRANTY BUT AMAZON DO OFFER A TWO YEAR ONE THROUGH THEM, SO I QUESS IT IS NOT ALL BAD. SO IF YOU WANT AN EXCELLENT WATCH WHICH KEEPS AMAZING TIME, I WOULD RECOMMEND IT.