Black and gold has always been a killer combination, this one reminds me a lot the iconic Lotus 97T from the 1986 F1 season and Senn's maiden victory at the Estoril!
Not exactly a Bond watch, but how about Bond villain watches? LOL
Sometimes enthusiasts don't give a true appreciation for quartz movements, and I get that the majority of quartz watches sold worldwide aren't worth much.
Then when you see the accuracy in timekeeping of radio controlled calibers, and how easy it is to maintain such watches, it is hard not to appreciate it.
Here's a pair of Brightz SAGZ079, 7B24 movement, one from late 2015, the other late 2016, just after syncing with WWVB and ticking happily together.
Enjoy the weekend!
Arrived this week from Japan, had its spa day today with ultrasonic cleaning and a gentle refinishing of the polished faces of case, bezel and bracelet.
One of the most solid GADA from the extinct Brightz collection, can't go wrong with solar + radio + titanium!
All I know it's a 7009 movement, but nothing much further...
Yes, it's old, it's beat up, but it's still rocking!
Some watches impress by being complicated. This one impresses by making everyday ownership remarkably easy.
The Seiko V158 solar movement charges from light, so there’s no routine battery replacement to think about - just wear it, give it regular exposure to light, and let it do its job. It’s the kind of dependable, low-maintenance quartz watch that makes an excellent daily companion.
At 37mm, the stainless-steel case has classic proportions that wear comfortably without feeling oversized, while the crisp white dial keeps the look clean, versatile, and easy to read. One particularly charming JDM detail is the bilingual day wheel, which lets you display the day in Japanese Kanji - a small touch that gives the watch noticeably more character and a stronger connection to its Japanese origins. It works just as naturally with a button-down shirt as it does with jeans on the weekend.
There’s nothing flashy or overcomplicated here, and that’s exactly the appeal: a well-proportioned Japanese solar watch built around convenience, reliability, and understated design, with just enough distinctly Seiko personality to keep it interesting.
SPECIFICATIONS:
• Brand: Seiko
• Reference: V158-0AE0
• JDM Model: SNE037P1
• Movement: Seiko V158 Solar Quartz
• Case Material: Stainless Steel
• Crystal: Hardlex
• Bracelet: Stainless Steel
• Dial Color: White
• Diameter: 37mm
• Lug to Lug: 45mm
• Thickness: 10mm
• Lug Width: 20mm
• Max wrist: 7 1/4" (18.4cm)
CONDITION:
Excellent. No marks or scratches. Battery fully charged.
WHAT'S INCLUDED:
• Watch and Seiko box.
SHIPPING:
• Free USPS Ground Advantage shipping within the US - ask me for USPS Priority rates
• UPS Worldwide Expedited available for international buyers - DM me for rate
• Ships within 1 business day of payment (same day if order is submitted before 2pm Central)
PAYMENT:
• Paypal, Venmo or Zelle
RETURNS:
• 14-day returns accepted. Buyer pays return shipping.
Check my eBay storefront for reviews and other listings: https://www.ebay.com/usr/fale-9
Unloke its smaller siblings, this model at 40.5mm diameter and 46.5mm lug to lug has more wrist presence, highlighting the simplicity that is a Seiko signature.
The turquoise dial is fantastic! At 38mm it feels just the right size!
Swatch had the chance to make a lot funnier colorways, and they did that hideous Sun that is the ugliest yellow shade ever.
Problem is, the market already associates Citizen with affordable watches, or watches for citizens, and they are absolutely the best at it. But Citizen Group doesn’t really have a clear entry-luxury strategy. Their "entry luxury" brand, Frederique Constant, isn’t really playing in the same field as Longines. It feels more like it’s fighting in the Oris/Mido zone. Respectable, but not exactly the same emotional weight.
The funny part is that Citizen absolutely has the capability. A finely regulated automatic Miyota Series 9, finished to the same level as The Citizen, would probably beat Longines to death on specs and finishing as soon as the market shifted its mindset But not even Citizen seems concerned about changing this mindset. speaking of other brands in the group, Bulova, at this point, is mostly perceived as a fashion/watch-mall brand with some cool exceptions. Frederique Constant doesn’t carry enough group prestige, Alpina is not luxury, Arnold & Son is truly luxury but not relevant market share, Campanola has way too many complicated complications not named Patek. And Citizen itself is trapped by its own success: people see the name and think "good affordable Eco-Drive," not serious luxury contender.
So Citizen ends up in this weird position: they are the largest watch seller in the world, with the historical and industrial ability to make something genuinely excellent, but they don’t have a solid luxury ladder, and their answer for that is simply not good enough. The Citizen competes with Grand Seiko 9F at a lower price point, with potentially similar finishing. But it lacks the name recognition, the mythology, and the market training behind it.
And then, of course, people are already calling it "chickenwatch" because of the little bird/eagle at 6 o’clock. That pretty much sums up Citizen’s problem: they can make the watch, but they haven’t taught the market how to respect it.
Picked this one today to root for Brazil in the World Cup, because it's the closest one I have with green and yellow, and to remind the times when Brazil was rhe truly greatest football nation in the world.
And also to reminder for the remaining teams in the tourney, like this pie pan and curved hands, stay classy - be more like Cape Verde and less like Paraguay.
Old beat up LM deserved some TLC, so I took my time today to replace the crystal and the gasket, give it a light polishing and full ultrasonic spa bathe, finishing with a fresh suede strap and a Seiko box.
I'm not the best photographer on Earth, but I liked the result!
Spitting image
From Ben's watches article: https://substack.com/@benswatches/note/p-202763455
Full text to save the click:
The Real Reason Rolex Discontinued the Pepsi
Jun 19, 2026
In April, at Watches & Wonders 2026, Rolex did something everyone expected, but they did it quietly.
No press release. No farewell post. They just pulled both ceramic “Pepsi” GMT-Master IIs off the website and said nothing. And the red-and-black “Coke”? It never showed. For the first time since Rolex started making ceramic bezels, there is no red anywhere in the catalog.
Obviously, the market did what the market does. Pieces that traded around $19–24k before the news pushed past $30k almost immediately. Unworn examples have reportedly cleared $40k. A lot of money for that watch.
And the story everyone kept saying was the obvious one: Rolex wanted to create hype. Classic Rolex. Manufactured scarcity.
That read is half right. But it has the cause and effect backwards and once you understand why, the whole thing gets a lot more interesting.
Here’s the part almost nobody talks about, because it lives in patent filings instead of press releases.
Every other ceramic bezel Rolex makes; the all-black, the Batman blue-and-black, the green, is built on zirconia. It’s the hard, stable ceramic base that holds color beautifully and survives the firing process without drama. It’s why a black Cerachrom bezel is essentially indestructible and looks identical from the first one off the line to the last.
There is one problem with zirconia: Rolex has a hard time making a stable red.
There’s no mineral pigment that produces a uniform, reliable red in a zirconia base. None. So the Pepsi can’t be made the normal way. To get that red-and-blue, Rolex starts on a softer base, makes the whole bezel red, then masks half of it and soaks it in a chemical bath that turns the exposed half blue. Then it gets fired a second time, at around 1,600°C according to what I found online.
Think about what that means. The single most iconic bezel in watchmaking is the one Rolex has the least control over. Rolex’s own 2013 patent admits the results “may not always be consistent.” The Mk1, Mk2, Mk3 color variations on these ceramic bezels are actually collectible and you can spot differences because the process drifts. Industry sources say the reject rate on the Pepsi insert is materially higher than on any other bezel Rolex makes.
So sit with this for a second. Every black bezel that goes into the furnace comes out usable. With the Pepsi, a meaningful chunk of them come out wrong. How many? No one really knows. But enough that Rolex discontinued the entire watch.
The discontinuation isn’t a watch that stopped selling. It’s a part that was never fully manufacturable, finally being retired.
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My take (pretty cold, I must say): this argument is certified-grade BS. Let's say the unit cost of a bezel is $around 15, if the yield is 30%, make it cost $100 instead - make it $200. For a watch that retails at $18k, "being a nightmare of getting a consistent red" is just part of the game, not a reason to not make it anymore. Rolex just wants to contain the market, to make them even more scarce, and eventually relaunch it as limited editions and hike their prices even higher.
Yes, it is a hefty piece, that would only work if made with the only S-tier watch material on Earth. And Seiko nailed with the choice.
