Head-To-Head: Seiko Prospex Fieldmaster LOWERCASE SBEP001 "Digi Tuna" versus Seiko Prospex Fieldmaster LOWERCASE SBDJ029 "Field Tuna"

For old companies designing consumer products, there will come a time when a fresh injection of ideas is required to revitalise the design philosophy and thinking. Take for example brands such as Samsung, Volvo and many others. In the last few years, exciting designs by these brands have caught market interest which have translated to increased sales. The same is not lost to Seiko.

SBEP001 "Digi Tuna" (L) and SBDJ029 "Field Tuna" (R)

Enter the collaboration between Seiko and the with the Japanese design consultants LOWERCASE. Incorporating the basic design of its iconic Tuna casing, the collaboration has be able to bring something fresh and exciting to an otherwise sterile styling. Lead by Mr. Yuki Kajiwara, creative director of LOWERCASE, two basic design was introduced; the Digi Tuna series and the Field Tuna series. I was lucky enough to be able to acquire one from each series. In the collection I have the SBEP001 "Digi Tuna" and the SBDJ029 "Field Tuna".

As tabulated, below are some of the specifications of both watches.

Specifications	SBEP001 "Digi Tuna"	SBDJ029 "Field Tuna"
Power/Module	Solar, S802	Solar, V157
Display	Digital	Analogue
Case Material	Stainless steel with plastic shroud	Stainless steel with plastic shroud
Band Material	Seiko silicon diver strap	Seiko military green NATO strap
Glass Material	Mineral glass	Curved Hardlex glass
Bezel	Bi-directional friction control	Unidirectional 120 clicks full rotation
Power Reserve	Approximately 5 months	Approximately 10 months
Accuracy	±20 seconds per month	±15 seconds per month
Water Resistance	20 bar	20 bar
Size	H49.9mm x W49.5mm x D14.1mm	H44.2 mm x W44.5 mm x D12.1 mm
Lug Width	22 mm	20 mm
Weight	80 gm	69 gm
Controls	Four pushers and one touch screen	Screw-down crown
Case-back	Solid plate with four screws	Solid screw-down
Illumination	LumiBrite bezel pip and back-light	LumiBrite painted hands and indexes
MSRP	YEN28,000	YEN42,000
Bracelet Parameter	Max. 210 mm	Max. 200 mm
Functions	Time & calendar (including DST) Dual time display  World time with 44 cities Stopwatch, timer & recall functions Solar monitor  Power safe & sleep functions Alarm (3 different times) Sound demonstration function Back-light	3-hands; hour, minutes, seconds Date
Production	JDM (Japanese Domestic Market)	JDM

Although both watches came from the same base DNA of the Tuna, they are different like night-and-day. The SBEP001 "Digi Tuna" is a digital watch with a number of electronic complications programmed into a computer chip in its heart whereas the SBDJ029 "Field Tuna" is a quartz watch with basic analogue display.



In terms of dimensions, the SBEP001 is much bigger then the SBDJ029 in many ways. The size difference is visually striking.



Both watches offer differing functions and should not be compared against each other. In reality, the SBEP001 is a watch best suited for extreme users whereas the SBDJ029 is a watch best suited for typical adventurers. Below are some of my observations regarding these two watches.

SBEP001 "Digi Tuna"	SBDJ029 "Field Tuna"
An issue I have is the bi-directional bezel. It is designed more like a Marinemaster instead of a Fieldmaster. A cursory look will cause anyone to come to the wrong conclusion that the watch is a diver when it is clearly not.  As it is, this series has created some confusion with fans (myself included).	An issue I have is the location of the date aperture. The designers sacrificed the 4 o'clock as well as the 16-hour markers for the date window. This styling disrupt the symmetry of the dial unnecessarily. Why can't they just locate the date window where it does not need replacing anything else?
Another issue I have with this watch is the strap provided. The standard accordion silicon strap of the SBEP001 is generally provided to dive watches which further confuses the true purpose of this watch. Moreover, the accordion section of the strap is too 'bunchy' for my taste. A simple strap would have been sufficient.	Another issue I have with this watch is the strap. Paired with the watch is an olive green nylon NATO strap which is too thin in my view. I believe it should be thicker. As it stands, the 'thinness' makes it feel sharp and it pinches the skin sometimes.

As highlighted in the first table, both watches are JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) models. If you want to get one, you need to source from a Japanese merchant or an on-line merchant with links to Japanese suppliers. This is unfortunate. With internet, everyone can see such an offering by Seiko. Courier services have also reached a level of sophistication that anything can be sent anywhere on the world. Keeping it only to a specific jurisdiction would riled up a lot of people as it feels as it Seiko prefers to sell only to a specific group of people (can we define this as 'business racism' perhaps?).


Conclusion

A good start by Seiko to inject new blood into its design philosophy. Although it appears to stumble a bit in terms of some design elements and marketing strategy, it can be remedied without much effort by Seiko. Honestly, I can't wait for more collaboration going forward.




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