Seiko & Citizen Watch Forum Message Archive

I recently purchased an Ollech and Wajs M4 just to see how a moderately priced swiss automatic diver would fare against the Seiko diver. Both are new offerings from each company. Here is what I came up with.

Case & Bezel: Seiko wins, hands down. The Seiko case is much bigger, and rugged. It is thicker than the slim Ollech and Wajs. The Bezel movement on the Seiko is much smoother. In fact, the M4 looks like a midget compared to the Seiko. I actually broke out a midsize from my collection to compare it with the M4, but the M4 is in fact a man's size. After wearing the Seiko so long it is taking some getting used to. I almost feel like this M4 is fragile despite its legendary reputation as a rugged reliable timepiece.

Fit and finish: Again, Seiko wins easily. The Seiko finish is flawless. My M4 has a very noticable flaw in the tritium dot at 12:00. It's clearly off center, intruding into the white arrow it's supposed to be centered upon. In addition, the M4 bezel does not line up properly with the dial, presenting perhaps a 1/2 second difference.

Luminosity: This may be a matter of taste. The hands on the M4 are tritium and so they glow at any time whereas the Seiko will eventually burn out. However, the Seiko is much brighter than the M4 even after an hour of darkness. The tritium on the M4 is very dim and requires you to strain to see it.

Movement: The Ollech and Wajs wins this hands down. It has the ETA 2824 movement in it which has gained only one second in 4 days. Perhaps this accuracy will fade when it is worn it but so far it's the most accurate automatic I've ever had. The Seiko tends to gain about 8 seconds a day, even after the 90 day period, which isn't bad. Also the M4 has a hacking mechanism which makes it easy to synchronize, and also has a manual wind feature, which while I don't ever anticipate using, does afford the wearer some peace of mind. I like the 7s26 of Seiko, but it is far outclassed here. Seiko must get an automatic with the hack and manual wind if only to be competitive with the Swiss in this area.

Overall: If I know what I do now and had to choose between the two I would get the Seiko. In a perfect world I could put the ETA movement into the Seiko for the world's perfect watch. With the Seiko you just feel like it can take anything, it's so massive and strong. The M4 is no doubt a good watch and I plan to wear it for a time, but the Seiko is more attractive and rugged.