The Sumo, nicknamed by the fans on popular Seiko forums, was released way back in 2007 as part of the Prospex line, which stands for Professional specification. From afar, the Sumo looked like another dressy diver that rolled up from the Seiko production floors in Japan to accommodate only the watch enthusiasts in their homeland. But as soon as people started wearing them, and considering numerous stocks crawled out to other countries in Asia and even in the Americas, the owners themselves realized that this was just not another dressy desk diver to toy with, but this may very well be the "perfect" dive watch in any scale it be.
What does that mean? Well the word perfect is a very strong descriptive word but that is exactly the word I uttered once I put in on and gave it a thorough review for almost an hour.
For one, the case design tops the list. The case is classic representation of art in the hands of a watchmaker or shall we appropriately say hands of a robotic case machining machine. A quick glance along the sides of the case shows you detailed brushed and polished lines alternating like it was cut through a wind tunnel to flow through smoothly in the ocean. The 44mm case, to which is kind of normal size for watches nowadays, stands perfectly on the wrist and flows smoothly as you move about. The lugs extend long on the top and at the bottom giving the watch a good grip to stay flat on the wrist. And speaking of long lugs, the Sumo's are one of the most beautiful I've seen in a divers watch. The wide arched top to the narrowed end with chamfer going to the center where the bracelet solid end links meet, the total physique is just genius design and a work of art.
The Sumo doesn't have a crown guard. And I would strongly agree with the designer on this move. Crown guards would radically destroy the beauty and grace of the case. And besides, positioning the crown at 4 o'clock serves the purpose already for both comfort and protection.
The rotating bezel, as customary in any analog diver watch, sits nicely on top of the case with the sides slightly covered by the case while the lug area is open for the user to operate. Operation is quite smooth, not too hard, and not too smooth. One thing I really like about this bezel is the insert has a recessed inner area which complements nicely going to the crystal giving the bezel insert more body and complexity. Something you don't see quite often even on the Marine Master or even on Submariners. The markings on the insert is wide and unique, a perfect match for the Sumo's case.
The Dial, oooh the dial. May it be black, blue or orange is just perfect too. The large hour circle markers give that maxi look. The controversial 12 hour indice together with the 9 and 6 o'clock markers complement the whole package with simplicity yet unique. The date aperture shows the white date disk, where some preferred it to be black, but believe me it looks better the way it is, balancing the 9 o'clock marker. And the all white 4 liner markings "Seiko", "Automatic", "Scuba", "200M" is also again perfect. Not cluttered, not sterile, just.....right.
The hands too are big and bold, leaving no time unnoticed while the subtle second hand glides smoothly along. The tip of the second hand is inspired from the 6105's which I say is truly unique to Seiko.
Many have said that the weakest link of the Sumo is its crystal. And that Sapphire is the best crystal for any watch especially for a Sumo in its price range. Well, many have also countered that thought about the properties of mineral crystal that is more advantageous compared to that of Sapphire. Seiko's Hardlex mineral crystal may scratch, but will never break and shatter. It's more function and durability and puts aesthetics as second priority. Like what we have now with our cars, the window glass doesn't shatter like they used to in case of accidents, and of course we passengers don't want that. So I guess I rest my case for the Sumo's crystal. It rightfully deserves the famous Hardlex mineral crystal.
The Sumo's engine is Seiko's mid level 6R15 inhouse movement. In a nutshell, its quite an upgrade which was based from the massly popular 7S26 movement that has hacking and winding capabilities. But most importantly, 6R15 uses a more advanced Seiko Spron spring for its main spring and balance wheel, giving the Sumo more power reserve and better precision in achieving accuracy. An in-depth review can be found at the Seikoholics corner.
Link to Seikoholics.
And lastly, the bracelet is solid stainless steel that is nicely decorated from the solid end link up to the clasp. The 20mm lug width shouldering the wide 44mm case is unbalanced to many, but the ratio difference makes the look give more attention to the watch head and that the bracelet is there to support it. That is what I hate about thick straight bracelets, it's like it's stealing the show of the watch itself. It's well made and well finished, with extension clasp and double push botton folding clasp. Some have preferred swapping it with Marine Master's ratcheting clasp, but the price for this additional accessory doesn't make it practical at all. It would have been a miracle if Sumo would have this as its stock clasp.
If we look at pure current Seiko classic divers line, the four models below would come to my mind. They represent the different levels of Seiko classic divers at different levels of price, finish, movement and overall value. The SKX007 priced at $150-$200 is the entry level where everything is basic yet still very respectable and is the direct descendant of the classic Seiko divers watch. The SBDX001 aka MM300 is priced around $2,200-$2,500. Considered the grail for seikoholics sports a high end 8L35 Grand Seiko movement housed in a greatly finished monocoque case. And the holiest grail will be the SBDB001 SD600 with GMT that is without barking into any Grand Seiko territory. At a price point of around $4,000, it has the "best of both worlds" 5R66A spring drive movement, incredible finish with additional power reserve and GMT indicator. With that line-up, I believe the Sumo SBDC001 has the perfect balance of price practicallity with outstanding value and quality and undeniable iconic design.
The Sumo, when it was released in 2007 had the price tag of almost $500. Now its on the level of around $600. The increase is primarily due to inflation of course the demand of this piece as people knew more about it. Now we don't know exactly when Seiko stops making the Sumo, but I kid you not, as soon as the Sumo line finishes off with the last piece, the second hand market will quickly rise to its feet and accomodate the Sumo with a higher price tag worthy of its value.
and more pics to prove my point.
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