As someone who just recently became interested in wristwatches, I began looking around for a high quality diving watch in anticipating of a trip to the Caribbean. The Seiko line of "Monster" watches seemed very popular, and so I took the plunge and went with the Orange Monster over it's more sedate brother the Black Monster. I'm glad I did.



The first thing to know is that this watch is heavy. You definitely feel it on your wrist, and I suspect it would make a presence even on a person with large wrists (I happen to have fairly small wrists, so it makes even more of a presence on me!). However, the heft never feels bulky or uncomfortable; it just feels SOLID, and that's a good thing. I will say, I was surprised that the watch does not sit higher on the wrist, so it can easily slide beneath a shirt cuff if necessary. But the construction of the watch, from the bezel to the case back to the bracelet itself, gives it a fantastic feeling of sturdiness. Exactly what you want in a diver. It's smartly designed, too. The crown (which is screw down) is located at 4 o'clock; a nice touch, so it doesn't dig into your hand when you bend it. The little things make a difference.



The face itself is clear and very readable. No numbers here, just big lume dots to indicate the hour with a day and date window at three o'clock. A nice touch is that Sat and Sun are in different colors (blue and red, respectively) which, although it's a little thing in the grand scheme of life, makes the weekends a little more unique. Also, for those who need it, the day is also available in Spanish.



I need to take a moment to mention the lume. I had read that it was impressive, even saw YouTube videos of it. None of those images do the brightness justice. It's unbelievable how bright it is. Just 10 minutes or so in the sun literally provides hours of brightness. I am not exaggerating when I say that during a recent power outage, I used the lume from the Orange Monster to help me navigate a dark closet and find a flashlight. It's that bright. I'm sure over time that this will fade somewhat, but even if it eventually ends up at 70% of what it started at, this will be a watch that you'll have no problem reading in the dark (or under water...it is a diver after all!).



The bezel is unidirectional and has 120 clicks. It has just the right amount of give, and is not so easy to turn that you'll bump it out of position, but not so tough to turn as to need a wrench. The bracelet feels very sturdy, and has a nice safety clasp to ensure that the release buttons don't accidentally open the watch. For those who do dive, a diver's extension allows it to fit over your wet suit.



It's an automatic, so don't expect the precision of a quartz. However, I have found the accuracy to be well within the posted range. Watching the second hand sweep across the dial is so smooth its hypnotic. My experience with the power reserve is that it's a respectable 36 hours or so. I have a couple of different watches in rotation, so occasionally this one runs out of juice and stops. However, it's easy to set and start again, so no worries there.



All in all, the high rankings both here on Amazon and at other locations are entirely justified. The Orange Monster is the real deal, and is exceptional quality at a ridiculously reasonable price. Sure, a Rolex Submariner might be the more prestigious dive watch. But in my divers I want reliable and durable with a heavy dose of personality, and so the Orange Monster fits the bill.