I just received my SPB511 in the mail (from a Redditor), and another post I saw made me want to share my initial impressions and my inspiration for the purchase. Long post is long.

TLDR for the review: Amazing dial, crappy microadjust, incredible dimensions, surprising accuracy (thus far), overpriced... and did I mention that amazing dial? Now for the sappy part.

I spent a decade in B2B sales, and it did a number on me. After a couple of promotions, the stress had me drinking. Before the job, during the job, after the job. The worst part is the more I drank, the better my numbers were. For the last 4 years of my sales career, I was virtually always drunk. People knew, but when you're exceeding quota, people turn a blind eye. I came to the harsh realization that I did not have the strength do my job without drinking. My wife (girlfriend at the time) begged me to quit, and encouraged me to try teaching. She was cool with me cutting my salary by more than 50% if it meant living a healthier, happier life. No wonder I married her. After I quit sales, I immediately stopped drinking. I don't even have cravings. Booze reminds me of that time of my life, and it lost all its appeal.

I found a job teaching AP courses at a local high school. I knew pretty quickly that I loved it. I loved the subject, motivating students, giving them confidence, and injecting nuggets of wisdom I wish someone had shared with me in my teenage years. In the state I was teaching in, teachers receive $50 for each AP test a student passes. I received my students scores over the summer. They crushed it. I dominated the other teacher at my school who taught the same subjects, and she is a teacher of the year winner with a decade of experience. I can't explain the pride I felt in my students and in myself after seeing those scores. I spent about half of the bonus check on this watch to commemorate the life-saving career change, and the success of my first crop of students. I put those kids through hell, and I love them for it.

The watch. I had one last spot in my watch box, and having sold all of my other Seikos, I felt my collection wouldn't be complete without one. I saw this one and fell in love, but the more I read about it, the harder it was to justify the purchase. Seiko's constant issues with bezel alignment. Aluminum bezel. Inaccurate movements. Massive clasp with awkward execution of microadjust. Unsigned crown. All signs pointed to overpriced as fuck. After thinking about it for a couple of months, I realized I didn't care. The dial was too gorgeous to ignore.

Now that it's on my wrist, I can tell you it's worth every penny. The dial is even better in person, shifting seamlessly between silver and white as the lighting changes. I got lucky with the bezel alignment, and I've realized the soft tone of the aluminum bezel complements the dial perfectly. I started to see the silver lining of the unsigned crown, remembering how annoying it is when a signature rests crookedly after being screwed down. Problem solved!

The case dimensions are absolutely perfect for my flat, 6.3 inch wrist. I wouldn't change it by a millimeter in any direction. The WatchAccuracyMeter results have been suspiciously good, giving a reading of -1 to +3 SPD in the dial up position over a few readings. I know positional variance is big with this movement, so only time will tell how it performs on the wrist. I consider myself lucky with regard to bracelet sizing, as my perfect fit only requires the first click of microadjust extension. For those of you unfamiliar with this watch, the microadjust functions by exposing an unfinished bit of metal, which retracts into the massive clasp when not in use. By only using the first click, it doesn't create much of an eyesore.

I know I'll never sell this watch. I feel good feelings when I look at it, and that's why I'm in this hobby to begin with - for that much-needed dopamine. I'm sure I'll loop back at some point in time with updates, but that's all for now. If you made it this far, spare me, and don't crosspost this to the other sub.