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Product Description
It’s obvious where the Makara Sea Turtle II gets its name: with its thick, almost-armored shell-like case, the watch looks like something you might find swimming alongside you off the coast of Mexico. You certainly could wear it on a dive, too: water resistant to 300 meters, the Sea Turtle II is built for slippery conditions Read More
I was so stoked to buy 2 Sea Turtle IIs (one stainless, one PVC) when they went on sale. I am a backer of the Sea Serpent on Kickstarter and, while they are (understandably) several months behind, I figured this would give Nad and team some working capital and get me some Makara watches at a fraction of the web site price. All I can say is I love it more than I thought I would. It's exactly as big a watch as I could wear (52mm lug-to-lug), but it's a very solid build and has all the features I'd expect. I'm wearing the stainless one first as it has more contrast, but I love the hacking seconds, hand-wind feature, double-domed sapphire crystal. Here it is, after about an hour on my wrist...I'm surprised it doesn't get in the way, but I'm able to type, etc., without any issues. Really making me look forward to my Sea Serpent in (hopefully) a few weeks time:
Loving this watch, the design & the company...it truly is unique & really does stand out on the wrist. Very comfortable to wear as well. Got one of each model now + already pre-ordered the new Sea Serpent models as well. My only concern is that one of them keeps stopping even when on the wrist so will need to address this but not concerned as the brand seems very customer focused.
Yes, I dug the size and design, but I was interested in a Bronze watch at a decent price and the Sea Turtle, checked all the boxes for me. Initially I wasn't wild about the rubber strap (attracts dust) but I've learned to live that. I'm still not wild about the buckle--I don't mind the design, but it doesn't lie flat and the protruding edges are sharp. Seems it should have been smoothed and beveled on a wheel before calling is a finished product. So, love the watch, not thrilled with the strap and buckle. Easy fixes for both--I have my eye a little Stingray strap over on Etsy, and it's a knock out.
By the way, I've had no quality control problems with the watch, what so ever--zero, nada, nothing.
Here's my Sea Turtle after a year or so:
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UPDATE: Makara announced a new watch last week, the Sea Serpent, in several different colors and case finishes. I chose this one:
ThePhantom008Guessing MD got a certain allotment of each color, and Bronze just happened to be the first to sell out this time around. We never know how many of anything are available in a given drop.
If that's the color/material you really want, best suggestion would be to go through Makara's website. There's always the chance this drop will come around again in the future, but there's no guarantee.
Good luck!
I love the look of this watch. It's very bold, and it draws the eye. However, it's not bulky and wears very comfortably. The band is very supple. The black PVD is holding up really well to minor bumps. I'll likely buy more from this brand. Very impressed overall.
BUYER BEWARE!!! Horrible customer service and quality control on their timepieces.
I've been waiting since May to get a response from customer support in regards with what to do with my broken Makara Bronze Sea Turtle II. It is disappointing that it's taken this long. Their existing customers who have bought their older watches don't matter anymore when there's a new product launch. Any watch-repair shop has advised that I just buy a new watch since it's not worth repairing such a cheaply made timepiece (yikes). Apart from a few aesthetic blemishes from manufacturing I was willing to just ignore these and still enjoy the watch (or so I had thought).
My Sea Turtle II randomly developed a wobble in one of the marker hands and now is to the point where there's audible rattle within the case (like something wasn't tightened down adequately during assembly) and no longer keeps accurate time or works. This is from normal daily wear, not from doing anything else. My Citizen Night-Hawk Eco-drive of 7 years has better build quality and still works perfectly after having climbed active volcanoes and taking it everywhere around the world.
I can't recommend Makara anymore based on my experience which has been poor. Absolutely zero follow-up from Makara customer support and it seems they don't give a shit about their existing customers other than taking their money. At this point I have moved on and will no longer consider sub $300 boutique-made automatics (there's a reason why they cost only $300 or less).
manassampatJust an update, I also have messaged Makara via Facebook (on Aug. 7 2019), they've seen my message (read receipt says so at least) and are not responding still.
I loved this watch but the crown threads did not last. After 4 months and less than 10 days of wrist time the crown threads gave out. For months I've tried getting in contact with Makara support with no success. Now I'm stuck with a beautiful brick I can't wear nor fix.
TonyEEI have had exactly the same problem with the crown (after approx 10 months of ownership). Makara also ignores all of my emails seeking support. My guess is that there are so many faulty Makara watches that they simply cannot fix them all and it is easier to ignore all the complaints. I pre-ordered my Makara and thought I got a bargain. Since Makara give zero warranty support, it was no bargain. Look elsewhere for a decent watch. Makara is a disgrace to the micro brand watch community.
Update 1-18-2019:
The movement is consistently about +5 secs a day, which is great. I bought a new strap and I'm a lot happier with how the watch fits and looks. One niggle I have is that the gap between the case and spring bars is very tight. I tried to upgrade the bars to some more robust 3mm ones to match the weight of the watch but it wouldn't fit a nato strap through. That aside, I'm sure regular bars are fine, I was probably over thinking. All in all, I'm happy with the quality and esthetics at this price.
Pros
Sapphire crystal
Bronze
Seiko NH35
Cons
My Casio Duro has better lume.
You can see the dimples in the face where the indices were pressed in.
The spring bars are sleeved which would be a pro of the strap was decent. I'll have to cut the pins out.
The Invicta-ish buckle has sharp edges, is huge, sticks way out, and is ugly as sin. My $38 Casio Duro Diver honestly has twice the refinement and finish.
Conclusion
Over all, I feel like I got a prototype. It has a good movement, so far but it's really early to tell since I got it today. It has good specs. It offers a good value. It's just not as refined as I hoped and it's so BIG. I'm hoping, like with my Seikos, a new strap will really make me like this a lot more. Half my complaints are with the strap and that stupid buckle. As long as it's good and water proof and the movement is a typical Seiko, I think a better strap can bring this watch up to satisfactory.
No thanks, I have a couple straps I like on it and I haven't had any issues with it. I'm pretty ok with it. It's good for beach vacations. It's getting a nice patina on it and it's weight reminds me of wearing a diving bell on my wrist, haha.
The watch is big and heavy at 146 gr. I’ve only had it for a 24 hours so as far as accuracy & durability, I have no comment. The natural polished brass I knew would be too much bling for me and had some solution I bought from Amazon ready. In 30 seconds I had it where I wanted it. Easy to polish in highlights or darken . Happy so far given the price. It’s not a dress watch but I have plenty of those
If the crown screw up, you an put your watch in a trash can!
The crown is secured to the case.
And do not expect to rely on the garanty, "customer service" will NEVER answer you (you can read the reviews of the sames cases right here).
I paid the price!
(I put a star, because you must put at least one to post the review)
jayonnaiseSorry. I don't think I anderstood your question.
The issue with the whatch is that the crown is still unscrew. I can't screw it anymore. After complains to Makara's consumer service... Nothing happens...
So I asked by my self a watch repairman, than the guy said it can't be repair cause the crown is secured to the case. If you want to repair the crown, you must find and buy a brand new case...
What a (bad) joke!
It happened very soon (after few days use only).
To everyone who buy this watch, it's gonna happen to you too, just a question of time. Hope late as possible