Having recently re-watched the 1979 classic Apocalypse Now starring Martin Sheen as Captain Willard, it reminded me that the Seiko 6105-8110 he wears is one of those watches that I still want.

Sort of.

First, there’s the price. An original vintage Seiko 6105-8110 “Willard” is quite precious, as they’re rare and owners know it. Even the Seiko re-issues of this model, the SBDC109, or the SPB151, are not what I would consider “competitively priced” when you consider what you’re getting. For me, “cool factor” only goes so far. Second, a vintage watch, being from 1970, is going to need maintenance and care, and will lack the performance of anything new — I still want to be able to tell the time, and if it loses a couple minutes every few hours, what’s the point? Third, I would be less comfortable about wearing it casually, for the above reasons, and that significantly detracts from the value. Finally, I already have a 1977 Seiko 6309-7040 “Turtle”, a similar case shape, not quite as rare or desirable, but again I wouldn’t be taking it to the beach for fear of water ingress or similar damage.

Luckily, there are options, for someone like me who values a low-cost fun watch, and wants to actually wear it, not just collect it and store it in a box. Extremely functional, high quality and feature-rich examples fill this niché: the homage. In this case, the Steeldive SD1970, an homage to the Seiko 6105-8110, copying all the design features of the original, but in an inexpensive package that doesn’t empty your wallet and cause mild anxiety every time you put in on your wrist.

Go on to YouTube to see dozens of reviews of this exact watch, comparisons with the original, with the Seiko re-issues, with other homage watches that likely come out of the same factory, and so on — so I won’t bore anyone with details about specifications or rehash what’s already been done to death.

I will say that so far, I love it. Feels great wearing it, looks fantastic, all the reviews praising this watch are completely correct. Unless you’re using a macro lens, you can’t see that the brushing on the case is slightly rough, or that the hands aren’t beveled, or any other minor specific differences from the original or re-issues that cost multiples more. If those minor details matter to you, then by all means go for it and spend the extra. To me, the re-issues are overpriced, and the originals are too precious.

What you have here is a fantastic recreation of a vintage look, that functions extremely well, with zero fear of ruining an expensive piece of history. Anyone who can’t appreciate that is, simply put, a watch snob.