Momentum Sea Quartz 30

[Pahonu]

Styles and Pahonu, get onboard! I know there are other watches at this price point that are well made decent quality but you guys are Magnum fans. It’s a must have IMO. It’s gotten 90% of my wrist time since I received it, my Tudor has gotten the rest.
My simple breakdown is this:
Accuracy is great.
Comfort is great.
Lume is good, could be better.
Bracelet is great.
Strap is very good, could be better.
Looks are awesome.

My daddy taught me to never give in to peer pressure. LOL! Seriously, I’m not really much of a watch collector. My current collection has a grand total of two. Most of what I know I think I learned here. I generally find a watch I like and keep it until I break it. I still can’t believe my 35 year old Casio is still going and I haven’t damaged it like the others I’ve had over the years. I got my latest about 3 or 4 years ago. If this was available back then I probably would have chosen it based on the great reviews. It does sound like a solid watch.

[Merona]

You can add me to the list of satisfied Momentum customers. I received my Sea Quartz a few weeks ago, after ordering it at the end of summer. To be honest, I mainly bought it because I felt like I could not pass up the fun offer (watch + Paradise Found shirt) they ran during that round of sales. I got a Steinhart Ocean 39 GMT too (which I'm incredibly pleased with as well) and thought I'd only wear the Sea Quartz on the odd occasion. However, I've been positively surprised by the quality of the watch. It's very comfortable - I was planning to get a bracelet for it but actually really like the strap it came on so stuck with that - and looks better than I expected. It's great value for the price, but also just really nice to own in general. I'd recommend it to any Magnum fan looking to get a watch.

[Merona]

I've been wanting a Magnum watch for a while now. This thread - which I read from start to finish yesterday - has been really helpful and a joy to read. Many thanks to all the contributors! It's a pleasure to join this board, after visiting it from time to time for years.

Literally the day I'd pulled the trigger and concluded that I want to get a Steinhart Ocean 39 GMT, the email from Momentum about the new Sea Quartz batch and promotion arrived. Back to square one! Then, when I'd decided that this promotion was too charming to pass up and fully on team Quartz again, I saw the exorbitant shipping costs as I was about to pay for my order... Sigh.. I haven't ruled it out yet though. The fact that it's the original company and that they're catering this to us Magnum fans is quite appealing.

Maybe it's not the right topic, but since it's part of the Sea Quartz promotion: could I ask those of you who already own one of the Paradise Found shirts for advice? I normally wear a medium size and like my shirts to have a tailored or slim fit. I considered ordering a 'small' based on the advice to order one size smaller than usual, but when I check the measurements it seems like my regular size is exactly in between the small and medium models... What to do? I wouldn't like a shirt that's too big, but naturally I still would like to be able to wear it... Any advice?

I'm normally a size medium in most shirts. I bought a size small Jungle Bird shirt made by Paradise Found and it fit me well.

Cheers!
To The Regiment

This turned out to be great advice. I opted for a size small and it fits perfectly. Many thanks again!

[Raykv423]

https://momentumwatch.com/collections/s ... 0774334688

So Momentum is making a solar version of the Sea Quartz 30. Figured you guys should know

[Raykv423]

and also Momentum also have a Pepsi GMT variant

https://momentumwatch.com/products/m20- ... 3041531058

[Raykv423]

Got my Momentum SQ30 yesterday, and ...

wow...

This is pretty awesome.

Some initial thoughts:

1- The genuine Tropic strap seems much nicer than this one. This tropic-style strap feels like hard rubber compared to the my name-brand Tropic strap, so I'll swap it out at some point for my name-brand one, and I'll probably buy a second name-brand one. The Momentum one has a quick-release on the bottom, something my name-brand Tropic strap does not have. That's a nice detail.
2- The inclusion of a shirt in the sale is another nice touch, and I look forward to wearing it. I did not try it on yet... wife is washing it today, and then I'll change shirts.
3- The Momentum SQ30 is nearly a perfect copy of the original.
4- The Momentum is a few mm shorter (from glass to back case), a welcome change. I have no complains about the size of the Chronosport, but it is definitely chunky on my 6.5" wrist. This one is still big (42mm is big on my small wrist), but I don't care. I like a lot of 42mm watches, and that size does not stop me from buying and enjoying them. I do not own anything larger than 42mm.
5- The crown is extremely smooth. I never had any complains about my Chronosport crown until today. This one makes my Chronosport's crown feel gritty.
6- The bezel is perfect: not too tight, not too loose. My Chronosport is too tight, probably because it's 40 years old.
7- It will be nice to have a SQ30 that I can use in the pool. I am a desk diver, but I do wear all of my dive watches while swimming at the pool, and sometimes at the beach. My Chronosport has never seen, and will never see, water. I don't trust a 40-year-old dive watch's depth rating!

I think this watch is beautiful, and I think this is an excellent purchase at this price point, for any watch/Magnum fan -- especially with the shirt, but I would have bought it at this price even without the shirt.

Now for what you've really been waiting for: the side-by-side pics. It is difficult to show the height side-by-side, but there is definitely a noticeable difference.

You're definitely the only person to have the original Chronosport Sea Quartz 30 AND a Momentum Sea Quartz 30.

[eagle]

and also Momentum also have a Pepsi GMT variant

https://momentumwatch.com/products/m20- ... 3041531058

Oh, very cool. I wonder which type of GMT this is. My guess is that it is a Caller GMT, not a Traveller GMT, but I'm sure that's fine.

[Nikita70]

The Pepsi looks nice. Definitely affordable, it would be great if you could get all three inserts but I don’t know how they work. I know some like on Rolex GMT they are held on by a pressure fit. Some watches they are held on by glue.

[eagle]

The Pepsi looks nice. Definitely affordable, it would be great if you could get all three inserts but I don’t know how they work. I know some like on Rolex GMT they are held on by a pressure fit. Some watches they are held on by glue.

On the Steinhart they are glued. I would guess they are glued.

I also wonder how many detents there are on the GMT -- 24, or 120? I'm guessing 120.

[Nikita70]

Even if glued, if the bezel is a snap ring type then same would apply you’d have to purchase the extra bezels as well, not just the inserts.
Formex watches have this feature but they are much higher priced.

[Raykv423]

Great review and pics eagle!

I put mine on a jubilee mostly for the ease on/off, but I like the way the tropic strap feels on my wrist better.

With the obvious success of this model, I'm wondering if Momentum will come out with their own pepsi GMT?

Their quality seems to be top shelf for the price range. If they do, I'd probably spring for one!

Nice shirt too!

Check this out:

and also Momentum also have a Pepsi GMT variant

https://momentumwatch.com/products/m20- ... 3041531058

[Raykv423]

Thanks Styles! You know the models of my watches better than me.

It does have a heavy “patina” as you say. I just keep it as a beater watch now. I can’t believe it still keeps great time and I never cracked the crystal. It’s closing in on 35 years old. After badly cracking the crystal on another dive watch that I had, and the watch shop giving me a repair bill close to the price I had paid, I got the Invicta and started the swapping watches routine. I wear the Invicta to work and other nice places. The old Casio is out for the weekends working on my boat or the Westy or camping as I mentioned.

I remember buying the Casio at a watch store near college and it had the bracelet option and a plastic strap option. I didn’t have the money for the bracelet. After several years the plastic strap broke and I was recommended a Tropic by a fellow diver. This waslong before I joined this forum or learned that TM had used one, maybe the mid 80’s or so.

I also remember that I used to have the battery replaced at a shop along with the seal, just to keep it water tight. I gave that up long ago. After several Tropics, I tried the one you see in the photo, but it was a little too snug. I’m a very big guy, if you remember. Not long after that it photo I got the NATO strap, just in black. I keep things pretty simple most of the time.

If I may ask, how long you had your Invicta?

Also you had your Casio for 35 years....wow, I still have my first watch I got in 2015 when I was 11. It doesn't work anymore lol but still. And I only had my oldest still functioning watch, a G-Shock, for 4 years now.

[Pahonu]

Thanks Styles! You know the models of my watches better than me.

It does have a heavy “patina” as you say. I just keep it as a beater watch now. I can’t believe it still keeps great time and I never cracked the crystal. It’s closing in on 35 years old. After badly cracking the crystal on another dive watch that I had, and the watch shop giving me a repair bill close to the price I had paid, I got the Invicta and started the swapping watches routine. I wear the Invicta to work and other nice places. The old Casio is out for the weekends working on my boat or the Westy or camping as I mentioned.

I remember buying the Casio at a watch store near college and it had the bracelet option and a plastic strap option. I didn’t have the money for the bracelet. After several years the plastic strap broke and I was recommended a Tropic by a fellow diver. This was long before I joined this forum or learned that TM had used one, maybe the mid 80’s or so.

I also remember that I used to have the battery replaced at a shop along with the seal, just to keep it water tight. I gave that up long ago. After several Tropics, I tried the one you see in the photo, but it was a little too snug. I’m a very big guy, if you remember. Not long after that it photo I got the NATO strap, just in black. I keep things pretty simple most of the time.

If I may ask, how long you had your Invicta?

Also you had your Casio for 35 years....wow, I still have my first watch I got in 2015 when I was 11. It doesn't work anymore lol but still. And I only had my oldest still functioning watch, a G-Shock, for 4 years now.

I’ve had the Invicta for a little over five years, I believe. The Casio is still working after all those years. It’s had multiple straps and numerous batteries, but it’s still ticking and keeps reliable time… better than the relatively new mechanical.

[eagle]

You're definitely the only person to have the original Chronosport Sea Quartz 30 AND a Momentum Sea Quartz 30.

I might be. And yes, I do wear both. Matter of fact, I think I'll switch to my Chronosport now.