Proxima Bronze SBDX001 NH35 Tuna Diver

Affordable and covetable watches from China
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Hidden Impact
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Proxima Bronze SBDX001 NH35 Tuna Diver

Post by Hidden Impact »

When Athaya came up with his own brand and homage to the Seiko, my attention was grabbed. I never really knew much about the brand or the history, but I was a bit more intrigued. Tuna cans, turtles, razor bezels and more. This is a cool brand! I’m a diver watch fan, after-all. Despite the relative affordability, I discovered there are several homages and factories/companies/enthusiasts to the Seiko diver.

Here is the “Proxima Watches” brand homage to the Seiko Marine Master Pro 300. I ordered from the web, but they also sell on ebay and have a Facebook page. I decided on the Bronze (CUSN8) version. <<I’m kinda into this alloy as of late.>> The dial has HIMQ as a brand on the face. I have no idea what this stands for and I’m quite confused why the brand decided to roll these out with this instead of Proxima. There must be a reason, but I have not found out. The Marine Master is replaced with Shark Master. This makes me wonder if this is the same factory as the infamous “Sharkey” brand…although there is no iconic shark figure like so many of those homages. In fact, there is a dolphin out back stamped on a stainless plate (for those sensitive to bronze). Perhaps this gesture is put here to mock the shark? Dolphins can be conniving creatures, but I’m curious why the dolphin instead of a shark out back.

The case is a Monoblock and top loader. I haven’t torn it down because I haven’t had a need to. Crystal is a really nice sapphire. I decided on the sapphire bezel with lume instead of the ceramic black and gold. There are several other options, but I felt this version was fun. Lugs are 20mm. I decided to order the stretchy “Marine National” watch strap with a plated bronze clip buckle. I’ve never seen this style of strap. It’s neat, but I prefer the leather or rubber. The leather pictured here is the beautiful Sandara strap by our very own Straps68. Thanks, Michael! I put a bronze buckle from “Strapsonly” out of the uk. The movement is the NH35. The lume must be C3. It glows like a torch.

The final touches here are the patina. I couldn’t let this thing patina on its own and stay clean and shiny, so I went though many rounds of sanding, and LOS treatments. I finally decided on a “steam bath” session in a Tupperware of LOS/Water/Vinegar until this pattern came out. It’s the most interesting pattern of green/blue marbling I think I’ve ever made or seen. It goes well with the bezel which I initially thought was out of place.
There you go. It’s been a great little watch at 44mm. Until I have a need to tear it apart, I will enjoy it as is. Hope you enjoyed the read and the photos.
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Last edited by Hidden Impact on May 4th, 2019, 10:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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drkside
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Re: Proxima Bronze SBDX001 NH35 Tuna Diver

Post by drkside »

Great review, thx for sharing. Going over to ebay now and search.....
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Re: Proxima Bronze SBDX001 NH35 Tuna Diver

Post by Mike777 »

Looks great with that patina! Thanks for sharing your patina method.
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Re: Proxima Bronze SBDX001 NH35 Tuna Diver

Post by Hidden Impact »

Mike777 wrote:Looks great with that patina! Thanks for sharing your patina method.
I accidentally forgot to mention, after getting the dark patina, I used a polishing wheel and cleaned it up using a cloth wheel and a bronze "stick" (brown/red compound)to get the smooth finish before the LOS sauna.

The sauna was just the case inside a Tupperware (not submerged) adjacent to an open cup of LOS/water/vinegar

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Mellons
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Re: Proxima Bronze SBDX001 NH35 Tuna Diver

Post by Mellons »

Great review thanks for posting!
"Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black."

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Re: Proxima Bronze SBDX001 NH35 Tuna Diver

Post by jibuti »

nice patina you have there....and that Seiko movement is a working horse....

tnx 4 pics...
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Re: Proxima Bronze SBDX001 NH35 Tuna Diver

Post by Laer »

Thank you for the good review.
I've been wondering if I should buy it for about two months.
I have SBDX012 as daily beater but very interested in this bronze version.
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Re: Proxima Bronze SBDX001 NH35 Tuna Diver

Post by blueradish »

I've seen these quite a bit on FB, believe they also make a few other models. Agree the HIMQ thing is odd. Looks great on the vintage leather.
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Re: Proxima Bronze SBDX001 NH35 Tuna Diver

Post by Emilio »

Nice watch!

The same happened with my San Martin tuna watch. It was branded with just some initials. Maybe a way of repurposing rep dials?
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Re: Proxima Bronze SBDX001 NH35 Tuna Diver

Post by hako »

Great watch.
Quality looks superb.

At which shop did you buy it?
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