If you are a fan of vintage looking watches, especially a fan of the vintage Seiko 6105-8110 diver, but would rather something a little more modern in terms of materials, then you are probably going to love the Athaya Vintage Lamafa.
Athaya is a brand out of Indonesia, and this is their second model. Their first was a Laco Pilot homage. Now, while this is an homage, it is an homage of a piece that is not as easy to get as say a Rolex homage that we are all used to. Instead, they went ahead and built a watch that is very close to the original, with just a few different aspects, such as the dial and hands, and case back logo.
The Athaya Lamafa has the same smooth lines and contours as its Seiko predecessor, and seeing this watch in person, reminded me of where the original Zodiac Oceanaire got its design cues from.
The Athaya version is a 44mm brushed stainless steel case, with a domed sapphire crystal, Seiko NH35 automatic movement and Swiss C1 superluminova. It is available in 2 colors, black or blue sunburst dial, both with or without date. Today we take a look at the Blue no date version, with its matching blue waffle rubber strap.
For an even better look than the photos I took, take a look at my video review:
Here are the full specifications of the Athaya Vintage Lamafa:
- Case Material & Finishing: SS 316L, Brushed.
- Case Dimension: 44.30 x Lug-to-Lug tip 48.00 x Total Thickness including glass 13.50
- Lug size: 20mm
- Weight: 107.4 grams
- Glass: Domed Sapphire with Colorless AR Coating.
- Bezel: SS 316L, 120 clicks, Unidirectional.
- Crown: SS 316L, Screw down Triple o-ring with AV Logo.
- Case back : SS 316L, Screw down with engraved design and AV Logo.
- Movement: Seiko Instrument Automatic NH35A Hacked second.
- Strap: Rubber Strap with length 140/80 and brushed diver style buckle.
- Water Resistant: 200 meter
- Luminova: Swiss C1 Superluminova on Dial, Hands and Bezel pip.
- Packaging: Athaya Vintage Handmade leather travel case.
- Price: $350 USD.
Some reviews I do not mention packaging at all, even though I will always take pictures of it. That is because many times it is just a standard box, and there is nothing to really talk about. With the Athaya Lamafa, it comes in a beautiful handmade leather travel case, that is a nice caramel brown color, lined with microfiber, and enough space for your watch, some extra straps and tools. I love these types of travel cases, and not only is this one very well made, but it is also very practical, as opposed to elaborate packaging that will never see the light of day until you sell it or decide to move.
- 1 2
Nate griff
I like that grumpo gamma, Don. Thanks for the excellent review.
Stephen Chan
Thks for the write up.
johnny johnny
thanks for your review and video. i did a review on the athaya website, which i’ll post here, hopefully you can let it all post, tho a bit long:
so happy to review this watch, especially since it’s the first review. am a writer so this may be long.
i had developed a love of the Apocalypse Now watch, the seiko 6105‑8110. there are some really nice homage watches being made and i bought the most popular one, but upon receiving it i became aware that the top crown guard on these, and almost all others out there, was way too big compared with the original. so, i just wouldn’t wear it and still have it.
i began a search on the internet to see if anyone had got the original case correct, being a fan of these early seiko divers, and almost to a manufacturer, none had. except…
finally i came across this watch, the Athaya Vintage AV002. i was blown away, there it was, a top crown guard that was correct! i had a cup of coffee and spent the next hour comparing photos online of the original and this piece, and they were as alike as 2 watches could be. i began scouring reviews, and found that all agree about the remarkable accuracy, which is not ‘replica watch’ accuracy, but a tremendous love and appreciation of the original by this maker. even the dimensions differ slightly. this is quite an amazing feat, so i had to have one.
i went for as spare and clean as possible, getting the strap without date. in photos the dial is somewhat like the original, but didn’t really nail the seiko look, BUT upon receiving it in person, i must say it very much has the seiko vibe and to a large extent the 6105‑8110 dial look. some real frosting on the cake.
in person this thing is very big, which is great as i love big divers of that period. but on my wrist it looks like i stepped back in time to the Mekong Delta. i was a few years too young to have gone to Vietnam and, not a fan of war, but am a collector of vintage milwatches. so, to get such a beautiful piece true to the original was a real treat, myself not expecting this to be so much of a reincarnation.
as for all the other stuff having to do with watches that we all care about, the QC (quality control) and build, i can say this is certainly better than seiko (for those who know their alignment issues). but saying something is better than the often misaligned seiko divers is not saying much, so i will add that this piece is a perfectly made in all respects as any Swiss diver in the $1000 and up category.
some particular loves of mine are the accuracy of the crown to the original (tho this has an athaya signature), the beauty and very 60s vibe of the dial, bezel, hands. also the lume is superb. of course, what we all adore most is the perfection and accuracy of the watch case. this is an homage in the best sense of the word, made with clear love and respect for the original.
as some early reviews of the watch said, the rubber straps were not all that much. since i had to have this on a rubber strap as i don’t wear bracelets, Adrian notified me that the original straps were brittle and cracking now as of 5 yrs past the original manufacture, and he’d at no cost send me one with a bracelet. i said absolutely not, send me one on the cracked/brittle rubber and i’ll put on my own strap, which i often do anyway. so that may be something new buyers will be made aware of.
the pouch this came in is a beautiful microbrand style leather. it came very quickly when shipped. but most of all, this is one of my dream watches, sitting on my wrist as i type this, and i thank Athaya for making it. especially with such love and respect for the original!