MkII MMT Blackwater

Bill Yao makes good stuff. His MkII custom parts such as dials, hands, and bezel inserts have been a roaring success. His parts fit Seiko's ubiquitous 7S26 movements and the ETA 28xx family of calibres.

Did you wish that your SKX007 looked more like a vintage Seamaster 300? Well now it can. The parts you'll need for your soon-to-be customized diver are the MOD 300 no-date dial, MOD Sword hands, and aluminum chapter ring. Don't forget the sapphire crystal while you're at it. You can even buy the base watch from Bill and have him install the parts or you can just order the parts and have your watchmaker install them.

I remember trying to decide what I wanted. A Seamaster, Plongeur, or maybe even a Type II homage? Alas, I never pulled the trigger. Then Bill started making his own watches from the ground up starting with the Quad10. True to form you could select which dial and hand set you wanted. This piqued my interest even more, but I still didn't pull the trigger. Finally, the MMT Blackwater was announced on MWR and prototypes were shown not too long after. Now this was a watch I knew I wanted.
I was lucky enough to get on the pre-order list and almost a year later this arrived:

I chose the Type I configuration complete with GMT bezel and the Limited Edition Type I hands. (The difference between the LE and non-LE ladder hands is that there's a rectangle on each hand that doesn't have lume on it. This is just like in the original Benrus Type I and Type II.) I love the sterile, no-date dial. The only disappointment was that the fixed-bar option turned out to be financially unfeasible.

To complete the "look" I wear it on one of Bob of MWR's mil-straps. I now prefer these mil-straps over G-10s. They're soft, comfortable, tough, washable and of consistent quality. Unfortunately, the latter is something you rarely get with "NATO" straps.

My MMT Blackwater has become my go-to watch. I've been wearing it almost everyday since I received it a few months ago. Bill regulates the ETA 2824-2 to 6 positions and it shows. It's keeping time to chronometer specs at +1 to +/- 0 seconds a day! You can't ask for much more than that.

As my first and only MkII purchase I have to say I'm quite satisfied. The quality of the parts, fit and finish is on par with Sinn. I'm looking forward to Bill's next project: A Blancpain Fifty-Fathoms inspired piece!