Alba AL-4005X "Manta Ray" Diver’s 200m review
Watch History
- Date acquired: Apr 2nd 2007
- Production Date: Sep 2005
- Source: A small quaint watch store in Penang
- Price paid: MYR280 (USD85)
- Status: In production
Background
It’s a diver’s watch. It’s big. It’s blue. It’s very affordable.
It’s a very interesting offering from Alba, Seiko’s sub-company specializing in lower end quartz and automatic timepieces at down-to-earth prices.
What is it? It’s the Alba AL-4005X and when I first saw it at my watchmaker’s store back in 2005, I was intrigued by Alba’s surprising foray into dive watches based on Seiko’s highly successful entry level, 7s26 caliber.
Alba boldly introduced its 7s26 diver’s models into its “Alba Active” lineup, expanding its sports watch category. I’m not sure if the AL-series are Alba’s first divers but they certainly are the first ones that borrowed the 7s26 movement from Seiko.
I didn’t quite like the ones which my watchmaker showed me - I remember they were the white dialed AL-4001X and black AL-4003X, both on stainless steel bracelets. However, the build quality of these watches impressed me - not bad for a sub-USD120 automatic diver.
At the time I was more interested in Seiko divers and wasn’t particularly inclined to get an Alba diver. Still, it surprised me that Alba decided to introduce true diver’s models into its present offering lineup of watches targeted at the young and trendy.
The AL-4005X is available only on a 22mm polyurethane rubber strap (borrowed photo)
Years passed and I noted with interest that SCWF members discussed the AL-series divers on and off. A few bought the watches and proudly unveiled them in the forum. Of the entire lineup only two models stuck some interest in me - particularly the blue AL-4005X and the black AL-4055X. These two had a special dial watermark that consisted of tiny embossed tiny manta ray shapes. My eyes were drawn toward the AL-4005X due to its lovely sunburst blue dial. Forum members wasted no time in finding a nickname for these interesting species - they settled for “Manta Ray”, a tag very much befitting the AL-4005X and I couldn’t agree more! 
Here’s a partial lineup of the Active AL-series divers.
Alba’s lineup of its diver’s watches from its product website. The white AL-4001X is curiously omitted from the list.
Limited editions are available in two versions - the AL4055X with black TiCN coating for the Asian market and the hard-to-find, AL-4011X “Ji Dai” yellow-and-blue model for the Japan market. Due to its appearance, some folks dubbed it the “Lego” after the famous Danish toy manufacturer of educational model construction sets.
Above: The Limited Edition, AL-4005X (400 pieces only)
Closeup pics of the Limited Edition AL-4011X (photos from SeiyaJapan.com)
Look and feel
The Alba AL-4005X is surprisingly a comfortable timepiece despite its 44mm case diameter size. It settles on your wrist nicely and doesn’t wiggle around. I noted that the underside of the case has a generous footprint which means less pressure on your skin.
My watch came with a 22mm polyurethane strap which in my opinion is of a rather inferior quality. Firstly, the strap keepers were not wide enough to let the strap end through. It was a very tight squeeze and once threaded through, it was very difficult to retract the strap. Furthermore, the strap was rather rigid and hardly pliable. It was uncomfortable to say the least. 
If you thought Seiko’s standard Z-22 rubber straps are stiff, this one is even worse.
The stock rubber strap didn’t meet my expectations and had to come off (borrowed photo)
Although the AL-4005X doesn’t come with a stainless steel bracelet, you can purchase it separately. Some owners have done this - junked the polyurethane strap away and retrofitted with a bracelet.
I’m no longer a fan of rubber straps and I knew that I would change the factory strap to a Morellato Cordura-Lorica, which is a water resistant strap with a leather backing. Morellato is a premium leather goods manufacturer from Italy and also supplies OEM straps to high end Swiss watch brands. Needless to say, as soon as I returned from Penang off I went to my watchmaker’s for a strap change.
My Alba AL-4005X next to my SHC063P Sawtooth, both on Morellato Cordura-Lorica straps.
Naturally, the special sunburst dial and repeating manta ray outlines are the main highlights of the Alba AL-4005X. I’ve never seen Seiko produce diver’s watches with sunburst dials before and I’m glad Alba wisely experimented with two models with these radiant-looking dials.
Closeup photos of the AL-4005X’s dial and hands and crown (borrowed pics)
The Alba’s case is well constructed and its sides are polished. A nice touch is the well-designed crown guards that protect the recessed screw-lock crown. The crown itself is easy to twist and I like the knurled edge, which is not only aesthetically pleasing but also aids grip.
The bezel and top side lugs are semi-matte or semi-polished, if you like. Speaking of the bezel, it has rather fine knurls for grip. Unidirectional turning and with 120 graduations (or clicks), it turns quite easily despite its low profile. The minute markings are engraved and filled with enamel paint. The first 20 minutes are in red and the rest in black. However the shiny bezel means contrast is rather on the low side and reading off it is difficult in tricky lighting conditions.
I would have liked the lumed dot on the bezel to have a triangle surrounding it because locating the dot is a bit hard, no thanks to the bezel’s low contrast.
Thankfully, the AL-4005X’s day/date is the white-on-black type which complements the glossy black dial ring nicely and the calendar window itself is framed in a white outline. The hour markers are also framed in chrome and the markers’ shape remind me of shark teeth to me.
The standard watch comes with unique, thin wedge shaped hands. Of particular interest is the hour hand which has an elongated “Y-frame”, dividing the luminous surface into three sections. I suspect the design of these hands is aesthetically motivated rather than to serve as practical and functional.
Shark tooth-like markers are the hallmark of the Alba 7s26 divers. The hands are rather thin for a proper diver’s watch though.
The second hand is painted red to match the equally red “Diver’s 200m” text on the dial. Unfortunately I think red color against a blue background is kind of hard to read. A better alternative color would be yellow, which would have a better contrast. Or at least, plain white. If you’ve seen lots of photos of professional diving watches, you’ll notice that they don’t use red color or avant-garde shaped hands.
If there’s anything that’s disappointing with this Alba 7s26 diver is the rather mediocre lume. It’s slightly dimmer as the Seiko SKX007 and certainly nowhere near the brightness of the Seiko Sawtooth, Sumo, Knight or Monster. I would rate its luminosity to that of a conventional Seiko 5 automatic or a contemporary Seiko quartz.
Here’s a borrowed shot of the Alba’s lume. I haven’t gotten to taking my own lume photos of my watch yet, so this will do for the time being.
The AL-4005X’s lume is actually dimmer than this time exposure photo suggests.
I have no idea why Alba didn’t elect to use the same grade of LumiBrite that Seiko uses - perhaps the company didn’t want it to compete against the higher priced Seiko divers. This has got to be the poorest performing stock lume in my entire diver’s watch collection (vintage divers not counted).
Dimensions
Here are the measurements of the Alba AL-4055X:
- Diameter: 44mm (without crown), 46mm (with crown)
- Lug-to-lug: 47mm
- Thickness: 14mm
- Lug width: 22mm
It’s definitely larger than the classic Seiko divers like the SKX007 but falls short of the more gargantuan divers like the SBDC001 Sumo. The use of 22mm lugs mean myriad aftermarket strap/bracelet combinations. You’re gonna have fun doing a mix-and-match, trust me.
Here are two wrist shots of my AL-4005X, on a 6.5-inch wrist. The manta ray pattern is clearly visible in the picture on the right.
In case you’re wondering how the same watch looks like on solid linked, stainless steel bracelet, here’s a photo courtesy of Thomas H. (Motowatch) from the Seiko & Citizen Watch Forum.
Specifications
- Caliber: 7s26A, 21 jewels
- Caseback type: 7s26-X005
- Movement: Automatic, non-hacking
- Beat rate: 21,600 bph (6 beats/sec)
- Loss/gain: Less than 40 sec/day
- Power reserve: About 42 hours
- Calendar: Day/date, dual language
- Construction: Stainless steel
- Crystal: Hardlex glass, flat profile
- Bezel: Unidirectional, 120 graduations
- W.R. rating: 200m, ISO certified
- Luminous material: LumiBrite™
- Movement Singapore, cased in China
Conclusion
I gotta admit that if not for the awesome sunburst blue dial and the ridiculously low price, I wouldn’t have bought the AL-4005X in the first place. 
The Alba diver looks more like a fashion sports watch than an actual tool-of-the-trade timekeeper worn by serious scuba divers. It’s good-looking enough to take to the local swimming pool and impress onlookers but this would not be the watch of my choice if I ever went scuba diving.
The AL-4005X gives great bang for the buck and I would recommend this to “desk divers” like myself -those who collect diver’s watches but don’t take them to the water.
Would I buy this watch again? Yes I would, but it’ll be the same model. I would probably swap the hands as well while I’m at it. For the time being, I’m leaving the hands as they are. When I get tired of them, there a plenty of choices from Seiko’s 7s-caliber divers to select from.
What I liked:
- Well designed case with Seiko’s dependable 7s26 movement
- Exceptionally unique sunburst blue dial
- Crown guard and crown design
- Easy-to-grip knurled screw-in crown
- Standard 22mm lugs
- Probably the cheapest 7s26 based diver from the entire Seiko Group
What I didn’t care for:
- Factory rubber strap is uncomfortable and poorly made
- Mediocre lume for an ISO-certified diver’s watch
- Hands design could have been better
- Red second hand and text doesn’t blend well with the blue dial
- Bezel markings difficult to read in poor lighting conditions
Quartzimodo’s Rating
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Comments
Hi lloydy,
The Blue Monster and the Alba AL-4005X are not in the same league. Agree with you that the Alba has a nicer looking dial but the Monster is a more proper diver’s watch than the Alba.
The hands and weak lume of the Manta Ray makes it a poorer choice for a practical dive watch than the Monster, IMO.
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looks like a prettier blue monster