Personally, yes the nautilus and aquanaut are my least favourite offerings.

Well if the competition is offering sapphire at that price point, why cant seiko?

I find my hardlex get scratched often enough for it to be annoyance to me. In a sub 300 dollar watch, no problem.

Not to rattle on, but seiko did offer sapphire in their sarb line, at a great price point. Sarb033 is my daily and I love it.

I feel seiko has tried to break through into the more mid tier level, over entry, and for me personally has lowered my love for the brand.

The SARB line was the pinnacle of value for me. Now $500 doesnt even get you sapphire crystal.