What was Seiko thinking when they designed the D229-5010

[elceedee]

No, its not about the beautifully wicked model with its four front buttons, a rotating stem and its partly matrix display..

Its about its case which is not made of stainless steel, but is made of basic steel with some sort of matt chrome coating.

One of the very few Seiko LC's with a non SS case, its really making me wonder.. As I feel that this model with its features most definitely deserved a stainless steel case (like the sports 100 version)

You guys have any thought on this? Was there a steel crisis in 1980?

Having this said, here is mine. In a very good shape considering most of these are in worse shape. Crisp lcd panel, fully functional and with its original bracelet.
Its the D229-5030. Im having a hard time finding info on the 5030 case/bracelet combo as the similar D229's online are often 5010 ;

[Delmarva]

No steel crisis. I suspect that Seiko using a clad rather than a solid stainless steel case may have been an experiment in cost reduction. Or it could be called a test to see if consumers would accept a design like that. By 1980 prices for LCD watches were dropping ever lower and this may have represented an effort by Seiko to maintain profit margins much as Casio has done with their metallic cases.

I'm new to the world of vintage lcd watches so I'll ask what may be a question with an obvious answer. Did Seiko use the clad or plated design on other later watches? The case on my somewhat simpler design A257-5010 from March 1981 is stainless steel.