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21 of 23 persons found the following review helpful.
a great watch and an icon.
By N8N
First of all, for those of you that don't know, the Seiko SKX007/009 are basically the spiritual successor to the Seiko 6xxx diver's watches that were so usual as tool watches in the Vietnam War era. At a glance, it's hard to tell them detached - the main divergences being the subtle deviations in the case shape and the shape of the indices on the face. The 007 is the current black bezel version, the 009 has the "Pepsi" red/blue bezel for a little added color in your life. It uses a Seiko 7S26 automatic motion which is a decent dependable motion with only a few drawbacks - more on that later. This watch shipped from Amazon's warehouse in Kentucky different from the remarks from a great deal of former reviewers. I've only had this queer watch for a few hours, so I can't speak to the accuracy of this watch in particular, but I've been wearing a Seiko 5 with the same motion for months now and other than it running somewhat fast (not strange for an out of the box mechanical motion that's never been regulated) I can't complain when it comes to it at all. So as to this watch - let me tell you all the little, niggling things I *don't* like when it comes to it, so you may make an educated purchase. First of all, the 7S26, not similar to the Swiss ETA 2824-2 in my other dive watch (which, to be fair, cost in regards to 5x as much) can not be hand wound, nor does it "hack." What that means is, when you pull the crown out to the time setting position, the seconds hand keeps running, so you can not synchronize it to the second with a time source such as a top of the hour beep on the radio, an "atomic" clock (really a clock synchronized to WWVB, but that's another discussion) or the NIST web site. Not a huge deal unless you're actually need that precision, and if you did, you'd be wearing an "atomic" watch anyway. And the "poor man's hack" works on this motion - set the time, then hold a little back pressure on the crown (turn it in the opposite direction ever so more or less to the direction you'd turn it to advance the hands) and that ordinarily stops the second hand. When your time source catches up, let go, et voila, synchronized watch. Also, the bracelet is to be kind, flimsy - not strange for Seiko watches. I candidly purchased the bracelet version only because due to the inscrutability that is Amazon it was for less than the rubber strap version. I'll be putting this on a Mil-NATO strap I think, but if you like bracelets, there's a great deal of aftermarket bracelets out there far nicer than the firstborn Seiko ones - only the high-end Seiko watches get actually nice bracelets. Also, the bezel action is a little light, altho I haven't worn it sufficient to see if it ever rotates by itself. This peculiar watch just showed up at my door today, so I haven't had a chance to see how the lume lasts, but traditionally Seiko lume is regarding as good as it gets - if you want something more visible at night, you genuinely need to be looking at watches with tritium hands and indices. The bezel insert is printed, not engraved, for what it's worth, and the crystal is "hardlex" (a Seiko proprietary hardened solid homogeneous inorgani substance crystal material) which is less scratch immune than sapphire but in truth more or less more affect resistant. (you win some, you lose some. And I'm not conscious of any watch at this price point w/ a real sapphire crystal anyway.)
All that said - if you've got as far as reading this review, you in all probability ought to go in front and buy this watch. It's damn near an icon in the world of tool watches. It looks good without being a copy of someone else's design (how a good deal of Rolex Submariner homages does the world in truth need?) and at the same time is an evolution of a design that is a classic in it is own right. Seiko makes a hell of a movement, I have no reason to doubt the 200m rating, and if you in truth want near-quartz accuracy from it, just wear it every day for a month or two to let it break in and then take it to your local watchmaker and have him regulate it for you. $150 (I see now it's $145?) for a quality automatic waterproof watch finish with screw down crown is not a bad deal at all.
Anyway, above and beyond all that, for more watch-geekery goodness, there's a decent sized aftermarket out there with dissimilar bezel inserts, hands, dial faces, etc. for this series of Seiko watches for those that just have to have something completely different.
Edit: William Jean sells solid-link bracelets for Seiko watches with solid end links and decent quality clasps. I'm waiting for one to arrive now even though the watch is fine on a Mil-NATO strap. After wearing this watch for a while I've found that it only gains a few seconds a day, though more than that isn't strange for a 7S26.
Edit #2: I tried the William Jean "super oyster" bracelet but ended up going back to a Maratac Mil-NATO strap. It just seems to fit the reputation of this watch better, though the Super Oyster does make for a nice combining with this watch. After having owned this watch for a while I have a few nits to pick with regards to it; I still like it but figured I would report on the negatives. 1) the crown does not screw down as nicely at that of my Marathon GSAR. To be fair, the GSAR costs in regards to 5x as much. 2) the auto-winding mechanism is not very efficient. If I wear the watch all day it has lots of power reserve, but I have had a few occasions to wear a watch to bed, not having an alarm clock handy. I find that the GSAR is the choice for that duty; if I pick up the Seiko and it has run down, I apparently do not move sufficient in my sleep to wind the watch; it will stop running overnight. This is not a problem for either the GSAR (ETA movement) or my Vostok Amphibia, but it is for the Seiko. Unfortunately the Seiko does not handwind, and the Vostok's lume is awful, so the GSAR is in truth the only choice for that duty. Not a circumstance that most people will care regarding but in the interest of full disclosure I thought I must add this to my review.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful.
Good Watch....... time tested movement
By Mutant53
I have come the age (50) that I wanted an automatic watch that had the Day of the Week. I also think they have more "Soul" that a quartz watch. I also have a Rolex. But I wanted something I could bum around in and not worry much in regards to hurting it. It's like a older car with carburetor, it's not perfective but it's not suppose to be. Mine runs reasonably accurately...now that I stopped messing around with main spring adjustment thing on the inside. I have too much time on my hands I guess. It runs just as good as my Rolex for various thousands $$ less and looks great.
10 of 11 persons found the following review helpful.
Built like a tank, wont break the bank...
By Fredrick S. Adam
Bought mine closely seven years ago and wear it all day, each day, swimming, working out, or for a night on the town. Besides my wedding ring, it's the only jewelry I wear, and I've have had innumerable compliments on it, and never a moment's problem. Hope to have it another seven years. Best watch I've ever owned.
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