Seiko 5 Review

I hadn’t owned a mechanical Seiko until recently. I was looking for a daily “beater” watch that still looked good without costing me an arm and a leg. A number of posts at the Poor Man’s Watch Forum and on WatchUSeek praised Seikos as a good choice in this category. I picked mine up on ebay only a few months back. The subject of this review is a Seiko 5 model, a twenty-one jewel automatic. This particular version is widely available on both the Internet generally and on ebay through a variety of sellers for less than sixty dollars. As such, it represents a remarkably good deal. I have read that this particular watch is a re-issue of one of the original 1960’s vintage Seikos. I think that it does have a nice classic look to it that would fit in anywhere.

The watch itself is fairly typical of the Seiko 5 line. It is 38mm in size including the crown, uses an 18mm bracelet, has a strong looking stainless steel case, and uses Seiko’s Hardlex mineral glass crystals for both the face and display back. Hardlex is apparently Seiko’s improved version of mineral glass, supposedly more scratch resistant but not as much so as the sapphire crystals used in high end watches. The watch is marked water resistant but no depth rating is given (I have read conflicting accounts of Seiko’s without depth ratings as being either thirty or fifty meters water resistant). Irrespective, the Seiko 5 line does not come equipped with diver style screw-down crowns so one already knows that deep water is out. In the absence of a clear water resistance guide, I am treating this watch carefully by not immersing it for any length of time where possible. As I mentioned, this watch has a display back, a nice feature that allows viewing of the movement. The movement itself has a plain, industrial look about it, but it is still interesting to see. Otherwise, the watch is quite basic although it does show both the day and date.

In the final analysis, there is nothing truly exceptional about the Seiko 5. To a great degree I think that is the point of this line. It is not meant as a technology or style showcase but instead as a hard working daily-wear timepiece. As such, it does have certain limitations. First off, The Seiko 5 line can neither be hacked or hand wound. If you are the type of person who likes to set your watches to exact nuclear time and measure their accuracy, the Seiko 5 isn’t for you. Similarly, if hand winding is important, as opposed to letting the automatic winder do its work as you wear the watch, look elsewhere. Personally I consider these to be minor quibbles, especially in an automatic watch at this price range, but some may feel differently. The other issue for me with this watch was the bracelet. The stock Seiko 5 bracelet is made from stainless steel that is either rolled or folded over on to itself. I am not personally enamored of this bracelet design. Don’t get me wrong, the band holds the watch securely and looks just fine, but it has a tinny feel to it that I felt detracted somewhat from the watch. It isn’t awful at all, again considering how affordable this watch is, but I thought it could be better. Like the earlier reviewed Sandoz, I solved this issue for myself by replacing the standard bracelet with a heavy, solid link model from Hadley Roma (Watchprince has a good selection). Even with the replacement band, this watch still comes in at less than a hundred dollars and that is a very good deal indeed. With the solid link bracelet, it is easy to confuse this humble workhorse with some very fancy timepieces.

If you are seeking a good watch, and don’t ever want to deal with the hassle of changing batteries, a Seiko 5 is a fine choice. It is well made, good looking (I have jokingly referred to mine as a poor man’s Rolex Explorer), and reasonably accurate as mechanical watches go. It is also reputed to be very durable. While I can not personally vouch for this, I have encountered numerous claims that the movement in the Seiko 5 (known as the 7S26-click for an excellent review by the Purists) will run with no maintenance at all for as long as twenty years. Most automatic watches need cleaning and lubrication every few years to operate properly. That the Seiko 5 can go potentially for decades without a care is just icing on the cake, so to speak.