Seiko Men's Skx009k2 Diver's Automatic Blue Dial Watch Preview
First of all, for those of you that don't know, the Seiko SKX007/009 are essentially the spiritual successor to the Seiko 6xxx diver's watches that were so popular as tool watches in the Vietnam War era. At a glance, it's hard to tell them apart - the main differences being the subtle differences 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 movement which is a decent reliable movement with only a few drawbacks - more on that later. This watch shipped from Amazon's warehouse in Kentucky unlike the comments from some previous reviewers. I've only had this particular 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 movement for months now and other than it running slightly fast (not unusual for an out of the box mechanical movement that's never been regulated) I can't complain about it at all. So as to this watch - let me tell you all the little, niggling things I *don't* like about it, so you can make an educated purchase. First of all, the 7S26, unlike the Swiss ETA 2824-2 in my other dive watch (which, to be fair, cost about 5x as much) cannot 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 cannot 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 really need that precision, and if you did, you'd be wearing an "atomic" watch anyway. And the "poor man's hack" works on this movement - set the time, then hold a little back pressure on the crown (turn it in the opposite direction ever so slightly to the direction you'd turn it to advance the hands) and that usually 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 unusual for Seiko watches. I honestly purchased the bracelet version only because due to the inscrutability that is Amazon it was cheaper than the rubber strap version. I'll be putting this on a Mil-NATO strap I think, but if you like bracelets, there's plenty of aftermarket bracelets out there far nicer than the original Seiko ones - only the high-end Seiko watches get really nice bracelets. Also, the bezel action is a little light, although I haven't worn it enough to see if it ever rotates by itself. This particular 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 about as good as it gets - if you want something more visible at night, you really 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 mineral crystal material) which is less scratch resistant than sapphire but actually somewhat more impact resistant. (you win some, you lose some. And I'm not aware 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 probably ought to go ahead 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 many Rolex Submariner homages does the world really need?) and at the same time is an evolution of a design that is a classic in its own right. Seiko makes a hell of a movement, I have no reason to doubt the 200m rating, and if you really want near-quartz accuracy from it, just wear it daily 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 complete 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 different 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 although 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, although more than that isn't unusual 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 character of this watch better, although the Super Oyster does make for a nice combination with this watch. After having owned this watch for a while I have a few nits to pick regarding 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 about 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 enough 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 really the only choice for that duty. Not a situation that most people will care about but in the interest of full disclosure I thought I should add this to my review.
Click Read full reviews button in below for more information about this product.
The offer listing page displays sales listings for a product offered by a variety of sellers. In certain categories, listings may also be offered in a variety of condition types (New, Used, and so on). Customers reach the offer listing page from the product detail page or from links provided in search results.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on this site at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Seiko Men's Skx009k2 Diver's Automatic Blue Dial Watch Overview
Seiko Men's Skx009k2 Diver's Automatic Blue Dial Watch Feature
- Product feature not available.
Seiko Men's Skx009k2 Diver's Automatic Blue Dial Watch Detail
- Product Dimensions: 5.9 x 5.9 x 5.9 inches ; 11 ounces
- Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
- Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
- ASIN: B000OP1M6M
- Item model number: SKX009K2
Seiko Men's Skx009k2 Diver's Automatic Blue Dial Watch Other Resource
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship - Wikipedia, the ...The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament performed each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams ...
YMCA - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Young Men's Christian Association (commonly known as YMCA or simply the Y) is a worldwide organization with more than 58 million beneficiaries from 125 national ...
If you need more resource you can visit Wikipedia, Yahoo, Google or The Official Website from this product.
0 comments:
Post a Comment