SEIKO Automatic Watch for Men 5-7S Collection - with Day/Date Calendar, Luminous Hands, Stainless Steel Case & Bracelet

I'm a big fan of mechanical automatic watches, and the Seiko 5 line is an excellent introduction to mechanicals at a low price. One of my favorite Seiko 5 lines is the "Military" series (there are two lines, actually, this one with the "Flieger" style dial featuring minutes, and another line with the hour numbers primarily shown). This watch is not too large, unlike many watches nowadays. I have never had any Seiko automatic watch fail, except for one of these that I dropped from a height of about 8 feet onto a tile floor, which cracked the back and stopped the watch. This one is running well so far and it looks great. Other reviewers who complain about accuracy may not be familiar with mechanical watches. You should not expect a mechanical to have anything close to the accuracy of a quartz watch. If you gain or lose a minute every few days, that's pretty good for a mechanical, especially in this price range. The 7S26 movement is robust for its cost and many, many, many of these movements have been produced through the years. A mechanical movement such as this would ideally be serviced every 5 to 10 years (relubrication, etc.) but at this price range, I will just replace the whole watch in 5 to 10 years if it isn't running well. If you really want this to be more accurate, it is possible to adjust the watch after it's "broken in", although you should know what you're doing before you attempt that, or should take it to a knowledgable watch shop with someone who has expertise in Seikos specifically. But if what you are really looking for is accuracy, you probably don't want a mechanical watch, you want a quartz watch. Honestly, how many of us really need our watches to be accurate down to the second? Most Seiko 5s I've owned, when fully wound, will run for about 30 hours before stopping. Since I have about 16 watches, I rarely wear the same watch two days in a row, so my mechanicals have usually stopped when I pick them up. I don't mind, I actually enjoy interacting with the watches to restart them and reset them. A Seiko 5 will start if you shake it a few times, and if you're even moderately active, it will be fully wound in the course of a day. By the way, if you are not very familiar with Seiko, you should realize that this company makes a HUGE array of watches that are not marketed in the United States. Seiko makes very high-end mechanicals (such as the Grand Seiko series) that cost thousands of dollars and which easily compete with Rolex, Omega, etc. (I think some would say that a Grand Seiko is significantly better than a Rolex), tons of mid-range mechanicals that cost a few hundred dollars (and are still some of the best watches made), and a wide variety of inexpensive, but high-quality, mechanicals in the Seiko 5 and Diver lines. Their movements are made in-house (I prefer this to the mid- to high-range brands like TAG Heuer, etc., that use movements made by other companies) and Seiko has many years of experience with making everything that goes into the watch, right down to the lubricants that are used on the moving parts. Overall, this is an excellent choice, especially for the money. This is a much better watch (in terms of quality as well as appearance) than almost anything in this price range. Way better than a Timex, Casio, etc.--I don't think you can find a better $50-$60 watch than this.

I am new to automatic and mechanical wind wristwatches, so, after purchasing a rather expensive battery operated quartz movement over a year before this Seiko the battery went dead and that was a huge disappointment for me. The battery operated quarts movement watch that I owned was supposed to have a 5 year life but died much sooner. I took the watch to a jeweler to have the battery replaced and the cost for the replacement battery was through the roof. Not only was it expensive to have the battery replaced but the Jeweler ruined the water resistance 'integrity' of the watch by smashing the o-ring that seals the back of my watch. Well, it didn't take long for my battery operated watch to become totally destroyed by water intrusion. Almost immediately after my battery watch failed that's when I decided that I was no longer going to buy 'ANYMORE' battery operated wristwatches so, the search began for a new mechanical or automatic watch. It took a long while, I was shopping almost everyday for over a month but most of the wristwatches were overly expensive and had features I wasn't really excited about. After about 2 months of shopping I accidentally stumbled upon these Seiko's. I sure am glad I waited and found them. I AM VERY PLEASED! When I received my new Seiko automatic wristwatch I could see right of way it was no piece of junk. It was heavy and felt good in my hands. The dial was easy to read even without my eyeglasses. I am a 54 year old man with extremely poor vision so I need high contrast to see the time and daily calendar. Although some reviewers may have complained it's smaller then what they had expected, I think it's a very appropriate size for both males and females. Perhaps for some people and I guess depending on your taste in fashion and social statement perhaps it may be to small for some men. I am a 6 foot man at 260 pounds and I think it's a perfect size and I am very picky. Just so everyone knows, most of the watches I currently own are the Invicta Russian Divers and they're huge timepieces, I really love those large watches however, this smaller Seiko watch was refreshing. What I mean by refreshing: I am always worried about ruining my other expensive watches, I don't wear them everyday but this Seiko is a watch I can wear everyday and not worry about banging it around since they are cheap enough to actually purchase several others. These Seiko's are perfect for everyday wear. I usually only wear my Invicta's when I go to dinner or some other social gathering but these Seiko's are actually very pretty and masculine enough to go out for dinner or other social occasions. Really, it's not that small and it's also not an ugly watch. This Seiko wristwatch probably won't get noticed as much as perhaps another more expensive wristwatch but if you take it off and show it to someone I know they are going to like it. I think what matters most to myself is knowing that I have a brand new 'name brand' Seiko quality wristwatch and never have to worry about a battery ever again or accidentally breaking it. I'm usually pretty careful so I am not really worried about breaking it although, this Seiko feels really tough so I think it can take a good beating. Let me tell you what I like about my new Seiko wristwatch. First, It keeps perfect time. After just a few days it's still accurate...I like the size of this watch, large watches get bumped a quite a bit however this watch has a lower profile so it's not likely to easily bump into things as you perform your daily chores... I like the stem at the 4 O'clock position because it makes it much easier to adjust without having to remove the watch from my arm...The brushed steel finish is absolutely beautiful... The crystal is flat making the watch face easy to read at any angle... I truly like the high contrast of the hands against the dial... The calendar is very large and very easy to see with ample contrast even without my eyeglasses... Pulling the stem out one click sets the calendar without stopping the watch, turn the stem clockwise for the day and counter clockwise for the date... I like that the watch movement does not stop operating when the stem is pulled all the way out to adjust the time, you can however stop the watch from ticking if you put some slight counterclockwise pressure on the stem, this allows for more accurate time setting. A little more counterclockwise pressure also makes the watch run backwards for even more accurate time setting... I happen to like the watch band and buckle, too... What I really like are the luminescent hands and markers. I noticed just this morning after 5 hours of compete darkness the hands and markers were still view-able although, the luminescence wasn't overly bright but there was just enough to see the time in complete darkness... I like that the watch is not overly complicated with sub-dials. Everything I need to know about the time and date is supplied with this Seiko... I like that it's water resistant... Finally, I really like that's it's a Seiko but more importantly it's the perfect wristwatch with all the perfect features for the perfect price... This watch has all the features I was looking for in a in a new watch... I have to say, "I am so very happy with this new watch so I just purchased two more in different colors, the tan and the blue. Soon I will buy a green and another black. I think you'll truly enjoy this Seiko wristwatch! I am not disappointed whatsoever so, I highly recommend the purchase of this watch. For this kind of money, it's absolutely PERFECT! Thank you for reading :)

There are several people on this thread who are giving the watch low ratings, because it "stops after a few days", "doesn't hand wind", etc. It is one thing to have genuine complaints about quality, looks, customer service. But, to trash the watch for doing what it is designed to do, apparently because these folks do not know what an automatic watch is - that is unfair. After an exchange with one of these "experts", I felt compelled to write this review. An automatic watch winds the mainspring through the natural motion of the wearer's arm. Unless otherwise noted, it is not designed to be manually, or hand, wound. If you prefer to wind a watch by hand, an automatic is not for you. Also, if you want a super accurate watch that gains/loses no more than a few seconds a month, an automatic is not for you - a quartz watch is what you are looking for. People desire automatics for the appreciation of the purely mechanical, the thought that the wearer breathes life into the watch, for the second hand that appears to glide around the dial instead of jerking from second to second. An automatic is also green (no batteries to dispose of), and can be handed down from generation to generation. Now to this purchase ... I bought this watch in December as a Christmas gift for my young daughter. I purchased this watch because I own many Seikos, they are good quality for the money; the size, but most of all, because the minutes are prominently displayed on the face ... with digital everywhere, kids don't learn how to tell time on an analog clock. With this watch, the hands actually point to the unit of time they are telling. Good for teaching and learning. I am extremely pleased with the watch, it looks good, keeps good time (the times I have checked it, never seems off more than a minute). You cannot beat the cost. A bonus is the see-thru caseback, which fascinates curious young minds. I will wear it on occasion as well ... a little small by today's standards, but attractive and light ... I am looking at the black or blue one for myself.

I've had the SNK361 for about a year and change. While I dont daily it, the watch is a very affordable mechanical watch, with a couple of flaws. Pros: Price: for the price of under $150, the SNK361 is a great value. Its an affordable timepiece into the world of mechanical watches. Looks: looks are subjective, however, I do find this piece quite attractive. Its not gaudy, it can be used in formal or casual attire. As for my use, I've used it at work. I work in automotive parts, and am not necessarily gentle on myself. The watch has stood up to the abuse I've put it through. I have also played airsoft and paintball with it, so it's been through the dirt as well. Cons- Bracelet: Seiko is known for its mediocre bracelets. While it does look nice, as it's a jubilee bracelet, I do experience some minor hair pulling at times. Accuracy: going back to the budget movement, the 7S26 is a budget moment. Its got a spec of +-25 seconds a day, meaning it'll either gain or lose 25 seconds. When I first got it, it ran fast, then about a month into it, it ran slow, but by month 2 or 3, it became consistent, with occasional random speedups/slowdowns. I believe mine is at about +-8 or so now. Many will find this annoying, but this will happens in ALL mechanical watches. Overall, a pretty good entry level mechanical watch.

OK, 1st off, you'll almost certainly need to read the instruction manual that comes with this to set the day/date readout. DON'T WIND THE STEM, this thing is designed to *solely* autowind, so to start it up you need to swing it side to side for about 30secs: after that, put it on & normal wrist movement is supposed to keep it wound. Downside for me is that now I'm afraid to take it off at night like I normally would; a powered "watch winder" station is in my future [that's ok, this is my 2nd mech autowinding watch, so I'll need one anyway...] A handsome watch, but kind of a small dial [that would have been considered a normal, man's size watch a couple decades ago, but I guess Flava Flave changed all that with his kitchen clock sized pendant?] Hard to see the inner circle of numbers, but anyone who can read an analog dial should already know they're 12 at the top, 1, 2, 3, etc.. The bonus is the outer dial of tix for the sweep second hand has legible 5, 10, 15 increments. Yeah, presbyopia is a beeyatch... :-\ ;-) Watch band is a comfortable canvas w/ leather hole reinforcements, and like all standard watch bands, a little on the short side for us average-sized American males [6'+, 200#+] so I'm one hole in from the absolute longest setting, with barely enough tab to tuck under one of the two keepers. I'll probably take some pliers to the spare keeper at some point, just to prevent it snagging on things or driving me batty, but it's cool that Seiko makes them out of steel [since the keeper failing is usually the reason I wind up replacing a watch band before I would otherwise have to do so...] Haven't tested this thing's water-resistance yet, but it's been my experience that any watch that's not actually dive rated [100m resistance minimum] is going to fail under normal hydro exposure, so I don't plan on wearing this into the water if I can possibly avoid it. Besides, wet watch bands are horribly uncomfortable against the skin, so just take the thing *off* before you shower, m'kay? Hands & divisions on the dial are luminescent treated, but it's not the old radioactive stuff from b4 I was born, so it's useless under most conditions of real darkness, but the hands are white w/ black edges, so I'm hoping that the next time I'm out riding the moto I'll still be able to make things out by the streetlight illumination. It's got to be better than any of my other non-Timex Indiglo watch faces, anyway!

Update - One year later Don't buy this watch! You will just be throwing away your hard earned money. After about 9 months my watch started to keep time poorly - one day increasing time the next losing time. I sent it into the NJ service center under warranty. They lost the watch and refuse to replace it. In fact, they claim they never received it. Think I am the only one that has had this happen to them? Just check out the reviews of the service enter online. You will find lots of people who have had the same problem or have had to wait months to get their watch looked at and then have been told it would cost more to repair it than buy a new one. This really puts a bad taste in my mouth about purchasing any Seiko watches in the future. BUYER BEWARE! I ordered this watch because I liked the looks and never had an automatic watch before. To be able to buy something with this much engineering complexity in it for the money is incredible and worth every rating star. It is a nice looking watch and I like the looks of the nylon strap it comes with. The watch is well built and is a good size. It is very easy to read and all the markers line up perfectly. The see through back is very cool. It states a water resistance rating of 30 meters but there seems to be some conflicting information here. I really like the recessed adjustment stem. There is no way to manually wind this watch by the stem. (As some claim they are doing) You can manually wind it only by moving it in your hand or on your wrist. The things I found a little annoying at first were: (But not worth taking a rating star off for) The strap is not very comfortable to me. My main problem with the strap is the metal pieces dig into my wrist on the bottom of the strap causing irritation. Call me a wimp but it is noticeable to me. I'm getting used to it, but it does dig into your skin. I ordered a leather tan strap which should fix this problem. I do like the looks of the orginial strap though and am starting to get used to it now that I have been wearing it for a while. Setting the time perfectly can be a challenge. I'm used to the second hand stopping when you pull the stem out on a quartz watch. This one doesn't. So how do you stop it? Good question. I found that if I pull out the time shaft and kind of hold it and turn it counter clockwise while pulling on it makes it stop and you can actually make it go in reverse if you turn it counter closkwise. I'm starting to get the hang of it now but it wasn't intuitive at first. The directions could have been a lot more clear on this. It states in the manual to pull the stem out at the 12 O'clock position. Great - but the second hand keeps moving! It would have been nice to have some better directions here. My watch, after just three days, is running about 5 seconds slow. (I'm monitoring from one of the atomic clocks) Most other people reported that their's runs fast. Not mine. I'm hoping it will increase a bit once it runs in for a while. Even so, 5 seconds a day is pretty darn good for an automatic watch in this price range. I don't have the patience to be taking the back off and trying to regulate it myself. I can live with 5 seconds a day. The luminance at night is fair at best. It's difficult for me to see it in the night. Then again, I'm getting old and I'm not planning on wearing it much at night, so no big deal. Just don't expect it to be like a Navy Seal watch with the radioactive luminance spots. I put it to rest last night for about 10 hours after I wore it all day and it was still running great when I put it back on again. I don't know how long this thing would run until it ran out. Some people claims a couple of days or more. Overall I am very happy with this watch and would recommend it to anyone wanting a good looking and unique time piece for the money. Quite frankly, I'm amazed they can make something this sophisticated for the price. It's quite an engineering marvel! For the price I'm tempted to get another one in another color. I suspect that each one of these has it's very own character due to manufacturing differences and will operate very uniquely. For Seiko to sell a watch for this price with this much quality is an amazing feat. I'm a musician and this watch is just like different acoustic instruments. You can have 10 different instruments manufactured by the same Company, same model, similar serial numbers, etc. but each one will have it's own personality. That's what's interesting about this watch to me. I would imagine everyone of these will be unique in it's own way. Very Cool! Thanks Seiko!

As a young woman beginning my foray into the watch world, I've found it difficult to see a lack of female representation in most Amazon reviews. I hope this review can help other women seeking to break into this hobby or just wanting to add another one to their collection! This is my first automatic watch. Seiko's heritage and reputation for quality craftsmanship made this a clear choice when I was browsing and I'm very happy I went with this SNK803, specifically. I have small wrists (5.5 in) and liked how this watch was more classically-sized at 37mm. This is not a "small" watch by any means, but with 42-45mm dominating a lot of the industry right now (at least in this general price range), I think the SNK80x series offers a nice option for people who are looking for something different. The strap it came with wasn't bad, but it was too big for my wrist and I didn't like the beige with the cream dial. I now have a myriad of strap options, but these pictures showcase one of my favorites––the OD green Barton canvas quick-release. The color of the dial makes it very easy to pair this watch with different styles and color options, though. Another one of my favorites is Barton's brown leather quick-release if I want to dress it up just a bit. The exhibition case-back is great, especially for someone just starting to get into watches, as you can see how it all works. The lume is fantastic, and is absolutely one of my favorite parts of this watch. It's a pretty blue/green and lasts through the night. Much better than checking the time on a bright phone if you wake up in the middle of the night. Overall, I'm very pleased with this watch. It's great for my day-to-day activities, and sturdy enough that I don't worry about it too much when I'm outdoors. I did ding it up just a bit on a recent adventure, but actually think it contributes to its field aesthetic. I'm hoping to expand my collection soon when I'm no longer on a grad student's budget, but think this guy will always be one of my favorites.

In truth, I can't really say anything negative about my new Seiko, having worn it for a couple of months now. Everything that needs to be said has been in other reviews, but I'll reiterate what I find important. First, the size is perfect for me. I have a smaller wrist, and most watches are too big to be comfortable for me. This watch, on the other hand (hey, pun!), is just about the right size. If your wrist is larger, you might look into the Chronograph model, but for a 7" wrist, this fits perfectly. As for durability, I can't speak to that yet. I know it's held up well so far to the occasional knock and bump, but I'm generally fairly gentle on my wrist wear - I take them off when I do anything strenuous like automotive work. It's held up well in the drink, though. been soaked through a couple times in the rain or reaching into the sink without noticing I was still wearing it, and no fog or other water-related maladies have befallen it. Yet to swim with it, though, and hope to keep it that way. The last thing I want to talk about is the accuracy of the movement. This watch is phenomenal. I switched to manual watches about 8 years ago, and automatics about 4 years ago. My manual watch was fairly accurate for the most part. My first Automatic was a Kennith Cole watch. It was accurate to a point, in that it gained time so reliably - almost a minute to the second per day - that you could set your watch by it (hey, another pun!). This watch has been considerably more accurate - in the first Month of wearing it, I lost maybe 20 seconds. In a Month. What I'm saying is, Seiko got their movement right. I've been considerably impressed by the accuracy of this watch over the term that I don't even question it at this point. Whereas my two previous watches left me wondering whether or not I'd reset it recently enough for them to still be accurate, this one just ticks along to the time. In short, if you're looking for a dependable, accurate, durable watch for a smaller wrist, this would probably be your best choice. Throw a leather band on, and it's a watch that dresses up well enough to wear to the office. Also, if you're reading these reviews to help decide, just click the button. It's about time. (I'll see myself out.)