Seiko makes perhaps the most number of watches bar none - makes them affordable and makes them well too. The Seiko 5 range comes in all styles but the Military series is recognizable with their hands and styling.
When Seiko and Amazon collaborated, what they came up with was a unique red dial edition housed in the Seiko 5 Military 37mm case. Until recently, I did not know the reason for the name - Seiko 5. Why Seiko 5? Well, when Seiko debut the range, they had intended for the watch to possess 5 key characteristics - a self-winding automatic movement, resistance to water, a day-date in a single window, a recessed crown, and a durable case.
A limited edition reference SNKM95, comes with a blue canvas strap and meets all the criteria of Seiko 5.
Coming with the day and date display, the Seiko 5 Military gives great value at around US$100.
The automatic movement comes with 21 jewels and what's surprising is that the movement is Made in Malaysia!
The movement is the automatic 7S26-02J0 but the watch is probably assembled in China (lost the box and papers for this one). Power reserve on this movement is a decent 40 hours.
Rated as one of the more robust and reliable mechanical calibre out there, the 7S26 movement also includes Seiko's "magic lever" technology, which improves the efficiency of winding, much like the Pellaton winding mechanism of IWC. With the magic level, winding of the movement occurs whether the rotor rotates clockwise or counter-clockwise thereby improving the efficiency of the winding mechanism.
One down side of this movement is that it does not work with manual winding. One has to shake the watch for awhile to get it going and there is also no hacking seconds.
The stainless steel case comes with a mixture of brushed and polished surfaces and both the front and back are fitted with Hardlex crystal which is Seiko's patented name for mineral glass.
The Seiko 5, as with many Seiko timepieces out there are all great tool watches and a good way to start a mechanical watch collection. Truth be told, the first mechanical watch I bought for my son was a Seiko 5 - at Toa Payoh Hub no less. It was an incentive for him doing well in his studies.
Above the Seiko (missing the 5 on the dial) I bought for my son and below the one I bought for myself as I like the cream coloured dial.
What is really nice about the Seiko 5 and for that matter any Seiko, is that they are affordable and "discrete". Discrete enough to be worn for travels and you won't get into worrying challenges. For instance this Seiko 5 Sports which I wore when we drove into Malaysia. Rugged enough with a bracelet and also water resistant to 100m - good for when you get into the pool and without having to take it off.
On the one hand, they do not attract too much attention and even if I had lost it, it would have been easily replaced and won't burn a hole in my pocket.
Speaking of travel watches, do you wear an expensive timepiece when you travel? Personally, I tend to be on the safer side preferring to wear more discrete pieces. Nothing flashy or loud just so we don't attract the wrong attention. But this discussion will be for another post...
Hope you like the Seiko 5 Red Dial Amazon Edition and the Seiko 5s I listed here. The Price-Quality-Ratio for these timepieces are excellent and it would be hard pressed to find even more affordable timepieces that meet the 5 criteria.
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