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- Verified Buyer
Product photos do not do this beautiful little watch justice. Seiko is the king of watch houses imo, and I've collected (countless) watches for decades. There's one thing Seiko does better than anyone else -- that's dials. And that's true all up/down the price range from entry-level $100 Seiko5s to $20K Grand Seikos. This SNKL75 sports a beautiful white dial, subtlety textured to catch the light. It definitely gives off a Rolex DateJust vibe on wrist though it's not a homage watch, is very much an original design. Something else you simply won't find at this price -- fantastic long-lasting lume. Seiko certainly didn't skimp here. It puts on a beautiful light show at first when fully charged and is visible enough in darkness hours later to tell the time at night. On to the controversial bracelet. You will often hear that "Seiko skimps on the quality of their bracelets on their lower-priced watches. You should replace them." Wrong. Their stock bracelet is just fine. Though not over-engineered, and not "top-of-the-line" build-quality-wise, it is not "cheap". It is designed to be flexible and light, thus it rattles when you shake it. If that upsets you, don't shake the watch. The links are folded (not solid), and end links hollow. How much do you think Seiko saves on that tiny amount of steel? This is not done to save production costs. It's done to keep the watch light and comfortable to wear, keep the weight of the case and bracelet balanced, and make the metal bracelet less rigid on wrist. I know it's not "cheap" because of the level of detail (incredible at this price, really) -- polished and brushed surfaces, on the bracelet. (Watches with cheap bracelets invariably have only polished surfaces. The cost is in the finishing, not "hollow v solid"!) The bracelet is perfectly matched -- both in terms of design and weight/feel to the case and dial. The bracelet and case are both part of one design! Replacing the bracelet on this watch would be a crime. Lastly, the 7s26 movement in this watch is a fine caliber that's been around for decades and in millions of watches. No, it doesn't "hack or hand-wind", but you know what? It will last forever and keep great time without servicing. Seiko has discontinued this classic movement, which is a shame. If you're just starting down the watch collecting rabbit hole, my advise would be to skip the Ali Express "Chinese Specials". Don't listen to the YouTube guys (Jody and whomever else) who push off-brand watches based on "spec" -- sapphire crystals, hacking hand winding movements. You're not buying a toaster. You buying a functional little piece of design art you wear on your wrist. That art doesn't have to be expensive but should be original art, so stay away from those homage watches too. Stick with Seiko 5 and their cousin watch house, Orient for automatic watches. Seiko 5, Orient Bambino, Orient Tri-Star for automatics in this price range. (You can also skip the awful Swatch Sistem 51 watches too -- Swiss Made garbage.) Do yourself a favor, learn from my past missteps, skip the rest in the $75 to $150 price range (and that also includes Invicta). Stick with Seiko 5, Orient Bambino, Orient Tri-Star in this price range.
