SEIKO Automatic Solar Dive Watch for Men - Prospex Collection - LumiBrite Hands, Sapphire Crystal - Water Resistant 200M

I got this to replace my trusty SKX-007, which was my first "real" "adult" watch and served me well for over a decade, because it is in dire need of a service, which would cost more than I paid for the thing originally. Before that I would go through various cheap ($20-$50) swatch/fossil/timex/casio watches every couple of years until the batteries died and it barely cost more to get a new watch than to replace them. I kept toying with the idea of upgrading to a more expensive mechanical watch but couldn't justify it at the moment. This was supposed to be the placeholder until I can save up a year or two to get an Omega or a Grand Seiko or some other fantastical piece of engineering artwork. Hopefully someday... but I fully expect that this one will do for at least the next decade.love technology and normally am quick to embrace the latest and greatest, but I've tried G-shocks and even the Apple watch-- they make neat toys, but I never actually used any of the advanced functions except as personal entertainment. I mainly just wear a watch so I can tell the time without pulling out my phone. I also find that I prefer an analog dial-- it gives me a better sense of elapsed time at a quick glance than having to read a number, parse it, and place it into context and the dive bezel is actually really useful for timing all sorts of things that don't require down to the second precision. I use it frequently while cooking, for instance. I also find the twisty-clicky-ness makes a great fidget spinner :DI'm unlikely to go legitimately scuba-diving in the foreseeable future, although I've always wanted to try it, but I'll definitely wear it at the beach and the pool, in the shower, in the rain, washing dishes, working on home improvement projects, etc and it's nice to know that I don't have to baby it with the water resistance rating and sapphire glass. It has barely left my wrist in 3 months and picked up a couple of minor scuffs to the brushed metal, which just gives it character. In the unlikely event that I actually manage to break it, it isn't so valuable that I could never afford a replacement, nor am I worried that it would make me a target for robbery.I put it on an Uncle Seiko jubilee-style bracelet (highly recommend them if you're shopping for one) and it looks sharp enough to wear with business casual and is thin enough to slip under a shirt cuff. I wasn't expecting to actually like the rubber strap it comes with (the one on the SKX is stiff, uncomfortable, and way too long, clearly designed to fit over a wetsuit sleeve) but was very pleasantly surprised-- it is a soft, high-quality silicone with a nice taper, looks good, weighs basically nothing, and is comfortable to wear (doesn't feel sticky with sweat/humidity or pull hairs). I like the signed metal keeper too, but if I'm really nitpicking it could be just a bit tighter to not slide around as much. I saw somebody in another review added a rubber one from a different band and I might do the same, but I mostly keep it on the bracelet.This watch is dead-on ACCURATE. I wasn't sure if I wanted a quartz watch, but I've only ever experienced cheap ones. This is not a disposable junk quartz movement that is loud and sloppy, it's a very good one designed to be accurate and last for years. I can only hear ticking if I put it right up to my ear, even in a quiet room-- movements like this are why Japan almost destroyed the Swiss watch industry a few decades back. It isn't as romantic as an automatic and doesn't have the smooth sweep, but if you can get over that, then DANG this thing absolutely ROCKS.When I got it, I synchronized it as best I could to the precise NIST official time and it hasn't drifted perceptibly AT ALL, after more than a month it appears to have lost just a hair over 1 second, and any slight variance is probably due as much to the fact that a human can't push the crown in at *precisely* the very instant the second ticks over as it is to the watch itself. For context, COSC specification on mechanical movements (used by Rolex and the like) allows a variance of -4 to +6 seconds *per day*. Quartz is a different animal entirely of course, and I believe Seiko rates this particular movement as running within specifications at +/- 15s per month, and on my particular example at least it appears they have under-promised and over-delivered. I expect I will only need to worry about resetting a handful of times in a year i.e. for daylight saving time and months with fewer than 31 days. The fact that it uses solar power to charge and is designed to not need a new battery for a least a decade is definitely a bonus. The chapter ring and bezel line up, and the second hand hits all of the marks.The lume is up to same standard as every other Seiko (i.e. very good). With direct sun or a powerful flashlight it will glow super brightly for a few minutes, which is immediately noticeable as soon as you enter shade. This fades quickly, but with just normal ambient light exposure I find it still glows just enough to remain legible without the need to turn on any lights and force my eyes to adjust if I wake up the middle of the night and want to glance at the time.Overall, if you are considering this watch, I do not think you will be disappointed. If luxury watches are something akin to a Porsche or Lexus, then this watch is like a Toyota pickup truck-- not as fancy or impressive, but should continue to perform well with minimal maintenance for a long time.

I have some cool looking Omega vintage watches, I had my Tissot office dress watches, but sometimes you need a though watch that can handle the abuse.For almost a decade I was using the SKX007 but now that it's starting to get the collector status, it's going to be sleeping at my safe (I am also emotional attached to this piece).This piece has serious advantages over the mechanical diver's watch that you can get out there.First it's a solar quartz, you set it and forget it, in this way it's ready to be strapped to my wrist on the weekends, with my beloved SKX I had to unscrew the crown and set it.Second, it's a diver's watch, it can withstand 200 meter's deep and a hammer hit (look for ISO 6425), that is about 656 feet's in retard units (in the real world, a recreational diver never go under 40 meter or 120 feet's IRU.200 meters it's more than enough.I've been scuba diving since before dive computers existed, and I actually used watches for my dives, and within the older recreational divers, these deep ratings always seem like an advertising exaggeration.The truth, most of the time, in the 80, and early 90s most of the divers used a G-Shock. Perhaps a commercial diver doing bell saturation diving could use one of this pieces, and only to wear in the rest time in the bell between the diving shifts.Being a much smaller case diameter (38.5mm), it's much more elegant and discreet, so if you go to a restaurant at night for a romantic dinner, you won't be seeing a drug dealer with a golden shield tied to the wrist.I like this model with the silicone strap than the one with the steel bracelet, to be honest, it is of very poor quality, more of the 5 sport line than of the Prospex level.My recommendation is to buy a bracelet from Uncle Seiko (the one from the Omega Speedmaster fits well) and a leather strap from strapcode and leave the silicone strap for the holidays as it has perforations in the lugs, it is not difficult to change them.So, if you need a watch to go kayaking, been on the beach, or fishing or sailing, this watch it's perfect.And if you are an old nostalgic diver like me, you can even go scuba diving with it.

Live the size, look, and quality of this watch. Great value for a real dive watch. Be sure the check it out when your receive it from Amazon, the first one I received was clearly used (much more than just tried on) so I returned for another and received a new unit.

I’ll make this quick.Pros-Classic diver looks in a classic case size by one of the great dive watch makers.-ISO Divers 200m-Solar powered quartz movement means accuracy, robustness, and no water seal compromising battery changes.-Fantastic OEM strap is extremely comfortable-Silky bezel action Seiko is known for-Great lume-Sapphire crystalThis Seiko wears amazing on my 6.75 inch wrist. I love this one.