SEIKO Men's SNZG15 SEIKO 5 Automatic Stainless Steel Watch with Nylon Strap

I recently made my first luxury watch purchase not too long ago and immediately caught the watch bug. I started looking around at field/military style watches as my next purchase down the line for more causal wear. Something that I wouldn't mind getting beat up a little (working in the yard, manual labor, hunting, etc.) And as a way to protect my nice watch. I was originally looking at higher end field watches ($500-$1500), but quickly decided that something in that price range would not qualify as a "beater" watch in my opinion. I wanted a solid mechanical watch that I could wear without worrying about getting scratched or dinged and also had bright lume and fell into the field watch category. I kept reading about the Seiko 5 line and ultimately discovered the SNZG15. I looked at the SNK809 but it was too small for me. After learning a lot about watches in the past year, I have to say that this watch is an absolutely amazing value. For a mechanical watch I don't know if there is better value on the market, and it just so happened to hit most of the high notes I was looking for in terms of looks and features. I haven't had a chance to fully put it through the paces as I've only had it for a couple weeks, but so far so good. My wrist is 7 2/8" around and my other luxury watch came in at 40mm diameter, which seems about perfect on my wrist in terms of proportions. I see a lot of watches bigger than the SNZG15 but those just look way to big for my wrist in terms or diameter or depth. The 42mm size on this watch looks and feels great! I forget the case depth but it doesn't sit too high on the wrist. It's also nice and light but feels solid and well constructed at the same time. I have been wearing the watch on the weekends and in the evenings at home, and so far it has not stopped ticking despite not wearing it for a day or two at a time. While I haven't had a chance to seriously measure the accuracy of the timekeeping, it does seem to keep time remarkably well. I haven't updated the time since the first time I put it on and I believe it's maybe a couple seconds slow per day, if that....which is on par with my other Swiss chronometer. I'm sure others will vary though. I was worried by some of the reviews that it was going to be way too fast or too slow but so far so good. The date will have to be updated at the end of some months and I suspect I won't have to mess with the time at all between those updates. The strap I was also worried about in terms of quality, but have been pleasantly surprised there too. It's comfortable, looks good and seems reasonably well constructed. That said, I did want to get a Zulu strap so I ordered a couple different colors from Maratac which I think will only make this watch look better. But really no complaints on the strap for a $100 watch. I like the bead-blasted matte finish of the watch as it suits the overall look of the watch and for my purposes. Between the lugs on the top and the bottom is a chrome/mirror finish which seems out of place, and is one of the few things I don't care for on the watch. But it's a small complaint. I saw online somewhere that a guy somehow managed to matte out that area to match the rest of the watch, but I'm not sure how I would do that on my own. The only other complaint I have about the watch is that you can't stop/hack second hand. It's much easier to set the time when you can stop the second hand, but it's not a huge deal and I knew that before I bought it. The black dial is clear and easy to read. The lume (on the hands and hour ticks) is more than sufficient at night. If you charge it with a flashlight it's ridiculously bright! Left alone (without charging it) it is bright enough to read all night long until the sun rises. The lume at the 12 o'clock position is triangle shaped but it would be nice if the 9, 3 and/or 6 o'clock positions were maybe wider or longer to more quickly be able to read the time in total darkness. The numerals are not lumed just FYI. That said, it's totally fine as is. A lot of the complaints I've read seem to be by those who don't understand how this mechanical watch works, didn't do their research or are not using it properly. You can't wind the watch with the crown. You can't put the (dead) watch on, wear it for a couple hours and expect it keep ticking for multiple days. You can fully "wind" it by spinning the rotor around for a minute or so, which can also be achieved by wearing it for a couple days I suspect. Speaking of, I really like the clear back allowing you to see the movement inside. I'm super happy with my purchase and would HIGHLY recommend this to anyone looking for a great looking, automatic, casual, durable, water resistant, wear-anywhere type watch. For $100 you really cannot go wrong!

I have had this watch for just over a month now and I love it. I bought this watch just over a month ago after I got another seiko 5 watch (model #SNK809). I did this because when I first bought the watch (SNK809) I bought it off amazon and when I received it. It was just too small. I freaked out and returned it the next day. I looked at this watch before and bought it on the spot. A couple days later I got it in the mail. I was and still am so happy I got this watch instead. Pros: There are many things that I really like about this watch. First of all it looks good. Its fairly clean and simple. There is a lot of numbers and letters that may make it seem a little busy but its still not bad at all. Overall fit and finish is very good, I do not have any complaints. The Hardlex Crystal is also very good no scratches yet to report, just a very small, microscopic chip. I believe Hardlex is harder than mineral, which is very good because I have some beat up mineral crystals. I wish however, the crystal sat lower than the bezel to help protect it some, but it doesn't. But with the abuse I put on it, it has been holding up spectacularly well. Accuracy is also very good. As my first Auto I was not sure what to expect. I did not officially track the accuracy but I'm fairly confident its about +/- 1 minute per week. Again no complaints here (I however, do not understand most people's obsession with accuracy as long as it keeps the time within a couple minutes). Also the Lume is very very good. It is the best I ever seen and with this being under $200 its quite impressive. WR is good I haven't swam with it, but I plan to, however, I wear it showering on occasion and no fogging or water leaks. The size is also perfect, not too big or small. much better than the SNK809. Cons: Now there is one particular problem I have with this watch (also the SNK809), and that is the canvas strap. I knew from when I bought it I would not like it very much. So I ordered this watch with a NATO strap. Now when it arrived the strap was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. But it still seemed cheap and of alright quality. So I took it off ( NOTE: A spring bar tool is highly recommended if you choose this route, I ended up cutting up my fingers trying to use a knife to get the spring bars off) and threw it back in the box. I threw the nato strap on it and I was very content with my purchase. There are a few other very minor things that I also do not like about this watch. For instance the lume, however good it may be it has a slight green/off-white tint that does not help the appearance of this watch and the lime doesn't completely cover the dashes on the sides. Also the movement is great that there is a see-through case-back but the movement is not pretty at all, in fact it is kind of ugly. But for a sub $200 watch that's not really expected. Overall: Overall this is a great watch most of the stuff is just me knit-picking and does not really detract for this watch. I truly do love this watch and wear it religiously. The militaristic/pilot look works very well in different environments and goes with about everything besides like a suit. The only thing I would recommend would be to buy it with a NATO strap because they are cheap, cool looking, and easy to change out. Plus you would still have the original strap. And always remember the value aspect. For being an auto with a nice crystal, a day/date function, great lume, good WR, and generally an attractive, everyday use watch that is under $200 thats a pretty good value. However, if you want to go smaller with the SNK809 that is even a better value, and in my opinion the face of the SNK809 is even more attractive. I personally didn't want to have buyers remorse from the size of it which was just too small for me. Hope this helps, I try to give anyone reading this as much info as possible to make a wise decision on their purchase.So it may be long but I don't want to leave anything out. Good luck!

I ordered this watch from Amazon about two months ago, and I have been very happy with it. I only lose a couple of seconds a day, so I only end up re-setting it about once a week, which takes about 10 seconds to do! It has only stopped on me once, and that was when I had it off my wrist for 16 hours straight. The watch is very attractive, in a traditional sort of way. The face appears to be a dark gray, but it looks black in most lighting situations. The numbers and indices are crisp white, and give it a sort of 60's military/dive look. The second hand is a nice smooth sweep, and the day/date is not so large as to be intrusive. It is there if you want to look at it, but it doesn't detract from the face. The illumination is good enough. Right after getting hit with light it is VERY bright, but by the time I have been asleep for 7 hours it is just bright enough to be able to tell the time. Which is all I need! The case is sturdy, and is a flat/brushed metal except for the small area behind the band. The glass seems to hold up well. The band is also well-made. I am working in a very tough environment (desert/mountains) and the watch is doing very well. I was wearing an H3 with a similar face, and despite being a tough watch, it bit the dust here. As the Seiko is holding up fine, I am as pleased as I could be. Now granted, I don't deliberately abuse my watches just to see how well they last, but I don't go out of my way to protect a hundred dollar watch either. I have gotten the watch wet when washing or shaving, but it has not been submerged or showered with. So far, so good. If you like a traditional looking watch that is just that - a watch without bells or whistles, then you will love this one.

Great value for the price. I was looking for a daily watch in the 100-200 dollar range and I purchased this Seiko based on the consistent reviews I read on it. I have had the watch for about 2 weeks now and I really like it a lot. It has a great appearance and a good size and most importantly (for me) it is really easy to read. It does glow in dim light, but I have found that the glowing effect does not last too long. Also, being it is an automatic, if you don't wear it every day, then it stops keeping time and you need to reset the date and time. Not a big deal - during the work week, wearing it for a full day of work seems enough to keep it wound until the next morning. I also ordered a watch winder box (as I have another similar type watch) so I am not complaining - just pointing this out to anyone unfamiliar with a non-battery type watch. I gave this watch 4 stars instead of a full 5 for these reasons: 1) The glow effect is not really long enough - I was hoping for a little better of a glow that lasted longer, but definitely not a reason to not buy it. 2) I have a bit of concern about the band. It is comfortable and appears to be decent quality, but I can see it eventually fraying and wearing out after about 6 months or a year of daily wear - we'll see. Both are not reasons to not consider this watch - I am very happy with it and it perfectly met my expectation for a daily watch. It is very nice looking and comfortable and keeps time perfectly.

Ever since the movement on my Citizen Ecodrive seized up I’ve been looking for an everyday replacement. I had two requirements: 1) It has to have either have a solar recharge feature or be an automatic movement and 2) It has to be durable and last more than a few years. After researching for months and trying to decide if I was willing to spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on a high quality automatic movement watch, I stumbled upon the Seiko 5 Sport in an article about the best budget automatic watches under $500. I remember Seiko watches from my childhood department store catalog browsing obsession. And my father had a quarts movement Seiko 20+ years ago, so I was pretty familiar with the having a good reputation for quality. I decided after reading the reviews here, as well as watching a bunch of online videos that this was likely the perfect watch for me. And so far I absolutely love this watch! It’s just so clean looking and seems very well built. It completely exceeded my expectations when I opened the box and really got a close up look at it. The face is so interesting,having great depth and detail to it. While the movement isn’t the pure sweeping of a Rolex, its very nice and reminds me of the super quick ticking of the 60 Minutes TV show intro (I know weird, right?) The only part I wasn’t married to was the band. I wanted a more monochromatic look, so I bought a gray NATO band for it which matches perfect. I’ve only had the watch for a few hours, so I obviously can’t comment on its longevity, but the reviews seem to suggest it’s a watch that could possibly last for decades. I love that. I’m sold on the Seiko craftsmanship already. This thing just seems so solid and well built. I’m very OCD with watches and jewelry, so if it makes me happy then all seems right with the world. And this watch makes me happy.

This is my second watch in 1 week. I purchased a Hamilton Khaki and this watch through Watchsavings. I am not a watch fanatic, but I do own an Omega Seamaster, Rolex, Raymond Weil Parsifal, and Apple Watch. Both watches were clean without any signs of return. There were no scratches or fingerprints. Clear stickers covered the front face and back. I've been testing this watch against my Apple Watch. Appears to be fairly accurate for 4 hours of observation. I'll be testing it longer later. Love the appearance. It's no Rolex, but definitely appears more expensive than what I purchased it for. It looks great, feels great. Nice weight. I love the large numbers. I noticed that it comes in different sizes. 36/38 mm and 42. I wear a Medium glove or a size 7.5 surgical glove. I don't have a large wrist. I was worried that the 36/38 would look too small, so I purchased the larger case. I'm glad I did. The 42 mm case is perfect on my wrist. It's not overbearing. A 44 mm would definitely look like a Dick Tracey contraption on my wrist. The nylon wrist strap is fine, but I will be replacing it soon. Definitely a keeper. Happy with price, quality, delivery, and merchant. I would purchase this again in a heartbeat!

I waited a coupe of weeks to review this watch to make sure I was sure of my assessment. The good part is it's a stylish watch, easy to read quickly, and comfortable to wear. Now the reset. They loose one start because there is no hacking feature. When you buy a mechanical watch you are likely a lover of time pieces and you enjoy hacking your watch to standard time in the morning. You can't do that with this mechanical watch. So they loose a star. They lost two more stars because their automatic winding process doesn't work well for me. For example, I took my watch off last night when I went to bed. it was a weekend so I didn't get around to putting the watch back on till after 10:00. The watch had stopped. It didn't have enough reserve power to keep running all night while I slept. If I could have hand wound it, then it would have had enough power. But you can't hand wind these so it doesn't. I wanted to love this watch and if hand winding made is cost $25 to $50 more I would have gladly paid it. But as of now I will not purchase my more Seiko watches that you can't hand wind.

I bought mine on Feb 8, 2012, sold by A2ZWatches, fulfilled by Amazon. I did a ton of research into Seiko 5s, and specifically this watch. I liked the SNK809, but the size seemed small, so I went with the SNZG15. On my 7.5" wrist, next to my awfully large paws, this watch appears just about right; stylishly on the large size, but not by any means massive. If you look closely at the picture in the Amazon listing as I did, between the 8 and 7, and between the 7 and the 6, there is white text that should read "MADE IN" and "JAPAN" respectively. The watch I received does not have this. Between the 7 and the 6 it reads "7S36-" (the caliber) because it is not made in Japan, but rather Malaysia. It's also labeled as such on the Hardlex backing. This was a little disappointing to me, and I almost returned it. But ultimately decided it wasn't worth the hassle. I like the watch, and am fully satisfied with it's authenticity and quality. It arrived in the expected blue Seiko box (with white protective cardboard sleeve), mounted on the white Seiko pillow, with retail string tag attached, along with the Seiko ZSxx instructions, registration card, and warranty/instructions booklet with "certificate of limited warranty," which was not "filled out by the Seiko authorized dealer." I wound the watch according to the instructions at about 15:00 local time, and set the time (about -3 seconds to the atomic clock). Before bed at about 23:00 local, I removed the watch and I noted it had held at about -3 seconds to the atomic clock. The next morning at about 9:00 local, I observed that the watch was about +15 seconds to the atomic clock (a net gain of 18 seconds). After wearing the watch all day, I'm now observing about +16 seconds to the atomic clock (a net gain of 1 second throughout the day). I'll be keeping track of it against the atomic clock, and may report back. So far, this is very much within my needed time keeping tolerances, and for an automatic, I'm satisfied. The Lumibrite hands charge up quickly, and dissipate at a rate on par with most glow-in-the-dark items I've seen. It's nothing special, but it's also not radioactive like tritium, which is a plus to me. The strap is comfortable but austere. There's vinyl reinforcing the strap holes. But I didn't, and don't think you're about to, buy this watch for it's band. I've got 2 other straps, a Bond Zulu and a stitched composite band (black with with red stitching) on their way, which I suspect will really make this time piece pop on my wrist. PROS: Looks fantastic Genuine Seiko Size great (for bigger mitts like mine) Great price for an automatic with some provenance Fantastic "my-first-automatic" CONS: Wish it had been made in Japan as pictured Update: A month and a half later, I would like to add a few things that I thought you the reader might find helpful. The time keeping has been very good; very close to what I've reported above. It's a weekend watch for me, and after a 2 day weekend of wearing it roughly 16 hours per day, the automatic movement will run about a day and a half. Lastly, the Amazon listing when I purchased it (and at the time of this update) states the band width to be 20mm, but this is not true. It's 22mm. The bands I bought looked a little small, and my calipers confirmed it; bandwidth is 22mm. Fantastic watch overall. I would buy again, and would recommend to a friend.