SEIKOMen's 5 Sports SNZF17K1 Automatic Watch

I love Seikos. I have two Seiko 5's; a red dialed SNKM95 and a beige dial SNK809. They are great 37mm field watches. My everyday watch is my beloved SKX007J. It's a tank and will stand up to anything o throw at it, including harsh recoil from guns and chopping wood. But this isn't about them. It's about the Sea Urchin.This is a great watch for the money. I would pay double the amount for this watch and feel no remorse. It's a tank-like watch with a workhorse movement. Onward.The Case:The case has the feel of a Rolex Submariner. Granted the angles aren't clean like a watch that costs around 33 times as much, but the feel is there. The sides and back have a mirror polish with the top side of the lugs being brushed. It sits well on any wrist. It may look a little large on a very small wrist, but the short lugs and flat case make it wear well. It definitely has more presence than the 37mm Seiko 5's but you get a lot more water resistance with the 41mm case.The Bezel and Crystal:This model does not have the lume pip on the bezel as the more expensive models do. The circumference is knurled and helps move the bezel the 120 clicks to complete a cycle. My sample was a bit stiff, but I think it will smooth out after some time. It is better to have the positive clicks with stiffness over the scraping of my Vostok Commander.The crystal is a flat topped affair with no odd ripples or distortions. While Hardlex cab seem like some odd advertising gimmick, I have never scratched my 007 after a year of abuse, see the the shooting and wood chopping mentioned above. I do like sapphire better, but at this price point the Hardlex is good stuff.The Dial:The dial is a deep gloss black. I was expecting a matte black like my 007, but the pristine glossiness is quite attractive. The finish is even throughout, with no pudding around the day date window.The day and date wheels are white lettering with a matte black background. The chrome border around the cutout draw in the eye. In fact I love the chrome border around the markers. I wish my 007 had them. It reminds me of the borders around the Submariners. Shocking I know.The hands have a thick slathering of lume that matches the awesome lume of the dial markers. Thee hands are very utilitarian, with only a chrome chevron on the chunky hour hand as embellishment.The Movement:The Sea Urchin houses the workhorse 7s36 automatic movement. It has everything that is familiar with the 7s26, but with a crown at 3 o'clock. It runs 4hz, has a 36 hour reserve, no stem wind, and day/date changes slipping somewhere between 9pm and 4am. It has two extra jewels, but I'm unsure of need unless it has something to do with the move is the crown from 4 o'clock to 3 o'clock.The crown is not a screw down affair. It's impressive that it is rated to 100m without a screw down crown. Setting is typical of the 5 series. You just set the date at the first stop and the time can be set at the second pullout stop.While the timing my change as the movement breaks in, it is running about 3 seconds fast a day. That's right on par with my other Seikos. They don't regulate them at the factory, but I have had good luck with all of mine.The Bracelet:The bracelet is a tank. It has polished sides and brushed tops and undersides. The ends are folded, but they are finished in a way that the seam is barely visible. The styling matches my friends Tudor Black Bay with its oyster bracelet perfectly. The clasp is secure. It will not fall off unless you remove it. Removing or adding links is easy as long as you have the correct tool.Overall this is a great everyman's watch. If you know someone who is wanting to get a watch that will look at home with a suit, t-shirt, or wetsuit, get this watch. it will withstand years of use and abuse. As another anecdote of how well Seiko 5's are made. I found my dad's in a box in a barn. He wore it as a pocket watch for years and would shake it every night to wind it. It was made in 1979 and had been sitting without running for over 10 years. I picked it up and gave it a shake. It ran and is still running; gaining about 10 seconds a day. That's a great watch and this one is no different. Would highly recommend.

I have my Seiko 5 watch for 6 months now. Though it's a habit altering device, I'm still happy with it. My watch is made in Malaysia though I personally prefer the made in Japan model.This is my 3rd Seiko 5 watch and I choose Seiko due to its workmanship. This is my most expensive watch and I took care of it. When I took showers, I always remove it despite that it is waterproof. I don't want to make it dull its luster or tarnish its beauty. Initially I consider it as my dress watch but due to its performance, it becomes my daily watch.Auto self-winding watch = I normally remove my watch (and my college ring) when I go to sleep every night but that lifetime habit changed. One time only, my watch stop working after 5 hours when I took it off from my hand during my night sleep. That was a big surprise to me. In several occasions my watch stop working if I fail to wear it after 10 hours. I estimated that the most functional hours of my watch, away from my hand wrist is between 7 hours to 11 hours or else I expect my watch not working and I have to do extra routine of re-setting the time and date.On the go-avoidance = it is the primary reason I bought expensive auto-self-winding watch. This watch alter my lifestyle sleeping habit. I would rather choose wearing my watch during sleep instead of constantly monitoring/adjusting my watch if it fails to rewind during my sleep when I wake-up in the morning.Time Accuracy comparison between my Iphone 5 and Seiko 5 = You will be the judge. I did not remove my watch from my wrist during such dates.December 2, Monday = Seiko Time: 8:06 am; Iphone Time: 8:05 amDecember 23, Monday = Seiko Time: 2:30 pm; Iphone Time: 2:32 pmDecember 30, Monday = Seiko Time: 10:08 am; Iphone Time: 10:12 amJanuary 2, Thursday = Seiko Time: 9:17 am; Iphone Time: 9:22 amJanuary 22, Wednesday = Seiko Time: 12:14 pm; Iphone Time: 12:27 pmAccepted Norm = From my first-college Seiko 5 watch, I already accepted the fact that self-winding watches are not as accurate as digital watch. But I had no idea, how far off the time difference between the 2 systems and how long I should take it off from my wrist without the hassle of resetting it.It does not bother me that my Seiko 5 is off by few minutes because that is the reality of most auto-self-winding watches. I can choose to wear my expensive brand watch powered by battery which was gifted by my wife. But I hate the idea that the sales person changing the battery does not take care of it (it happened twice already) and finding a good watch repair shop is more challenging nowadays.Besides, I constantly carry my Iphone 5 and my profession does not demand the precision of time. I give 5 stars because of its beauty, waterproof, dependability, ease of adjusting time/date, and price.