New watch day

thermionic

I discovered the reasonably-priced Seiko automatics a few years ago (after a brief flirtation with the even cheaper Vostok Amphibians) and I've worn a Sea Urchin for about 5 years now. It's a nice Rolex Submariner homage with classic good looks, but the more authentic (properly dive certified as opposed to diver-style) SKX007 was calling out to me... so I got one. I bought the rubber strap version with the intention of getting a good Oyster bracelet for it. However, I fancied trying a NATO strap, with a holiday in a hot country coming up (steel bracelets react with suncream and irritate my skin), so I got a Bond-style NATO. It makes the whole thing feel much lighter on the wrist, and my fears about excess strap length (I have little girly wrists) were unfounded. Classic styling. Count me in as an SKX007 fanboi.

Tonight Matthew, I'm going to be James Bond.

https://i.imgur.com/LEHiBU0.jpg

KKJale

Those are very cool and the nato looks great. What are they, 43mm x 12mm or so? I'd probably have to go for the SKX013 because I have wrists like spaghetti. Congrats!

thermionic

I think they're usually described as 42mm. The bezel is narrower than the Sea Urchin so it looks smaller overall. The SKX013 looks neat and I was tempted, but they have a 20mm lug width.

One great thing about this is the bezel rotates much easier than the Sea Urchin. The Sea Urchin is extremely stiff, and I mentioned it when I sent it off to Seiko for a service, but it came back as stiff as ever. So I never used it, which is a shame as I find them very useful as a timer when cooking pasta, rice etc!

What I like about these are they are as accurate and as waterproof as a Rolex or Omega, but are about 8% of the price.

stickyfiddle

You have to go a very long way upwards in price to get something tangibly better than a Seiko 5. Good Watch-AS

Sassafras

It looks heavy enough to send you to Davy Jones' Locker if you went diving with it on.

yorkio

Yep, another SKX007/NATO fan here too. It’s been on my wrist for the past ten years or so now and it’s hard to think of any reason why it won’t be there for the next ten either.

ThePrettyDamned

That looks very very nice. HAPPY WAS! 

tekbow

That's very nice, I must grab a seiko at some point. You're not really a watch fan without one.

FX_Munkee

I've had my skx011 (the orange version) for 15 years now I think, basically they appear to be indestructible. If you fancy a nice oyster strap for it there's a couple of places that do a solid link version for the skx007. Mine came from Canada IIRC and it finishes it off nicely.

thermionic

Really enjoying the light feel of the NATO at the moment, but I've been looking at the Strapcode Oysters (solid end links, unlike Seiko's own), available on amazon for about £55.

stickyfiddle

thermionic said:

Really enjoying the light feel of the NATO at the moment, but I've been looking at the Strapcode Oysters (solid end links, unlike Seiko's own), available on amazon for about £55.

Those Strapcode oysters look really good. You've got me thinking about one of those plus a nicer bezel insert for my urchin now. Would tide me over nicely until I ever find a steel-bracelet-equipped Tudor BB58 in real life...

Snap

I have a 5M43 AO40, it's been put through a lot, loads of swimming in the sea, bashed around and it's still going strong. Great watches.

Kittyfrisk

My favourite old beaters, the Mk1, SKX779 Orange & Black, 7s26 Monsters.
Utterly reliable, tough & keep better time than some of my more 'boutique' divers.
The Seiko original stainless bracelet is awesome quality too.
I prefer the 'proper' NATO 'Bond' but I love the black/grey too 

Limehouse_Blues

Seiko rock. I wear a SARB033 daily and a few people have mistaken it for a Grand Seiko. Such good value watches 

Neil

The SK007's are good watches, I have a couple here and always wear on a NATO for comfort.

The 7S26 is not the most accurate mechanical movement but is tough and long lasting without interference.

One thing I would say, if you are on holiday don't leave one in very sun - the  plastic chapter ring can shrivel up.

Don't ask how I know!

UnclePsychosis

Nice.

Strongly considering a Seiko automatic / nato combo at the minute. How deep do you find it? I wear a formal shirt most week days and it's not always easy to get a watch under the cuffs. 

UnclePsychosis

Actually, seeing as the watch nerds are liable to be in the house- any recommendations for (automatic) aviation style watches of similar quality/value/price to the SKX range?

As appealing as the SKX013 and SKX007 are I've always been more drawn to aviator style watches y'see... 

thermionic

It sits noticeably higher than my Sea Urchin on the standard Oyster bracelet. The Sea Urchin's bezel has a slight bevel, so the SKX007 in comparison appears higher.

KKJale

UnclePsychosis said:

....any recommendations for (automatic) aviation style watches of similar quality/value/price to the SKX range?

Maybe look at the Seiko 5 SNK805, even more affordable than the SKX, same movement. I have one and like it, it's a fun little automatic, only 37mm mind... the SNZG15 and SNKH63 are bigger. Or perhaps have a gander at the Orient ER2A003B?

SNAKEBITE

Love Seiko!

I'm a fan of the Kinetic watches, I have collected three over the years.

CHRISB50

UnclePsychosis said:

Actually, seeing as the watch nerds are liable to be in the house- any recommendations for (automatic) aviation style watches of similar quality/value/price to the SKX range?

As appealing as the SKX013 and SKX007 are I've always been more drawn to aviator style watches y'see... 

I've been looking at these...

https://avi-8.co.uk/collections/all/m-automatic?sort_by=title-ascending

I'd never heard of the brand before but they kept on popping up on my Instagram feed. I quite like some of them, although no idea how reliable they are.