Men's SNK805 SEIKO 5 Automatic Stainless Steel Watch with Green Canvas

First let me say I'm not a watch guy, I like watches I think they look cool but frankly I don't know what makes a good watch good or what makes a cheap watch cheap, I only know that the general consensus is that Seiko is a good "starter watch". That being said this review is from the standpoint of a normal guy who just likes the watch. This isn't a "starter watch" a good product is a good product no matter the price! It's suited for a guy who owns a Rolex or a guy who buys no name watches and just wants something nicer. Honestly after owning this watch a while I would have no problem paying the full retail $180.00 for this and at $60.00 it's a steal and let me tell you why. First the size, it's small! I think the modern style is for watches to be big, I actually own another seiko that's in the recraft series it's a good looking watch and looks nice with a suit but it's big and cumbersome. On the contrary the seiko 5 is much much smaller more like the classic sized watch you would have seen your grandfather wearing. I have very large wrists most watch bands only fit on the last or even second to last hole comfortably and this watch looks perfectly sized for my wrists in no way does it look feminine although this could make a fine large watch for a woman. Take a look a look at the picture below and keep in mind I have large wrists at 7.8 inches. The size makes it possible to go along with life with out your watch getting in the way or digging into the back of your hand. Next up the strap of the watch. This watch is classy and has an awsome retro design. I feel it was a mistake for them to place this beautiful timepiece on such a cheap watch band. The included watch band is made with a seat belt material and while I think it would last a while I find it to be ugly and it takes away from what the watch could be. I'm sure it was chosen to go along with the military design of the watch it is also probably a cost cutting method. I honestly never even wore the included band I changed it the moment it came to my door. I first tried a band from Amazon made by strapsco a very beautiful leather watch band but too small for my wrist. Then I got a cheap Walmart 18mm watch band, it worked but didn't do the watch justice. I ended up getting a watch band from crown and buckle the watch band was on sale for $30.00ish and is made out of realy soft calf leather, call me cheap but I find even that price high for a watch strap but if your looking for a high quality watch strap I recommend trying crown and buckle. The watch color. When choosing the color I asked my wife what color I should get and she said green. Honestly I thought green was the ugliest color and wanted to go with black or maybe even blue but I have this nasty habit of asking my wife's opinion and doing what I want any way. My wife is a smart beautiful classy lady so I decided I need to listen to her opinion and I did and I'm really happy I did. The green face is less military green in real life its more of a forest green, when paired up with a nice leather band it gives this watch a really unique classic look and as stupid as this sounds it's the only way I can accurately describe it, it looks very earthy. Having the green color on my wrist I wouldn't choose any of the other colors. The dial markings are another treat, where as the seiko and 5 shield are applied the second and hour markings are painted straight on the face. That may sound like it would look cheap but I think it actually gives it a very classic and timeless look. Also the way it's set up makes telling the time a simple quick look down process. The watch also has loom admittedly, while it's very bright at first it fades quickly, although it's faint you can still make out the time in the middle of the night. Now the movement. When you look at that second hand you are going to be treated by what looks like a sweeping second hand, it's so cool. And while I don't think it's really a sweeping hand it's close enough for this non expert! Turn over the watch and you have that beautiful exhibition display you can see the mechanism that swings when you move that powers the watch also the watch spring moving like a tiny heart beating it's really an awsome thing to look at. This watch is also an automatic, that means the power is derived from the moment of your arm winding the watch as you go, I have been told it has a life span of nearly 30 or so hours although mine has yet to die. During the work week I wear a digital watch to work and wear this watch for around 4 hours a day and so far that has been enough to keep it alive. Reseting the watch is a snap. First pull the watch crown all the way out and set the clock to 12.00, then push the crown in one click rotate the crown forward to change it to the correct date and backward for the day, pull out the crown again and set the time. Setting it to 12 initially keeps your watch from turning to the Spanish day of the week in the middle of the day, just a learned helpful tip. And lastly the overall build of the watch. Although it's a small watch it has some nice heft to it and in no way feels cheap thanks to that stainless steal bezel. The bezel is a really complementing dull stainless steal although the sides by the strap are a nice polished stainless steal. I also really like how the crown is set at 4:00, it gives this watch a very unique look while keeping the crown from digging into the back of your hand. This is not my only watch nor is it my most expensive, as I also mentioned it's not my only seiko or my newest watch but it is my favorite. It's not just that it's an all around beautiful watch, honestly seiko nailed it here. But this watch is quality and when it comes down to it money doesn't always determine how long something is going to last even though that's what consumerism tells us. This watch is quality the stainless steel body not to mention the same movement that is found in a wide variety of seikos including watches that cost much more comparatively. Although it would have been nice to have a nicer crystal even if it would have cost more and even a nicer band included, the price reflects this and I think it's an even cheaper price then this watch could be. This isn't only the best watch buy of my life but the absolute hands down best buy of my year when it comes to quality to price ratio.

This is a great watch. So much has been said in other reviews that I won't add to the noise but one area that hasn't been thoroughly discussed I feel I may have something to add to is the color of this specific model (SNK807). As an artist color is paramount and something I'm sensitive to. So having only the pictures online to go on was something of a leap of faith for me, the luxury of holding something in our hands before we buy it is foregone when purchasing over the Internet. The user posted pics all seemed to vary from one another, either being super saturated green or nearly black. So I've posted my own pics which are very color accurate. The first pic is in broad daylight, which is as green as this watch gets. The other two are under normal room lights (daylight fluorescents). My point is, this is a dark olive drab with almost no green at all, which is exactly what I had hoped for. Another aspect of this watch I really like is its versatility. You can strap on a fancy leather strap and its a classy dress watch, or throw a NATO style strap on and head into the wilderness for years at a time and not worry about anything, especially batteries (this is a fully mechanical automatic watch). It may not be obvious, but this is also related to color. The neon green strap this watch is shipped with is bright and has the effect of making the watch face appear more green. Google "simultaneous contrast" for more, or believe me when I say your choice of strap color has a huge influence on what color the watch appears to the eye. I bought a very nice $30 "OD phalanx" strap from Crown and Buckle and am very pleased, plus the khaki NATO strap, both of which are pictured above. My sample ran less than 30 seconds fast for the entire first week I owned it, and has been plus or minus two seconds a day since then. From what I've read of other automatics, this is outstanding especially for the price, and I couldn't be happier with this watch. I have no idea what the negative reviews are talking about, unless they bought from someone other than Amazon and received Feikos. Another thing I'd like to clarify is the Lumibrite. It's brightness and longevity are directly proportional to how much light YOU expose it to before it's in darkness. Ten to twenty minutes in direct sunlight and it will glow like its radioactive for hours. Only room lights and it's a subtle glow for a couple of hours. I didn't really want this feature, but now that I have it I love it. Really, the pattern it has when all the lights are out is really classy. It's like an old Rolex design. Very nice, Seiko. Thanks for a great watch. Will buy again, even if it's just to get the other colors!

I've had it for 1 day and it came in a box inside a box, the only papers that came with it was that instructions manual, no guarantee certificate, when I received the watch it looked like they threw it into the box, I measured the watch and posted pictures of the sizes, I got as close as possible to the Seiko logo and the dial code and I can't tell if it's fake because I'm not a watch expert, I took a picture of the lume the one on the right is a watch I painted with Aurora glow in the dark paint about two layers thick and I blasted my phones light on them for 1 minute I also used the watch check app to try to see the deviation and I posted a screenshot I changed the time before 1:40 p.m. and I don't know if that affected the measurement it could also be that I didn't push the button at the exact moment it reached 00 I don't know, I don't have time grapher , the watch came with a Seiko tag and a protective plastic on the display case but not on the dial Crystal, if it is a fake then it might be a clone but it's keeping good time and it hasn't stopped yet and the quality looks good and the wristband is thicker then the one I bought at Walmart for $5 (probably 3x thicker), the day/date doesn't change at midnight it's more around 3 or 4 a.m. , it's not hackable but you can put pressure on the hands like if you're turning the time backwards but not enough to move it backwards and it will stop the seconds hand as long as you hold it idk if its bad for the watch so it's up to you if you wanna do it, mineral crystal, crown at 4 o clock one click out sets the day/date and second click out sets the hour and minutes, the languages seem to be English and French, what makes me think is real is that the number on the display matches the movement, the quality of the watch band, it's accuracy so far, the detail on the dial code (it's super tiny but still clear to read), the winding weight spins freely even after doing the Seiko shuffle for 3 min and how the crystal is fitted to the case (very little space between the case and the crystal and it's not higher than the case), it's my first Seiko so I'm not really sure what to look for to know if it's a fake but I hope some of the information I tried to post will help you in deciding if you should buy it, I think I'm going to keep it because I like it, the quality looks good and it seems to be keeping time quite well, I'll post an update in a month or so on how it's doing.

I have EXTREMELY small wrists for a man, and this watch almost feels too small. I almost wish it was about 5mm bigger, and I am not someone who likes big watches. The very thin band doesn't help that either. But it is very unobtrusive on my wrist and is extremely light for an automatic, so it does not move around a lot without requiring a tight band. Interestingly, the day can be switched to either french or English. I really like that the seconds are on the outside and the hours inside. I'm a paramedic, so I use a watch for timing things that are done in seconds, so it really does add to the clarity. But I do wish it had a bezel, which would have also helped with the watch feeling too tiny without messing with the size of the face. Luminous hands and markers are easy to read in the dark. The movement is easy to set and the action itself feels very nice and tight, I like the red indicator on the second hand and the layout is just great. The green face really stands out as well, along with the matte case. I can only really complain about two things that aren't my personal style choices: Firstly, the winding movement felt a little loose. it almost rattles when you shake your wrist up and down vertically. I opened the case and it's tight and secure and nothing seems wrong, but I noticed the weight in it is just quite large for an automatic movement so small, so I think it's just got some play that isn't to be worried about. But it does still make some noise if you move your arm quickly enough, though you'll only hear it if you're listening and the room is quiet, it's still a minor mark against it. Second, the band is kind of junk. It doesn't look very good, and it doesn't feel very good. Nylon would be cool if the watch was properly water resistant for swimming or diving, but it's a very utilitarian feel on a watch that isn't. It doesn't feel good on the wrist. BUT, it's easy and inexpensive to replace. I bought this one knowing I'd replace the band because I like the green dial a lot, and the Eache brand on Amazon sells nice and thin/light leather bands at wonderful prices. So, If you do buy this, I recommend you just drop the extra $15 on a leather band (this watch uses a standard 18mm band and pressure bar) So overall, I give it 4 stars mostly because the band stinks and, the winding movement makes a tad bit of noise. But the fit and finish of the watch itself are good, It's a nice watch for people with truly tiny wrists, and the band is super easy to replace with something that really makes it look professional yet casual. Update* That minor rattle I was whining about has gone away with use. Dunno what it was, but the watch is still super accurate. I did forget to mention that this watch CANNOT be hand wound. It just doesn't have the mechanism inside. So when you first get it, you literally have to shake it up and down for about 5 minutes to get a healthy initial charge. And if you don't plan on wearing it every day, you need to get an automatic watch winder. But the small size has grown on me a lot. it feels like almost nothing on your wrist, the vintage appeal is huge, and with a nice leather band, it's super comfortable. I've bumped it up to 5 stars despite still hating the included band (new ones are so cheap, as is this watch, that it's just not really important.)

A few years ago I had this watch stolen from me by someone who apparently liked it as much as I did. I tried not to think about it because I'd bought some higher end automatics, but I really missed it so I finally broke down and bought it again. In its price range there is no better choice in automatic wristwatches. My first one was a perfect watch, and its replacement so far has been every bit as good as the one I got nine years ago. Supposedly Seiko is slowly phasing these out on favor of its replacement, which has hand winding, and hacking, but also a 300% higher price tag. So if you are undecided, let me say again, buy one now. Do not wait, in the future a used one might be your only option. ***EDIT*** Over a year and still going strong. Not my prettiest watch, but my most reliable and practical one without a doubt! One of these days I want a cream colored one as well. ***Edit*** A month in and still the best mechanical watch I have ever had ***Edit*** So far I'm liking it very much. "Well made, keeping good time. Nicely styled tribute to the old army issue watches of WWII. Whats nice about it is it is very unisex, its small enough to be worn on a woman of medium build, yet looks quite presentable on a man. ***Edit*** Just did a test run for reserve power. Took it off, laid it down flat on its back on a table and it ran for 47 hours! 47 hours and 14 minutes to be exact. So yes, I can change to another watch and it takes approx two days to run to a stop. That's assuming its been worn for a day before it. It gains about a minute a week. For a mechanical watch that is very good. If you don't expect time creep at ALL, do not buy an automatic watch. You will only be happy with quartz. ***Edit*** The only thing I don't like about it is I was told the lume was very bright and lasted a long time. The Lume is pretty weak actually. As to warranty, notice that when the seller is directly from Amazon it has a three year warranty. But when its sold by a third party seller and just fulfilled by Amazon it makes no such claim. (And contains no warranty card) So by all means buy it, but make sure its sold AND fulfilled by Amazon. The sellers seem to rotate over a period of days, sometimes third party, sometimes not. I've noticed, third party grey market watches and Feikos are a real problem. Some of the negative reviews are pretty obviously based on fake watches. Yes, fake Seiko 5s are a real thing and a serious problem. (Google Feiko) If your watch was fulfilled by Amazon and not sold by them as well, it probably didn't have a box, and certainly had no warranty card. IF it had no warranty card do NOT accept it and get a refund. Get one directly from Amazon only and not one of their shifty "fulfillment partners" I've seen reviews on here that are clearly Feikos. Whatever you do, be sure you get yours directly FROM Amazon, and NOT from a company using Amazon for fulfillment. Going to test it tomorrow and see how long it really runs without being worn. The watch I have is very solid, and so far has been excellent. The only thing that CAN explain some of the negative reviews is Feikos creeping into the supply chain.

Just got mine a week ago and I love it. A lot of people say the band looks cheap but I think it's in comparison to the watch. The band looks like it would be on a 80 dollar watch and the watch looks like a 200$ watch. The band is a little too glossy but all the hardware on the band looks great. I have a thin wrist cause I'm 6'4 and lanky and I think the watch is a perfect size. New watches are huge but that's trendy. If I still have this watch in 20 years it will still look great what about those giant things. It looses 4 seconds a day and once every couple weeks I don't wear it long enough and it dies so I reset it to the atomic clock and all is groovy. I like doing that it makes it almost like a pet I have to care for and gives me a more of a sense of contact with it than one would have with perfect items that never give you any trouble. It's like an old Volkswagen you feel more connected cause you have to adjust the valves not just change the oil. It really feels like a quality item and has a decent heft to it but not too much, just enough to know it's built well. I also wear a Wenger Swiss army but I like the look and feel of this better. It's a work watch and cheap enough that if I break it in a year I will just buy another one. I may buy another one just to throw a better band on it for a dress casual watch. I work as a bellhop and it's common for me to have 50 pounds of crap hanging of my hand and wrist and it holds up to it. I'm constantly banging it into things and its fine. I decided to wear a cheap timex digital for a while to save my good watches but the band broke within a month and I decided I'm an adult and vain so I needed an analog that looks good. I hope it will last at least a couple years and think it will. People constantly compliment me on it. I've bought 50 things online and have liked half of them a lot loved about 5 of them and this is the first one I had to review.

Update 7/29 15 -- Seiko Customer Service is terrible. After sending my watch in for repair under the advertised 3-year warranty, I finally had to prompt them for status. They replied that I should check their website and gave me a repair number. They could have called or shot me an email letting me know that they had received it and wanted to talk to me about it. But they didn't. So I went into their website only to discover that they considered the watch not to be under warranty and that it would cost $122.13 to repair it. And I have to pay shipping...again!!! Thinking there must be some sort of mix up since I had sent the Amazon invoice with the watch proving that the watch was purchased new, by me, and that it wasn't out of warranty when it broke. Seiko Customer Service responded that they needed the Warranty Certificate (included in the box with the watch) completed by an authorized Seiko dealer before they would honor the warranty. How am I going to get that, if the order is online and fulfilled by one of Amazon’s vendors? Anyway, this was contrary to the return requirements posted on their Seiko Service Center’s website which reads, "If your timepiece is under warranty please include the fully completed warranty card or the original proof of purchase...". I sent them the proof of purchase (Amazon invoice) which should of been sufficient. And I explained that to them...twice. My response to them posed the simple question, "Why won't you honor a 3-year warranty when I’ve already provided evidence that I purchased the watch and that it’s still well within the 3-year warranty period?” The watch also still looked brand new so it was obvious that it hadn’t been run over by a truck. I added, “The watch only cost about $60 when new. Why would I pay more than the watch cost when brand new to fix it?” They emailed me to phone them again for an explanation of their policy. I won’t waste any more time discussing policy. Out of sheer frustration, I send a complaint email and explanation with the Seiko email chain to Amazon’s Customer Service. And, in stark contrast, Amazon replied promptly, apologized for my difficulty (even though it wasn’t their fault), and cheerfully refunded the cost of the watch. All of this in less than a day. No questions asked. My complaint and request for their help was even well beyond the 30 days return period too. I was amazed. Amazon is great. But I will never buy another Seiko again. As an aside, I had a nice Seiko Aviator’s watch that kept good time for more than twenty years. Really liked that watch until it simply wore out. So I know that Seiko can make good watches, it’s just that their nonexistent customer service got to me this time. These days, companies really should bend over backwards to maintain a loyal customer following. I think of it this way, “How much business has it and will it cost Seiko not to fix my $60 watch?” Would you buy a watch from them after reading this review? Update 7/5/15 -- A few weeks ago this Seiko became intermittent. It would occasionally stop while I wore it. The watch just didn't seem to automatically wind enough like it did when it was new. Poor for only 3 months of normal wear. Didn't drop it or get it wet either. The energy reserve of the watch after normal wear decreased from approx. 18 hours, to about 6 hrs, and then became intermittent while I wore it. When it ran, it kept great time. I have returned it to Seiko for warranty repair or replacement. Will update this review when I hear from the warranty center. April 2015 --This is an excellent watch. Superb quality for the price. I've never owned an automatic before, but I must say that I'm fascinated by the concept. This Seiko 5 is attractive and rugged. Looks nice for all-around wear. And so far, it's very accurate. I put it on before I leave for work and take it off when I return home. If you wear it every day like this, it won't run down. I might have to adjust the time slightly each week, but that's about it. It just works. I'm very satisfied with this purchase.

So, I'm no watch expert, but I am a fanatic. I have yet to own a good quality automatic watch, as I've only owned low quality Chinese movement watches, and decided I wanted to start with this watch. Appearance: This is a military style watch. A little smaller than I'm used to. Most of my collection are 40-44mm vs this watch at 38mm. The color is close to OD green and very nice. I live the matte finish off the watch case also. The clear case back allows you to see the movement, which is very good looking in itself. Depending on where you buy the watch from, you'll get the Asian market watch (much less engraving on the movement/rotor, different watch box) or the American market watch (blue box with white pillow, warranty booklet, engraving on the moment/rotor). I have the American market watch. The strap that it came with is canvas, and very comfortable, but I swapped it out for a NATO strap that I had that happened to fit it. If you do wish to change the strap, the lugs are 18mm. Function: The watch is not hand windable and non-hacking (the seconds hand doesn't stop while setting the time). The day is multi lingual (mine is English/Spanish) and takes between 11pm to 3am to change. This is very important to remember when setting the time. I suggest you do a full day rotation when setting the watch to find AM and PM, and make sure you set the day properly. The day/date are quite easy to read. Saturday shows up as blue, Sunday shows up as red. Automatic, for those that don't understand, means it winds automatically from your body movement. The rotor spins, and winds the spring inside the movement. Some people gripe about the watch not lasting for very long if you don't wear it every day, and it won't if you don't move around a lot. The manufacturer gives a 35 hour per reserve. That's fully wound. If you don't have and automatic winder, I suggest you shake the watch for about two minutes after you take it off. That will give you about a full day of reserve without wearing it, before you have to wind it again. The crown is quite small, so setting the time while wearing the watch is a bit difficult. It keeps time well. I've noticed +/- a minute a week. The rotor is a little on the loud side when winding, but not really noticeable when wearing. The lume on it is great, and last for a good but of time. Very easy to read in the dark. Personal Opinion: There's a reason why these watches are so we'll respected. They apparently will last you forever with very little maintenance required. The price point and durability make these an awesome everyday watch. The different variations of the entire Seiko 5 line gives tons of options, and there's a huge group of modders who do custom builds with these watches all the time. If you're looking for a first automatic watch, you won't go wrong with this, and I do suggest one of you're just starting your collection.