SEIKOMen'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.

Just wanted to give my quick input on the timekeeping ability of this automatic/self-winding watch. It's my first Seiko 5, but I've been wanting one for a while now. The bottom line is it's been keeping great time for me in the short time I've had it so far. I wear it about 15 hours a day and I'm quite active, so I'm sure that helps keep it wound properly. If you like how it looks GET IT. It won't disappoint. Mine is the less expensive version made in Malaysia, and seems solid. Someday, when I'm feeling a bit more wealthy, I might get one of the Japanese-made models. But I think this one is just fine.Now some background, if you care. I spent a good part of my early working life in live television production, meaning things happened TO THE SECOND ... and if not, there was trouble. Directing our live, local newscasts, we had to hit commercials on time and, most importantly, we had to finish our show and get back to network programming EXACTLY on the hour. (You can set your watch by when network TV shows begin or end. In fact, your VCR clock gets its time updates from the central clock via the PBS signal.) Needless to say, this adherence to accurate clock time bled over into the rest of my life. For example, it would drive me crazy when I visited the in-laws and every clock in their house gave a different time of day. I'd spend the first 10 minutes of my visit getting the microwave clock to match the wall clock, and the VCR clock, and the bedroom clocks ... It was annoying, but thankfully I've outgrown that chronic disorder. In fact, once I got out of TV I didn't wear a watch for years, and it took me a while to let go of things being exactly on time.But now here I am, a 50+ year old watch-wearing adult. I don't need my watch to be accurate to the second anymore (now I produce video for the internet where no one cares how long a video is or what time it starts), but I also don't want a timepiece that will drift so far as to make me late for an appointment. Some of the reviews of the Seiko 5 or other automatic models complain about the time drifting drastically, or the need for a watch winder to keep it going. Well, I'm here to tell you that my version is doing just fine, thank you. I bought the SNK805 because I liked the smaller size (I have a habit of smashing watch crystals into walls and handrails as I move around the world, so smaller is better), the color, the nylon band so I'm not buying a new leather band once a year, and the lack of need for a battery.TIME: So far, four days after taking it out of the box, strapping it to my wrist the first afternoon and setting it to my iPhone clock, the watch has lost less than one second. That means that once every 8 MONTHS, I can move the hands forward one minute if the slight inaccuracy is bothering me. I know it's only been a few days for me, but I just wanted to give an opposing viewpoint to others who claim these watches don't keep accurate time. Maybe I got lucky and got a "good" one, or maybe the accuracy will start to drift after the mechanism tires out eventually. But for now I'm extremely happy not to be buying batteries and trying to figure out how to dispose of or recycle the toxic chemicals. Here's to good old fashioned mechanical engineering ... for the win!