SEIKOAutomatic Watch for Men - Recraft Series - Brown Leather Strap, Day/Date Calendar, 50m Water Resistant

I like this watch. Given the price, it's a bargain. It's often been said that Seiko is the best non-Swiss watch manufacturer out there. This watch is a great example of why many think that. But, you have to keep expectations realistic, and understand this is not a hand assembled in Japan Grand Seiko model. This is a fun, casual, budget Seiko. The movement is a Malaysian assembled 7S26C movement, not one made in Japan, and the case is not made in Japan, either. Nowhere does the watch say "made in Japan", so I assume it's not. Seiko has done a lot of offshore manufacturing of their budget models, and appear to be doing it without sacrificing quality. But, even without the "made in Japan" cachet, this is a good quality Japanese designed watch, with the movement designed in-house by Seiko, and manufactured by them, albeit not in Japan. The 7S26C does have some quirks, though, which are common in older Japanese watch movement designs, but may seem strange to people accustomed to Swiss, or even Chinese produced movements. The oddest thing is the lack of hand winding. To simplify the design, the ability to wind the watch through the crown is absent. It's an automatic, and only an automatic. This means if it runs down you have to do the "Seiko shuffle" and rock it back and forth a bit to get it going. The next thing you find on vintage or budget Seikos is that there's no hacking function. "Hacking" is then the watch movement stops when the crown is pulled out to set the time to within a second. The 7S26C does not do that, either. So, you can't set it to an absolutely accurate time. Hacking didn't become common of Swiss watches until the late 1950s, so I'm accustomed to this oddity from vintage Swiss watches. So those are two things about the function that you should know. It's automatic winding only, and it lacks a hacking function. Seiko is starting to use movements with manual and automation winding, plus hacking, in a lot of their lower priced mechanical watches now, but this one is not one of them. I actually think these sort of anachronistic shortcomings are a good fit for the retro design, since a 60s or early 70s vintage mechanical Seiko would also lack those two functions.The case is large but feels remarkably small on the wrist. A lot of this is due to it being fairly thin for the diameter, and having a flush mounted crystal. It's very comfortable despite the size, and just heavy enough to feel solid and substantial without feeling like a boat anchor. The polished lugs and grained body of the case provide a nice subtle contrast that delineates the cushion design, and I also like the through-holes on the lugs for the spring bars, which is another nice retro detail to the design.The exhibition back on the case shows the rather plain movement, but I like this modern touch, even with a basic workhorse movement like this. One element that is plainly visible is the Seiko "magic lever" type reverser for the winding system. It's an elegant bit of simplified and economical design which Seiko invented, and it's nice to see it clearly in operation.The dial is fantastic. The polished applied indicies on the chapter ring are not mirror flat on top, as often seen on high end watches, but are instead somewhat wavy and soft edged, which really fits the retro look and budget price point. Perfectly flat mirror finished indicies would look too austere for such a casual design. The microprinting on the inner dial is crisp and precise. The deep blue sunburst dial finish is very eye-catching, and the crisp step between the chapter ring and the inner dial adds depth. It's a really good dial for the price point, and the details fit the casual retro design well.I've been wearing it constantly for five days now, and have seen no issues with power reserve or accuracy. However, I did put it on a winder and ran it a 1 rpm for about 20 minutes first thing out of the box to develop a good base level of power. Having a good pre-load on the mainspring helps maintain good accuracy. With a watch which can be hand wound, this is simple to do, but with an automatic only movement, it's not so easy. I'd really recommend giving this watch a good initial winding via rotation before setting it and wearing it. Dont just wobble it barely enough to get it running, and then wear it. A good initial build up of power reserve will help ensure accuracy, and keep it from running down overnight. Take the time to set it up properly, and you'll be rewarded with the famous Seiko reliability, don't and you may find it losing whole minutes because it's hitting the bottom of the power reserves intermittently.Overall, this is a great budget automatic watch, one with good fit and finish, a great casual design, and even functional quirks that are pure 60s/70s Japanese watch.

I live in the UK and had been trying to find a new version of this watch (it doesn't seem to be available over here and hasn't been for some time). I was so please when I spotted it on US Amazon!The price was good - even with the import duty and although a little apprehensive about spending so much on an item from overseas, I was persuaded by the retro-styled good looks of this watch to take the chance. In the event, I needn't have worried - delivery was quicker than my local store delivers the weekly groceries! The package looked well travelled and was a little the worse for wear but the contents were mint.The watch itself looks lovely, is a good size (bigger than a truly 'retro' watch might be) and easily readable!The face is a rich dark green colour (Google British Racing Green paint for a good idea of the base colour). The face colour has been treated so that the two levels although the same green, react differently to light as the angle of incidence changes; the effect is such that this watch really comes alive in the right light. The body is stainless steel, polished on the sides and machined on the top face (bezel) to give a matt finish. The face is contrasted and complimented well by gold non-numeric markings and hands (including a gold second sweep hand). The watch looks as if it should be luminous in the dark but it is not which is a shame but not a deal breaker for me - in any event, the watch is readable at quite low light levels. The strap is good quality calf leather. In short this is a gorgeous watch!The movement is automatic and non-hacking. My understanding is that the movement is an older Seiko movement but very reliable; it certainly seems accurate enough for my needs. My only gripe is that the watch can only be wound by shaking and not by winding the crown which is a shame. That said, the watch starts almost immediately you pick it up and natural movement throughout the day should easily wind the watch enough to last overnight. The watch is water resistant to 5Bar (~50M) but to be honest, it's so nice I'm not sure that I will want to subject it to anything other than rain!At this price, this watch is hard to beat! I 'risked' an overseas purchase just to own one and I am so glad I did. It's unusual and pretty - I have had a few people comment positively on the watch and it's my current favourite (I own several watches).

Nice watch! It’s a bit heavier than my last Seiko, has a solid look and feel to it. Love the slightly larger square retro shape and the leather strap looks good with it.Hope it lasts as long as my last Seiko watch that I wore nearly every day for at least 20 years.