Are Mid-Range SEIKO Divers WORTH IT? Seiko SBDC053 Watch Review 

"But it is Seiko and they work in mysterious ways!" Classic!

I'd be a lot more interested in it if it was 40mm, with a shorter lug to lug. Thanks for sending in the watch for review Chris(Kris?)!

I actually bought this watch in 2019 and in the beginning I as well had mixed feelings but a week on the wrist and I'm so glad I bought and kept it. That blue is striking is like no other blue I have ever owned especially in different lighting. That strap of yours looks amazing on it. Thanks again for the video Oleg... hugs to Bond 😁👍

Another great review...thanks! I also just looked up and saw the 20k subs...I may be late to the party (so to speak) but that's awesome! Congrats

That case might be my favorite part of the piece. Also excellent camera work, I never appreciated how clear your footage of watches were until trying to do it myself👍. Definitely something to aspire to!👏

Nice review Oleg. I considered this watch for some time, although went w/an SKX 009 then later a 013 instead.

A marvellous example of diver watch. That’s the only 42mm of diameter watch suits me. Because of the log distance. Automatic, 200 m of water resistance, blue dial , perfect watch to survive apocalypse. And a presentation was fantastic as always👍

I bought my one and only Seiko back in 1987/88 the 7002 200m diver. Still going without ever having been serviced.!!!

Great review brother. Been thinking about picking this one up.

Great video as usual!

Fantastic review . Very good job.👍👍👍

I'm very impressed (and tempted!) by this particular watch; many thanks to both Oleg and Chris for making this video possible.

Useful video, thanks.

Great review man👍 just a heads up, I own this watch. one of my favorites. one of four Seikos I own and I got mine on the metal bracelet which I love from gnomon watches so if anybody's looking for that option there it is! cheers

Thanks, Chris for sharing this watch with Oleg and Bond. Nice looking, but there are so many nice micro brands I’d purchase before spending this much money.

Really nice watch. It could be a future purchasel Thanks for the review.

Have the SBDC061, its quite a nice watch also, especially its bracelet is the best I've seen on a mid-range Seiko diver. Although, I'm keen to see the new 40.5mm range coming out in July by Seiko.

I had this watch for a bit and it worked great. However I moved it along and picked up its cousin, a SBDC061. It’s a definite keeper. The styling cues, crown at 4 o’clock. Yep. Love it.

An unsigned crown really doesn't bother me on a watch, have to be honest.

The bezel has no play, as with all Seikos. What you demonstrated was sliding it forward towards the next click. Of course you can go back at that moment. But once it clicks, there is not a single bit backplay! 💪🙏

I have several Seikos at different price points and all of them have surprised me and I love them all - I don't think you get the bang for buck that you used to. I agree with you Oleg, this one doesn't speak to me...I think I would get a SPB079 before this one. Thank you for another great review 😊👍

I have this watch and I love it. One thing a lot of the newer Seiko divers don't have is the outlined date window which makes it look cleaner.

Totally agree with your 3 points! Would add...hate playing the misaligned bezel lottery too.

I have one and don't mind getting another one as a spare. It's several steps above the entry level divers. Elegant case (some say with Zaratsu polishing), oozes quality, superb lume and with right amount of bling.

I have the 051 and a Samurai SRPD09K1 (fitted with Strapcode bracelet) I think it is way higher quality over the lower priced divers, always enjoy wearing the 051 and the bracelet looks great. Watch retails at £1000 in the uk, I managed to find a great deal with a watch dealer and got it for £599.

4:46 that's because the original watch also don't have a sign on the crown ;-) Awesome watch and rewiev :) I have one Seiko in this price range and it's fantastic.

You should look at the current Sumos, with 6R35 movement and bracelet (e.g., SPB101).

On the natostrap the watch looks great. I think the watch worth the money. Great review.

Ahh Mr. Bond is a master ventriloquist. Thanks for the review. I have this model and agree that it's worthwhile purchase. I was able to find a preowned model shipped from Japan. So far, it has performed very well. I have a smaller wrist, around 6.25" (16cm) and am able to wear without feeling underwhelmed. The deal for me was the sapphire crystal. Also, the blue is mesmerizing in the sun.

Seiko divers are always worth it. Enjoy your work.

I have this watch. I really wanted one when they came out, but £799 was a bit of a stretch for my budget, even though it got great reviews. I love the colour and decided that I wanted a blue watch to compliment all my black ones. I have no issues with the unsigned crown, they have not done it to save money, it’s intentional. My wrist is 7.5 inches, so anything smaller looks a bit odd on my large wrists. 42mm plus is often criticised, but for me it’s better. It’s sits on the wrist far better than my SKX007. The clarity of the display, the gorgeous colour and the lume is incredibly good. The shape of the case, Zaratsu polishing all combine to make a watch that appears to compete with Omega, no kidding. As much as I like the quality rubber strap, I bought a high quality forged steel bracelet, because it wasn’t supplied with the 053, like the duller 051. I love this watch, its definitely worth every penny, the bezel is creamy smooth and I totally agree, it should have been supplied on a stainless steel bracelet, for sure. Great review, many thanks. Btw, I got it for £410 and it was only 3 weeks old!

Would be good to compare this Seiko to a San Martin, for the quality finish. Really good vid.

I've got the 051, and I think it's an amazing watch. So much better in build quality then the turtles , skx, samurai and even sumos. For under 1k I don't think there is a better diver on the market from a major brand. The new spb 143 models are great too for smaller wrists, but I still prefer the 051/53 models. But all are great. What other major brand gets you a watch of this quality ? Oris 65 is nearly 2k on a bracelet. Tag heuer aquaracer is over 2k too, rado captain cook is 2k nearly and although it's a great watch , is it 2x better. You can get a longines diver but they scratch up like nothing else. Chris ward do nice divers but are more of a micro brand, same as steinhart. Hamilton frogman and a high end citizen , glycine, certina , luminox, victornox etc all do good alternatives , but are they any better really than these seikos ? It's a tough call. I still believe your getting good value for money with seiko despite their faults.

I had the same watch When i bought it new the bezel action was great with good resistance After few months of usage the resistance become weak and it can rotate easy than before I do not like this I like had turning bezels So how can i make it hard again ?

Can i change the bezel rubber gasket with more thicker one to make the bezel more firm while rotation instead of being loose ?

Like many other watch collectors, I really like dive watches. Not because I dive (I don't), but because they look so outstanding. Seiko does have so many dive watch styles in their stable with a large variance of prices. So, this particular model, to me, is priced too high for what is being offered. There are so many other brands of dive watches with much lower prices, but with just as good design, quality and movements. No question Seiko will have no problem moving this model simply because it is a Seiko. However, I too am not that excited about owning one. Thanks for a nice video.

Love the 051 version but the lug to lug kills it for me. Too bad because it's one of the best looking divers imo

I can't unsee the Contagious book on your shelf.

I purchased this watch maybe during its 2nd week of release. It's one of the few watches I've chosen not to sell. The unsigned crown was the first thing I noticed when I went to the AD, and I almost passed on it for that reason alone. The 051 was my first choice on the steel bracelet, but come on....that blue! The quality overall is noticeably on a higher scale than the entry level Seikos, it feels a bit more refined.

I'm very satisfied with my Seiko samurai sto and I don't have any misalignment issues, cosmetic flaws or movement problems and while some people might say - but, but, but it doesn't have sapphire crystal and ceramic bezel, while that's true, i've got mine on a sale for a little over 300$ (around 310$ or something, I don't remember the exact number) which is perfect in my book and I can always upgrade the crystal and the bezel and it still be under the retail price.

Very nice watch, thanks Chris! Would buy one if only Seiko made no date versions (my pet hate on a diver, a pointless complication at the bottom of the sea) Cheers 👍🏻

Nice review. I have this watch. I am a big fan of this series. There also were a number of other models using this design, including a PADI Version. I have a larger wrist so it fits fine. Seiko doesn’t sign most of there crowns, the new Alpinist and Sumo also don’t have signed crowns. Really did not understand that. I really like the case and finishing, and the dial layout. At this price, they were smart enough to have a really nice domes sapphire crystal. You can get this on the bracelet, but you have to buy it from Gnoman, they are the only retailer to sell this model on the bracelet. I have the bracelet and I personally like it, however opinions vary greatly on it. The Japan on the dial means it’s made in Japan, as this series is all made in Japan. It also says it on the caseback. If just the movement was made in Japan it would say “ movt Japan”. I personally think it is worth the price, but there is a lot of competition at this price, many from Swiss Models.

I have a seiko prospex turtle save the ocean beutyfull watch my favorite in the collection only I have problems with the accuracy iff I set it after a few minutes it's all ready 3 to 6 seconds a head and it keeps going when I bought it that problem wasn't there can any one help me whatt should I do?

I really like the mid tear seiko diver. They are great value and cool design. But they are all to big for me ;(

I love Mr. Bond, he's like a small chubby version of my dogs (boxers). I wish Seiko would make a smaller version of this watch, I don't understand why they persist with those huge case sizes as the only option.

The gulag archipelago, is an extraordinary book. What may I ask is your full time job? I see lots of philosophy/ psychology books on your shelf.

Seiko have other entry dive watches other than the constantly mentioned SKX such as the SRPB series which given the price are ,I'd say, better options

What 6 Seiko's do you own?

Beautiful Blue Sumo sbdc069 has curved hardlex, but has a signed crown, metal bracelet , the 6r15 movement, and a signed crown. A bargain at US $440.

The bezel action and misalignment bother me....my Casio Duro is rock solid and lines up.....Seiko needs to up its QC game.

This is almost the sam as the $2,000 Seiko SPB149

So many RU-vidrs use the term introductory, or entry level, if the watches are not expensive. This is such nonsense. Are clothes, food, boats, planes, rockets, cannons, vacations etc, entry level to anybody but an up-selling salesperson? No! RU-vidrs should drop those references.

Just bought a Seiko Samurai Black face A$500 🇦🇺 (SPRBP51k)

I bought mine on Gnomon on a nice stainless steel bracelet got about 800 dollars.

I bought one of these at the Seiko boutique in Moscow. Came with a complimentary bottle of Sake. Great watch, ugly hands though. I couldn’t get over it in the end.

I believe the” unsigned” crown is a very Japanese way of thinking and philosophy on achieving its famous Samurai sword polishing techniques as” Zaratsu” the signing or any logo just going to interfere and get in the way of the pure polishing.....when it comes to tradition.....yes, many Japanese art and design are colourful, vibrant and unique.....but also when it comes to tradition.....espeacially related to sword making....sword polishing....it usually tend to be more in a “Zen” and pure, natural way......unlike the western culture, everything needed to be flashy and loud plus cosmetic all the time!

I still love Seiko’s mid tier designs. Sadly, they are quickly pricing their watches out of my financial reach.😨

normally, I want the watches...but I want your dog. is he available?

The mechanism could be NH36 and no one would notice it. It's too expensive. For that money You have a great options to choose from (microbrands). Funny to tell this but it turns out that the only good priced seikos are grand seiko ;D

Y Mr Bond aprendió algo de relojes. Cuando te va a ayudar en los videos?😀🙃🙂

what a Beautiful Watch. Seiko Worth every penny you spent

Samurai # 1

Bond looks sleepy. Please do a compilstion of his snorting ♥♥♥

At this price range, there is no excuse for not having a ceramic bezel and a signed crown. I do like the length of the hands though.

I'll never understand black bands on dark dial non-black watches. Why do they do this? The color to go here would have been orangish or reddish brown or dark gray. These choices baffle my mind.

Would you rather buy a seiko diver watch or the pagani design diver? As specs go the pagani is the better watch? And why? Thank in advance!

Ottimo! Bellissimo submariner.store .

Seiko does need to wait Useless and start using Sapphire, both top and bottom.

Roses are red Violets are blue I like this channel And so do you ✌️

👏👏👏🤘🏻

I think mid range Sieko will be controversial no matter wich model you will pick. on the good side I think that their divers having the best designs in the world of divers and even if I comparing their designs to submariner, fifty famous, seamaster Sieko will leave them dust because their watches has the best designs for divers. and I really like the fact that most of their watches are ISO certified, my problem that I have with Sieko regarding to horology, I don't think that 6R15, 6R30 are good as ETA 2824, people who say that they don't have any problems with the accuracy simply don't have any idea about the accuracy because they are not owing the watch at least for 1 years to see if it's good or bad accuracy. the second problem that I have is the bezel, if I close to 1000$US prices or beyond that I want to have a click bezel and not friction bezel. If one day Sieko will do the same watches but with spring drive and click bezel their watches will be the best in the world no matter to what you will compare it...

There are better value watches out there now. Seiko has had its day

I think mid range Seikos arent worth it, im currently saving until i have about 1500 euros so buy something nice and the seikos ive looked at just dont compare well to Swiss or German watches at a similar price. (ive already got one of those BOND Natos ;P

fantastic looking watch but TOO BIG. needs to be 40mm or less.

Nice.... But Heimdallr and San Martin do a better version of the 62MAS for around £100. I am all for buying the original but really..... Why?

I have this watch.I’ve put a black ceramic insert on it. It looks awesome. I do find that I catch the basil quite easily and it turns one I’m wrestling my son

Just to big for me. A little to much money. That is the same movment that is in my sarbo35. It is ok

Not worth the price!, But SEIKO IS KING!!!

I think Seiko has lost its original purpose which was to provide affordable well-made watches. Sorry but way too expensive for a watch that has imperfections and nothing special besides the dial. You can get for 300 dollars perhaps just as good as a watch the Islander. Close to SKX specs lots of colors and lumed bezels. I am not advertising for him as I get nothing out of it but to share information. You can get Orient watches for far less and I think it's from the same Parent company now. I am a bit confused about who owns what anymore. Thank you for your review. My feeling has nothing about the review, just the price. Seiko keeps raising prices for watches that are nothing special. You can get swiss microbrands that offer a lot more in the 700 dollar range.

Just from my personal experience seikos accuracy is really bad 15 seconds plus minus a day

I hate it when you go for so long talking about the value and only mention the price at the very very end of the video

No.

It is just a seiko.You can spend 100 dollars or 5000 dollars it's still just a seiko. In the end it is all personal taste. Always buy what you like.

That model was quite the money grab as they release now the “proper” mini 62MAS with indices and hands that closer mirror the original. I owned this watch and enjoyed it for about a week before I couldn’t stand that ugly handset anymore. Glad I flipped it quick without a loss.

NO. And ... too large in all dimensions

Please look at the new 2020 Seiko releases, the 55th anniversary divers shits all over these stupid old releases.