I actually really like this watch, but I have to assume Seiko is the victim of their own doing by putting out the NH34, there are about a million affordable GMT’s out there. Thanks for the great review as always.
@@arielspalter7425 I recently got a Vostok komandirskie GMT, it's probably the cheapest non-chinese automatic GMT you can get. The quality is surprisingly good, but the stock bracelet is one of the worst Ive seen, just change the strap and youre good to go.
The problem is if you ever want to try and resell your watch, you will find it difficult to get much back for a used San Martin or any other Chinese watch, however good the quality. I bought one of those San Martin nh34 GMTs and it surely has great specs for the money (and looks great too!), but I accept this will probably remain in my collection until my next-of-kin tosses it out!
Here in Japan, all three models (including the Japan-only white face variant) were discounted for pre-order, around 16% for the white and black face and around 22% on the "deception" model, back in December and just before the January 12 release date. However, the white model is getting harder to find, and its price is creeping back up to the rrp.
Jody, just wanted to say I’ve really been loving the outdoor wrist shots during the introduction of the watches lately. Good idea, it’s working for all of us.
Just bought this watch a couple of days ago. I love how Seiko put a coloured numerals as neon green. It is very legible whether you are indoors or outdoors or even at night. Which to me, as a field watch, legibility is a main thing about being a field watch. Loving it, swapped out to a rubber black strap and It becomes more sporty. Gotten it slightly below the mentioned priced in this video, a definite steal for me.
Oh man, "domed mineral"; for that price, I would much prefer to get a San Martin textured dial watch with so much more to offer. Wonder why the Japanese brands like Seiko and Citizen don't offer sapphire crystal when it is clearly available and is what most people want.
They do, but it's at the same price point of the entry level Swiss automatics like Tissot. Its all of the cheaper autos that are mineral crystal. At least in Aus@@BagoGarde
Then you should get the SM. If enough people don't like Seiko and stop buying them, they will change. But I guess people are still buying them, because actually, most of them just aren't that bothered about what kind of glass it is, or whatever.
I’m going to buy the JDM version with the white dial. It goes for ~$550 CAD at the moment, so I’ll wait a little longer for it to drop to the $400-$450 CAD range. That’s what I bought my SSK001 for ($285 USD).
@@Cravenfr no customs tax on watches under $800 in the US, the threshold is $800. Shipping is like 30$ tho or something like that, but was actually super fast
Although it's a genuinely nice looking piece, I don't see the point of the small GMT numerals on the inside of the dial when they are present on a bezel that is fixed. Can't wait to see the new gaff Jody. A quick tour of the studio maybe?
No kidding. Jody, your own watch company made a fantastic diver with properly aligned bezzle, sapphire crystal, SIGNED crown, superb lume, excellent fit and finish for $100 LESS than this thing. Why people put such value in this brand is beyond me. Seiko can pound sand.
I bought the srpg27k bracelet model at a very affordable price and put a leather strap on it. The watch, which was 146 grams, became 75 grams. It is a nice model that appeals to all ages.
ps I'm rocking a Seiko "Brian May" limited edition with a Nato which I normally dont care for but this one has six lines on it to reflect the six strings of a guitar which is what the whole Watch is designed to honor. I actually love love love it!
I will say that I do really enjoy my SRPG Seiko Field watch! There are some features that don't come off on camera, (like the reflective numerals, textured dial, and blasted case finish), that give it a really nice look. It did require a better band to look it's best, though. The "blah" NATO straps weren't doing any favors. You're still left with the question of whether the GMT feature is a requirement for YOU....but I think I'm happier without it, (and the few extra bucks in my wallet).
Bought the 23 version last week, replaced the bracelet with a black leather strap. Big improvement .Will fit sapphire crystal soon. Ordered the white face version from Japan
I really like this one. Having watched a couple tutorials, you can wear a 2 pass NATO as a one pass (if you haven't tried it). It does help. Great video as usual.
Excellent video Jody. I'd go for the non coated stainless steel. The black one reminds me of one of those plastic Luminox watches. As for price drop, maybe it's not the watch itself, could be that the GMT trend is dying a little bit now.
Reminds me of the one I got in a lucky bag as a kid. That one was prolly more accurate too..... But, on a more serious note, for less than $100 some of the Ali brands offer better looks, quality control and saphire with the same movement. So if you want a $300 premium for a brand name, it's your money your chucking down the drain....
The Seiko Japan Marketing team said we didn't need advice from an international team on this one :D Heavy discount and the name, make it a good fit. Thanks Jody :)
Nice vid Jody as always. Well, as a field/gmt watch, the one thing you want is the lume, but Seiko forgot to lume the numbers and also the 24 hour numbers aren't lumed either, which basically renders the fourth hand unusable at night. So, as a day time field watch look a like, yes, as a actual practical field/gmt watch, not so much.
Yes if you're in the jungle, on operations, at night, don't rely on this watch to be able to tell the time in a different country from the one you're in. Very important.
@@RD-mx7zi Understand what you mean, but the point is, if you are going to pass this as a field watch, then make it a workable one. The same goes with making diving watches that the lume is crap, you need that lume to keep up with your "oxygen" time. I know, that now days you have other devices to do that, but again, if you make a tool watch, then make it right. Just because is Rolex or whomever, does not excuse them not to do it properly. The issue is we give them a pass because they are a big name brand. I say we shouldn't!
@@RD-mx7zi Again, understood, but I think we started to take it a bit out of context now. Yes there are a boatload of stuff out there that don't meet "our standards". The way I look at it, if you like what you see, then get it, my opinion and yours will differ, not matter what, we may agree on some but we will disagree on others, like on this instance right now. Anyway, nice chatting and take it easy my friend.
With this thickness plus the dome mineral crystal, it's pretty easy to get scratched from my own experience. The crystal on my old SNK and SNZG were almost scratch-free thanks to how thin they were but my new SRPJ already had some scratches within a month. Since this one shares the same dimension I'm afraid the same scratches will happen soon. Some people say the new Hardlex crystal is more shatter-proof than the older version but the scratch resistance is worse than its predecessors.
Got my SSK023 “Deploy” for $399AUD from our favourite retailer and absolutely love it! Bracelet comfortable as heck, looks like a black dial Explorer II… great buy!
@@davidlaurenson5462 it was a special offer emailed to VIP customers who have ordered a certain number of times to them. We mustn’t disclose as they are an AD and may have their future supply limited if Seiko find out they are discounting so heavily. 🤷♂️
I remember when Seiko 5s were much more affordable than this, in an era of affordable GMTs from microbrands that use Seiko movements. I know a Seiko cased watch will be more collectible long term, but there are equally nice options out there today for much less money.
No lume on the numerals? I think I'll pass on that one. I'm glad I waited for a review first. I understand that they're trying to go for a stealthy look, and the last thing you need is a watch that lights up at night when you're on a 'mission'. Regardless, I still would've preferred lumed numerals. Thanks for the review, Jody.
This one looks good on you, Jody. I like what Seiko has done with this watch, particularly that it is affordable (at discount). It reminds me of the Seikos I have been wearing since the 70s that just keep on going. I have always had a soft spot for Seiko due to their levels of in-house manufacturing that few other companies can rival. That is why I can still easily obtain OEM parts for my 50 year-old Seikos. Good luck finding a new bezel, crystal or bracelet for most micro brands after a year.
Don't think I don't see how windy it is outside at 7:10, proving once again that Jody will stop at nothing, including putting himself in harm's way, to bring us the best watch content on RU-vid.
I like it. I'm not a huge fan of black/military/etc watches, other than for the actual travel phase of traveling (long-distance riding/driving/flying-airports, etc). At the moment, I use a square G-Shock for that job (which goes back in my travel case when I get where I"m going), but this could take over that role I reckon...
I'm seeing the black version (late Jan '24) in a country just a mile west (but mostly south) of me at USD 415. I have a small wrist but still like a 41mm+ case. If I was going to pick a small case field watch I'd go upscale to a Marathon for the tritium lume.
More than happy with my Night Vision 200m Diver’s solar powered model in PVD steel and sapphire crystal. Cost about the same as this model. Everything even lines up perfectly.
I bought a “Deception”, and quickly returned it. Love the look, but it’s just too think for me. The one I had didn’t have the bezel alignment issues noted by Jody on the one he reviewed.
Really like the black one, gets away from the Explorer-esque look of the steel. At less than £400 its not out of order. Try the para or Marine National stretchy single pass french military straps, all the nato with none ofthe disadvantages, like rolled up strap, and double passing.
Make one up. My friend and I talk very often. She's in Africa and I'm in the USA. The GMT comes in handy sometimes so I can see what time it is over there.
Nice watch and I agree, it’s a nice alternative to the Rolex. Would loved to have seen the two SS versions as I have no interest in the black, but that’s just me.
In my opinion, Seiko needs to make these GMT watches (Alpinist included) either 40 or 41mm to counterbalance the thicker dimensions from the 4-hand GMT movement. As they are now, they've got the proportions of a hamburger, which makes them wear a little strangely...
I like the look of the watch, especially at that price range. I think an upgrade would be a more traditional NATO strap in braided nylon. Just a thought.
I really like these, especially the white dial version. The only thing is that there are better watches out there with the NH34 for similar or lower prices
I like the idea of this one but the redundant 24 hour marker and the bezel makes the dial too cluttered for no relevant functionality. Wouldve considered it if they made it a rotating bezel to justify the clutter by being able to track 3 timezones. Or simply removing the 24hr markers in either the bezel or dial. It just looks like they're cramming their GMT movements into preexisting designs without much intentionality.
The second row of markers on the bezel are 12-hour PM time markers for 24 hour timekeeping as used in places outside the US and in the military. Would've been a much better watch had the bezel been rotating though, I agree with you on that.
280 USD from singapore. full stainless. tax and shipping included. Not a bad deal for a automatic GMT field watch. in USA, Seiko is marketed as a great brand...in Asia, it's just cheap japanese watch...never can ask for high price.
If you want it dun read the comments lol sbsc009 are hard to get in good price range now and you can also get the jdm version for the other models if you look hard enough, sold out for the ssk with bracelet.
I can't believe Seiko think they can get away with these alignment issues, ok it's an affordable watch, but no way is it acceptable to be spending that much money and be worried about quality control - and most people buy online these days im assuming. I actually love the watch, but no way would I risk buying it online.
@@edwardfletcher7790 the white one is a JDM only model, which are made in Japan - says it on the dial. I would rather have this, I don’t care about specs that much
This might be the nicest Seiko 5 I have ever seen. If it had a 6r movement and sapphire crystal I'd be interested. It comes with a 4r movement and with a hardlex crystal and I won't buy another watch with those properties.
I like this watch, but, 13.9mm on a double pass-thru Nato strap, PVD coated, and no sapphire crystal (this is a recording)? However, I do like the matching hands, no silly snowflake or arrows on this one. Guess Seiko has to make fixed bezel watches in order to match up with the indices. Thanks Jody, I'll do a 'camelcamelcamel' on this one.
Took advantage of said email discount last week for the stainless steel version, and I'm pretty happy :-) The JDM version with the white dial is maybe my favourite though - very much a "homage" to the white dialed Rolex Explorer II! might have to track one down when I'm in Japan next month!
Seiko's QC and pricing is a big "deception." I just picked up a swiss made Glycine Combat Sub with a brilliant selita workhorse, sapphire and built like a tank for under $300.
@@JeeGee114 I have two combat subs (one purchased in 2020) with the selita. One I just purchased recently. Never had an issue with the movement. But that's just my experience.
Everything about the dial and hands works for me, and I think I'd like the stainless case a lot. So I'm half thinking about getting one of these; I should "pay respects" to the brand behind the movement in half my awesome micro GMTs of the past while, right? But increasingly it's hard to get past mineral crystal on a ~$300 watch (let alone RRP). When you put something like this against say a $250 San Martin GMT, with its finishing suitable for a $700+ watch... I dunno.
I think I can answer the RRP question, if Seiko sells a watch to retailers at approximately 45% of the RRP, a higher rrp means a higher sale price for Seiko, retailers discounting is eating into their own profit. In short, it's a way to present as offering great margins to retailers whilst in reality, pretty crap margins if retailers are to be competitive.
Gotta ask,....the bezel, whether rotating or not......what's up with the 360 degrees = 24 units? It's not military time equivalent,....it's not "minutes" around the dial......what is it?...and what is it for? That said, maybe it can be used as a one-time "offset"....to use it as a poor-man's GMT for the 2nd time zone offset you are at...BUT ...this IS a GMT watch with the extra hand so you don't need the faux GMT "bezel". What am I missing?
I love the look of it but even after getting the same $399 offer I can't push the buy it now button for some reason. But yeah I do love the look of the black dial with stainless steel bezel and case. It just looks right.....So why can't i push the buy it now button? Dunno its odd. Also did you watch that video another youtuber did last year testing all the glass types? They did say the seiko hardlex was a bit better and while not a massive difference i just think it's worth noting.
I bought the Speedtimer last year, in the same price bracket as this (I got it discounted), and the build is so much better than this. Everything aligns, you get a sapphire crystal and even a decent bracelet, I can't believe you are paying extra for that movement?
I like that watch, thinking of buying one if I can find one for a bit lower price. I have been looking for a all black watch that wouldn't kill my budget but haven't had any luck. The closest I came was the "Orient Ray Raven II" but that one didn't have the Arabic numerals which I wanted. Any suggestions & tips other then this one?
I will buy it from a Microbrand maybe eventually. With a sapphire crystal, screw down crown, a conventional strap and better qc for well under half the price of the Seiko....
Hi Jody. Great video as usual. A nice looking piece. Question, why does it have an internal 24 hour scale when it already has a fixed bezel displaying a 24 hour scale?
I don't understand why everyone says don't buy a watch for retail. Is that just an American/Australian thing? I never see any discounts except for black Friday or Christmas or something. Other then those occasional sales all watches are pretty much always the retail price here in Europe it seems
I take the 005 orange over this one in a heartbeat. When you showed the side by side, this one looks even more junky than it does alone. Not a fan of Seiko but the Orange is a good looking watch.
This is probably not something I would buy at any price. It looks OK and I'm sure it works well, but I can get more watch for less money.The NH34 is a nice movement, but it doesn't command a high price. Hardlex, poor quality control, and the lack of lume disqualify it in my book. I can forgive the leather strap because replacing it with a nylon strap wouldn't be a problem. (But I don't trust leather once it gets wet a few times, and the thickness of that strap is a bit too much.) Really, I'm trying not to hate this watch but it makes it easy for me. Thanks for the review, as always. You do good work and I enjoy your videos!
Why does it appear like a Rolex explorer? For the bezel maybe. The similarity with Rolex is, as we are saying in Spain "como un huevo a una castaña" literally translates "like an egg front a chestnut"
Now discontinued but available used- the Seiko 8F56 series. HA Quartz. Rated +/- 20 seconds a YEAR , ~10 year lithium battery life. Perpetual calendar. True GMT operation. nine tenths of a Grand Seiko.
So they have 24hr numerals on the bezel and inside the Arabics... You really only need one or the other or neither. I would choose neither because I believe "Less is more" would do more for this watch. You then do away from the alignment issue or it's completely disguised, and you would have more room (and budget) to do something with the indices. Take a page from the Rolex as shown...Maybe shake it up and do something like the Lum-Tech V10 Big Date indices and very small 24h numerals. But that would probably perpetuate it to a higher price point. This is of course a personal preference, and everyone's different, but being military for over 20yrs....I would take a watch with a longer power reserve than a GMT hand. I mean I understand the tech, but in my experience crossing time zones often, I personally just change the time to the current time zone and use the little bit of math to figure out the time elsewhere. My ritual is to change the time mid-flight because I know when you look at your flight info, it will always list the local time when you land where you're flying into. Stylistically, I'd throw a Zuludiver Kingsand band and be done with it. The only way 16mm+ of height works is with a short-sleeve shirt. I think NATO straps work best with thin field watches.