Was looking for something light dialled and cheap and cheerful to take up the ‘dressy’ role in my collection. Happened upon this little number - the Seiko 5 model SNXS73, and thought I’d do an article as have been so impressed with it.
It’s a 37mm case, 12.5mm thick, with 19mm lug width (yeah, annoying) and 43mm lug to lug. Has the non hacking/hand winding 7s26 movement.
This cost me £103 new, and I think it’s incredible bang for the buck. It has a bit of an Oyster Perpetual, Datejust feel - which I attribute to the style of applied batons and stick hands, plus the prominent rounded/polished bezel. But of course the Seiko 5 model has a heritage all of its own. It also has a display caseback - and the lume is superb, plus you’re getting the day/date. The dial is a very well done sunburst silver, which also looks white in certain lights.
It’s not without its faults of course. 30m water resistance is a bit feeble, not sure I’d take it swimming but then there are other watches for that. And it’s evident all the cost is in the watch, as the bracelet is pretty diabolical. As well as being cheap, flimsy folded links it looks as if it belongs on another watch being like a brushed tin compared to the polished steel of the watch head. But that’s easily remedied and I’ve sourced a decent quality aftermarket jubilee.
For me I’d say this was the best Seiko 5 model I’ve come across; a great value sporty dress watch. Here’s one last pic on my 6 2/3” wrist.
Incidentally, there is also a sunburst dark grey (almost black) dial version, the SNXS79. This has apparently been discontinued, and is hard to find (cheers Seiko for always discontinuing your best and most popular watches). I managed to find one at a reasonable price earlier and ordered it, will be nice to have the pair. Will do an update with some pics of it when it shows up.
Any thoughts on the best Seiko 5 model? There’s so many of them it’s easy to overlook hidden gems!
Cheers
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I've got the SNXS77K, which is the blue dial. Looks gorgeous in my opinion.
As you say, bracelet is shocking, and 19mm lugs are annoying.
Also accuracy is all over the place with mine.
But a cracking little watch all the same.
Where did you source the bracelet? The end links look to be a good fit.
I`ve owned a similar one with a black dial for years.
I think you do it a disservice, the bracelet is a bit tinny but what do you expect for the price, once it's on the wrist it's fine. As for the brushed finish, it is what it is, if you want to get the older Datejust look have the lugs grained/brushed to match the bracelet, or you could get the centre links polished instead to match the latest Datejust.
The Seiko movements aren`t my favourites for a couple of reasons, but what I can`t dispute is the ruggedness and longevity. I`ve had several apart and whilst they're never pretty they're good at what they set out to do. With careful adjustment they can be made to perform quite nicely, but no-one wants to spend money on a cheap watch!
When I was learning to refinish watches I practiced on my Seiko bracelet, consequently it's now pretty well spoiled, but I recently treated the watch to a replacement, bought second-hand and unused for £15!
This is by far the best watch Seiko have produced. Forget the Grand Seiko thing, if I want an expensive watch it won't be a Seiko, but at the opposite end of the market these are cracking watches.
I have a dark blue dialled SNXS77, put it on a black 19 mms Hirsch Rainbow - perfect.
Originally Posted by Pagan
The bracelet in the pics is the stock one that comes with it. As someone else said it does have that rattley vintage feel, it could grow on me. But I think this watch would look better on a jubilee, and the dark dial one would look best on a brown leather. That blue one looks great👍
19mm lugs isn’t a problem, simply buy a 20mm strap and squeeze the ends hard.........seriously, this works!
30m water resistance is sufficient to keep water out in most situations. I actually tested mine, at around 4 bar the rubber O ring under the glass started to fail, which surprised me.
People decry 30m WR simply because 30 is a smaller number than 50, or 100, everyone’s hung on specs and numbers for comparison. In the real world it’s adequate, and that’ll do for me.
19mm straps are not difficult to find. I've just bought a Hirsch Duke 19mm strap for a Seiko from Watch Obsession.
The SNK381 is my favourite
I like that a lot. Been looking for a nice looking blue face dress watch for little money. this seems perfectI've got the SNXS77K, which is the blue dial. Looks gorgeous in my opinion.
As you say, bracelet is shocking, and 19mm lugs are annoying.
Also accuracy is all over the place with mine.
But a cracking little watch all the same.
Where did you source the bracelet? The end links look to be a good fit.
Elegant watch. Thanks for the review
Was looking for something light dialled and cheap and cheerful to take up the ‘dressy’ role in my collection. Happened upon this little number - the Seiko 5 model SNXS73, and thought I’d do an article as have been so impressed with it.
It’s a 37mm case, 12.5mm thick, with 19mm lug width (yeah, annoying) and 43mm lug to lug. Has the non hacking/hand winding 7s26 movement.
This cost me £103 new, and I think it’s incredible bang for the buck. It has a bit of an Oyster Perpetual, Datejust feel - which I attribute to the style of applied batons and stick hands, plus the prominent rounded/polished bezel. But of course the Seiko 5 model has a heritage all of its own. It also has a display caseback - and the lume is superb, plus you’re getting the day/date. The dial is a very well done sunburst silver, which also looks white in certain lights.
It’s not without its faults of course. 30m water resistance is a bit feeble, not sure I’d take it swimming but then there are other watches for that. And it’s evident all the cost is in the watch, as the bracelet is pretty diabolical. As well as being cheap, flimsy folded links it looks as if it belongs on another watch being like a brushed tin compared to the polished steel of the watch head. But that’s easily remedied and I’ve sourced a decent quality aftermarket jubilee.
For me I’d say this was the best Seiko 5 model I’ve come across; a great value sporty dress watch. Here’s one last pic on my 6 2/3” wrist.
Incidentally, there is also a sunburst dark grey (almost black) dial version, the SNXS79. This has apparently been discontinued, and is hard to find (cheers Seiko for always discontinuing your best and most popular watches). I managed to find one at a reasonable price earlier and ordered it, will be nice to have the pair. Will do an update with some pics of it when it shows up.
Any thoughts on the best Seiko 5 model? There’s so many of them it’s easy to overlook hidden gems!
Cheers
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Great value aren't they?
Little update to this. The dark dial version arrived today - am stunned by the quality of the dial and general overall finish at the price. Can’t decide which is nicer but cool to have the pair. This one has a sunburst anthracite dial and is beautiful. It’s also the ‘J’ version, so slightly different dial text (includes 21 Jewels and ‘Made in Japan’).
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I bought the above for my father, and he bought one for my Son.
I also bought the gold-dialled version for my Mrs.
They all love them. I’m a big fan of Seiko 5 through the ages in general
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i've always found it never looks quite right when doing that.
ktmog6uk
marchingontogether!
Great value for money IMO . Here is my SNK361K1
Usually they settle in look OK..........maybe you’re not squeezing hard enough
It only works with thin straps, the sort I prefer.
Little update to this. The dark dial version arrived today - am stunned by the quality of the dial and general overall finish at the price. Can’t decide which is nicer but cool to have the pair. This one has a sunburst anthracite dial and is beautiful. It’s also the ‘J’ version, so slightly different dial text (includes 21 Jewels and ‘Made in Japan’).
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That looks great.. can i ask where are you getting them from ?
thanks,
The picture of above of my blue dialled version is a 20mm strap squeezed into the 19mm lugs.
I think it looks OK, but you need to find the right strap - soft enough, or slightly under-sized.
This looks fantastic! The batons have the Oyster Perpetual lookLittle update to this. The dark dial version arrived today - am stunned by the quality of the dial and general overall finish at the price. Can’t decide which is nicer but cool to have the pair. This one has a sunburst anthracite dial and is beautiful. It’s also the ‘J’ version, so slightly different dial text (includes 21 Jewels and ‘Made in Japan’).
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Of course. The silver dial one is available on WatchShop, great service mine arrived the next afternoon via free Royal Mail tracker delivery. Currently available at £98
https://www.watchshop.com/mens-seiko...p99934879.html
The grey dial one has apparently been discontinued and is much harder to source, I just searched Seiko SNXS79 in Amazon and found one available via a third party seller. Might be worth a try.
Last edited by davidj54; 21st November 2019 at 20:38.
Thanks for that,
They're lovely little watches...if you can still get a new one, well worth it.
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Lovely brown strap in the first photo Jason - do you recall where you got it from?
Thanks
It's a custom made 19mm by Steveostraps using his 'black bay' leather
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Blimey, they’ve nearly doubled in price, I seem to recall seeing them for around the £50 mark. Have to agree they do look very nice.
I love Seiko 5's. The bracelets are okay. They're cheap but comfortable. However a decent strap will transform them. Here is my meagre collection:
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Thanks Jason. Managed to bag a 5, and have messaged Steveo. Which buckle did you go for, and could you share a photo?
Cheers
Quick bump. I'm on watch buying hiatus but have convinced myself I can spring for a seiko snxs73. Any experience of timekeeping on these? I don't expect cosc but would like to know how bad they potentially are.
Also, any info on best place to buy (UK based).
Thanks
Seem to recall a 7S26 movement is +40/-20secs per day according to the official spec. I had one in an old SNZH55 that regularly ran more like +15 a day.
As it doesn’t hack it’s harder to get it accurately set
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The SNXS79K has an absolutely fabulous dial, as good as any I have seen at any price point, and the lume is spectacular too. In addition the day/date complication is incredibly useful in real world usage.
I sold mine as I didn't like the case or the bracelet. A bit daft really as it would have been an easy mod to transfer it into a better case, probably with a hackable/windable movement upgrade at the same time, plus it looks superb with leather straps.
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