What's the cheapest Seiko 5 on Amazon?

 Sometimes it's interesting to look for the cheapest watch models available from a company just to see what it would take to get into collecting their watches. Today, I'm starting with one of the longest running and most affordable lines of Seiko automatic watches: the Seiko 5. The cheapest Seiko 5 on Amazon has a very traditional Seiko shield and a truly vintage look. It's the Seiko 5 (Model SNKK67) and it costs less than $125.

Seiko 5 Model SNKK67 (Amazon Photo)

The watch has a very solid reputation and earns 4 stars out of 5 on Amazon with over 129 ratings and reviews. But, the watch isn't without some drawbacks. The main drawback is that the watch can't be wound by hand and has to be shaken many times for the rotor to be wound and activated. If the wearer isn't somewhat active during the day, the watch may go dead shortly after the work day comes to an end. I find that it is more convenient when you can wind a watch yourself by hand and keep it wound with a bit of movement during the day. This Seiko 5 also doesn't have a hacking feature to allow you to stop the watch and set it precisely. This watch has a very vintage vibe. You can check this watch out on here on Amazon.

TGIF: The Plethora of Homage Watches

There are many watches that have been inspired by the classic watch designs of famed watchmakers. In some cases, there is a feature or two that work their way into a design, in other cases a watch may be created as an homage to a classic watch and may look nearly identical save for some branding, and finally there are some watches are counterfeit watches that illegally infringe on trademarked brand logos by copying them completely.

A Genuine Rolex Sea Dweller Dive Watch

Why are there so many homage watches?

One of the things that opens the gates to homage watches and the incorporation of features into modern watches from many watch brands is the sheer age of the iconic designs. I'm not a hardcore student of classic brands that I can't afford, but look at when some of the most iconic watch designs were introduced by their manufacturers:

• Rolex Datejust (1945)
• Rolex Submariner (1953)
• Rolex Explorer (1953)
• Blancpain Fifty Fathoms (1953)
• Omega Seamaster 300 (1957)
• Rolex Cosmograph Daytona (1963)

I'm no legal expert, but in the United States, a utility patent protecting the inner mechanisms of an invention like a watch is good for 20 years. A design patent protecting aspects of the watch shape is good for 15 years. It's no wonder that the doors are wide open for homage watchmakers to copy much of a watches look and shape. However, trademarks on brand names and logos can last forever as long as they are renewed every ten years. This means that homage watches like an Invicta Pro Diver are legal, but counterfeit watches never are.

My Invicta Pro-Diver Automatic

The Advantages of Homage Watches

While some collectors may lament the plethora of homage watches, as a practical matter, they allow all of  us to experience the look of classic watch styles at affordable prices. The Baltany Explorer Homage (below) lets wearers enjoy a Rolex Explorer inspired design. It's a high quality watch built with good materials and solid craftsman ship and it's available for less than $300 here on Amazon. 

A Baltany Explorer Homage

While a Rolex Explorer may never be affordable or prudent for most of us, a Baltany may provide plenty of rugged outdoor watch joy for any of us. The challenge for the old guard of a watchmakers is to invent something new and have decades of exclusive rights to the next icon.

Watch Wearing Wednesday: Timex Tribute Series Citation Florida Gator Watch

 It's been a busy week so far, but it goes by faster when I wear my Timex Tribute Series Citation Florida Gators watch. It is amazing just how good this watch can look!

Timex Tribute Series Florida Gator Watch

I've reviewed this watch on the blog before. You can read my Timex Tribute review here. On Amazon, the watch is listed in the Timex Tribute store as the Timex Citation.

Sharp Watch Shout Out: The René Mouris Mythique Le Monde

When it comes to watches, sometimes fashion and form take precedence over functionality. Such is the case when it come to the Eiffel Tower inspired Mythique Le Monde from French watchmaker René Mouris. With a truly unique hexagonal case, the Mythique Le Monde is an amazing watch from a maker that has grown from microbrand to Amazon seller. The unique look and French sensibility earns this watch a well-deserved sharp watch shout out!

René Mouris Mythique Le Monde (Amazon photo)

The René Mouris Mythique Le Monde comes in seven color combinations. Critics have noted that the thin hands can be difficult to read and the automatic movement is a fairly common Miyota. However, I doubt there could be a more unique and authentically French addition to a watch collection.  This watch is definitely worth a visit here on Amazon. While the Mythique Le Monde watch is a flagship priced at nearly $800, the maker has a variety of cool looking watches with most prices averaging around a far more attainable $400 on Amazon.

Serious Watches: 5 Deep Dive Watches

Dive Watches Rates for 1000-meters or More

When it comes to deep diving watches, capability is everything. The watches we'll look at in this post have the capabilities required by professional divers working at extreme depths. Without support ships, advanced knowledge of saturation diving, and diving bells, it's unlikely that the capabilities of these watches could really be put to the test.  But, even if you aren't going down to 1000 meters, extra water resistance can help a dive watch deal with currents and other pressures of diving. It's also cool to have the technology on your wrist!

A Deepwater Diving Helmet

Here are five real dive watches that have what it takes for the deepest of diving experiences!

1) RATIO FreeDiver Helium-Safe 1000-meter 

This RATIO diver isn't free, but it is the most affordable of the high capability dive watches. It offers 1000-meters of water resistance and a helium release valve to prevent the watch from being damaged by changing pressures returning from a saturation dive.

Ratio Freediver 1000-Meter Dive Watch (Amazon photo)

 

If you'd like to take a look at it, you can find the Ratio Freediver here on Amazon. For less than $200, it is an amazing watch.

2) Hamilton Khaki Navy Frogman 1000M

This Hamilton titanium automatic is great looking and ready for the deep! This one uses the Hamilton H-10 movement which is based on the same ETA 2824-2 movement that is popularly branded as the Tissot Powermatic 80. As a plus, it has an 80-hour power reserve which is far longer than most divers can hold their breath.

Hamilton Khaki Navy Frogman 1000-meter Dive Watch (Amazon photo)

If you like this Hamilton watch, you can find it here on Amazon. There is another slightly different color variant and that is worth looking at too.

A NASA Habtech Diver (NASA Analogs, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

3) Breitling SuperOcean 44

If you're diving to the bottom of the sea and plan to be a sketchy dude while you're down there, you have to go with a Breitling. The Breitling SuperOcean 44 is a great 1000-meter choice for spies, saboteurs, and frogmen.

Breitling SuperOcean 44 (Amazon photo)

This Breitling looks like a real classic and you can check it out here on Amazon.

4) Certina DS PH1000M

Powered by the ubiquitous Powermatic 80 movement, this Certina dive watch likely swims right by most mainstream buyers. But, it is a rugged and capable Swiss dive watch that you can get for less than $1000.

Certina DS Super PH1000M (Amazon photo)

To check this one out, you can bang it here to find it on Amazon! 

5) Rolex Sea Dweller 

This is one of the most robust watches made by Rolex. It's rated to 1220 meters or 4000 feet of a water resistance. The watch has a helium release valve on the left side of the case. A helium release valve is really for professional commercial divers who work out of diving bells deep in the sea. Amazingly, it's never actually used when the watch is wet. This blog post for Bob's Watches has a fascinating article on the helium release valve feature here.

This watch is actually pre-owned model available from What Goes Around Comes Around (WGACA). The watch is offered at an amazing price that you can check out here on Amazon.

A diving tower for commercial underwater work (Wikimedia Commons - Public Domain) 

For most of us, these watches would only fuel our most adventurous daydreams. But, it's amazing that these dive watches give us all a chance to go hands on with some of the most advanced diving technology!

Have You Seen Collectibulldog's Watches and his Museum?

The internet brings together some eclectic and interesting watch collectors and vendors. People have different watch interests, different focuses, and different collecting strategies. There are also quite a few cool product offerings that I would have never known about without social media threads.

Part of Collectibulldogs vast collection

One of the first watch collectors online that reached out to me is Collectibulldogs. This fellow has collected one of the world's largest collections of bulldog memorabilia and collectibles in an online museum. He also collects watches!

A Pair of Watches from the Collectibulldog's Collection

You can find him on X with the handle @collectibulldog. Where I collect more staid timepieces in the interest of office job compatibility, Collectibulldog goes for watches on the wildside. You can see some of his timepieces on his website and in a few guest posts here on The Watch Dude and on website posts like this one. To see his museum, hit his site at Collectibulldogs.com. It is worth a visit! 

TGIF: Buy That Fashion Watch If You Want!

Watch experts and collectors all say, "Don't buy a fashion watch!" However, I disagree. When watch enthusiasts of a certain income level tell you not to buy a "fashion watch," they are trying to steer people away from spending hundreds, maybe thousands, of extra dollars on a watch based solely upon the name of the designer when the inside workings of the watch are quite common. This especially holds true for high end quartz watches. The designer name just doesn't justify the extra money. That might not be bad advice for high end watch buyers. But, then again, this Gucci Automatic that I saw at a runway TJ Maxx looks great!

This Gucci Automatic is Swiss Made and Looks Great

At the lower priced end of the watch buying world, fashion brands like Hilfiger, Nautica, Perry Ellis, Kenneth Cole, Fossil, and LaCoste deliver design consistency and good quality to middle class buyers for a fair price. I've been very happy with most of my fashion designer name watches.

My Hilfiger 3H Quartz Watch

When watches cost $50 to $300 or so, a well-known fashion brand name can act as a guarantor of some degree of quality control. My Hilfiger 3-Hand Quartz Watch was designed and manufactured by Movado Group. While the watch is made in China, it has Japanese movement and a very nice build quality. I've found that when prices drop below $50 and the brand name becomes generic, you really have to examine the watch to see if it is a decent buy. You can be subject to all the drawbacks of cheap watches.  

When it comes to fashion brands, you should also be aware that some brands are now aimed at very low price points and don't have the same standards that they had back in their peak popularity periods. Brands that were popularized during the 1980s or 90s and the shopping mall hay day sometimes disappoint today. For example, I have a diver-style Izod watch that has false subdials. It's a good looking watch, but only worth $30 or less. It's ok if a iconic mall name sells $20 or $30 watches today. Izod and LaCoste split because one company wanted to move down market and the other wanted to move up market. Just avoid overpaying and make sure the watch is worth $20 or $30. That said. I love my fashion watches from decent quality brands and I certainly don't feel bad about owning them.

An Izod diver-style watch with fake subdials

Perhaps, the advice becomes more relevant as you move upscale into brands like Versace, Ferragamo, or even quartz Movado watches? The fashion looks offered by the brands are strong, but are their quartz models getting to be more expensive than quartz watches should be? As I look at Amazon, I'm not sure that they are priced inappropriately. In fact, the prices for Swiss Quartz Versace multi-function watches are comparable to similar quartz multifunction watches from Bulova.

A Versace Quartz Watch

Ultimately, it all comes down to the value proposition offered by the brand in question and the watch that caught your eye. Middle class buyers can also flip that question back on the elite watch collectors. It's completely valid to ask when was the last time a watch collector dove down to 300 meters or orbited our planet. My advice: If you really like a watch and you can comfortably afford it, buy it!