Seiko Men's SNK803K2 Beige Nylon Automatic Beige Dial Watch

I've always preferred Seiko - something about them that is not "flash", not "look at me I'm sad, rich and thick", not cheap looking either. I stopped wearing a watch quite a few years ago but recently I have realised how anti-social it is to keep pulling a mobile phone out of my pocket to tell the time rather than a discreet glance at my wrist. Having been a techie and favoring quartz accuracy etc. I now find I am fed up paying for batteries and their fitting and then losing the waterproofing anyway so I went self-winding.While originally browsing for a stainless style, white or black face, steel bracelet type like I used to have I noticed this one and kept getting drawn back to it and eventually could not resist. Price from Amazon (or fulfilled by Amazon to be accurate) was very good - about half what is being quoted locally in Ireland.The watch is lovely - very understated, attractive, easy to read though I do need my glasses to read the day/date. It has a military feel to it but kind of comforting, not in your face "oh what a he-man" look. The second hand movement is very smooth, about 4 steps per second. The luminous hands show up well when coming indoors out of even dull sunlight.The watchband is comfortable and does not catch on cuffs or slide about like the steel link ones and similarly the watch body has nothing that rubs or catches on anything.It is totally silent - I saw one comment about the "noise" the self-winding mechanism makes - they must have very sensitive ears.I haven't gone sailing with it yet so I hope it's waterproof enough for splashing and the occasional dip in the water. It is water resistant to 3 bar so it is "not designed for wear while swimming or diving".So far it seems to be keeping time well - gaining about 10 seconds per week.The movement is made in Malaysia, not Japan (this information seems to be important to some watch fanatics).I have left it off my wrist for 12 hours a few times and it did not run down. Haven't tried a longer period. When it arrived it was already wound up and running.It was a little indulgence, a little whimsey on my part - and I'm really pleased.

It's the smallest of my watches, even smaller than the Timex Expedition Scout as you can see in the photos I added.I like the "Flieger" type B dial and the almost fully recessed crown which avoids pulling threads on long sleeves.The day needs from 12 to 3am to surpass the alternate language and display the day in the set language, which is normal when the watch has bilingual day display. The date switches almost instantaneously around midnight.The deviation is about +3 to +4 seconds per day only - with the factory adjustment, that's VERY accurate for an automatic movement. Many premium watch movements are way worse than that. For a watch in the budget range this is simply awesome.The lume is fairly good but not lasting too long, after 30 minutes the intensity has decreased a lot, as on most watches.This watch is the absolute understatement watch, for everyone who enjoys to KNOW what's ticking on their wrist without the need to show it off. A high precision timekeeper for not more than a decent two-person dinner.

This is undoubtedly an attractive watch. Despite being an automatic it's neither bulky nor heavy but is large enough to look and feel solid. It seems to keep good time and the smooth glide of the second hand is quite pleasing, as is the opportunity to view the mechanism through the glass back. The strap is very comfortable and solid. The sandy colouring makes it look like a watch designed for use in the North African campaign in WW2. You could imagine Rommel wearing one as he set out for Tobruk.The crown is definitely a little fiddly to pull out. There's a cutaway behind it on the back of the watch. Slipping your nail in here makes it easier to pull out the crown but this is not immediately obvious. I find its offset location (at 4 o'clock) makes it difficult to handle when the watch is on the wrist.I've noticed that it can stop overnight but not the next night. A bit unpredictable but I've not had it long enough to be certain about this.The main shortcoming is probably mine. At the age of 55 I cannot be without reading glasses. The hands and the numbers on this watch are so fine they are a complete blur unless I have the glasses on and this is not ideal out of doors. The effect is worsened by the fact that the hour numbers are tiny and on an inner ring. The outer ring features seconds (5, 10, 15 etc) with slightly larger numbers. If these were reversed and the hour numbers made larger it would be a much more practical watch. The Lorus Lumibrite Military Sports watch or the British armed forces issue G-10 watches, which I also own, are far easier for me to use in this respect. If you're shortsighted this won't be an issue, but it's worth bearing in mind if you need reading glasses.

While it is difficult to predict how well a watch will perform in the long term my initial impression is very favourable (unlike the Pulsar I previously owned which only lasted 15 months).The watch was well packaged and came well within the anticipated delivery period, with its guarantee card properly completed.The watch is automatic and therefore quite heavy when compared to a quartz watch but this gives it a solid feel.Although it is very much a matter of taste, I personally find the beige dial attractive and the hands have fluorescent inserts so that it can be read in the dark. It also has a nylon strap, which is a plus for me as I find such straps both comfortable and long lasting.All in all I am very pleased with my purchase.