Seiko

Seiko Men's SKA389 Kinetic Black Ion Watch

• Quality Japanese quartz movement with Kinetic capability
• Strong Hardlex crystal protects dial from scratches
• Case diameter: 40.5 mm

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Contemporary styling with advanced technological features, the Seiko Kinetic watch is the world’s first quartz watch powered by human movement. By the simple movement of your wrist, a very efficient capacitor charges itself. Once the capacitor is fully charged, it captures and stores energy for up to six months. Kinetic- the most advanced electronic watch technology. . Features include- Black Ion Finish case and bracelet, black dial with date display, one way rotating elapsed timing bezel and screwdown see thru caseback, and water-resistance to 330 feet.

Kinetic: A powerhouse in technological innovation

Like mechanical and quartz, Kinetic is a platform. Over the past 20 years, SEIKO has created on this platform a suite of Kinetic movements, each bringing unique features to the consumer.

It was at the 1986 Basel Fair that SEIKO unveiled its first Kinetic prototype. Introduced under the trial name of 'AGM', it was the first watch in the world to convert kinetic movement into electrical energy. It was the first step in a development that, 20 years later, has made Kinetic synonymous with environmental friendliness, high performance and long-lasting convenience to a generation of users worldwide. From the launch in 1988 of the first commercially available watch (then under the new name AGS) until today, over eight million Kinetic watches have been sold (as of 2007).

In 1998, Kinetic Auto Relay was released, extending the 'at-rest' operating period of the watch to a remarkable 4 years. 1999 saw the launch of the Ultimate Kinetic Chronograph, a masterpiece which fused the very best of SEIKO's mechanical and electronic watch making skills, and in 2003 another Kinetic Chronograph was launched. At Baselworld 2005, the Kinetic Perpetual made its first appearance, combining Kinetic convenience and longevity with a perpetual calendar, correct to the year 2100. In 2007, SEIKO's emotional technology Kinetic Direct Drive is introduced.

The Seiko Story

From Humble beginnings, Kintaro Hattori’s Vision for Seiko has become reality. A consuming passion for excellence - imprinted in our Corporate DNA passed from generation to generation. Seiko, for 125 years committed to the art and science of time.

A culture of innovation connects a 19th century Tokyo clock shop with 20th century advances in timekeeping to an extraordinary 21st century "quiet revolution." Continually driven by dedication and passion, established a multitude of world’s first technologies… transforming the principles of timekeeping.

The first quartz wristwatch – changed the history of time.

The first Kinetic – marked a new era in quartz watch technology.

In 1969, Seiko Astron, the first quartz wristwatch - was introduced.

In an instant, Seiko exponentially improved the accuracy of wristwatches –And Seiko technology firmly established today’s standard in Olympic and sports timing.

1984, another celebrated first – Kinetic Technology – powered by body movement.

Kinetic – a quartz mechanism with unparalleled accuracy –the driving force behind more world’s firsts.

Kinetic Chronograph – the next generation of high performance timekeeping.

Kinetic Auto Relay – automatically resets to the correct time.

Kinetic Perpetual - combining the date perfect technology of perpetual calendar with the genius of Kinetic Auto Relay.

And now Kinetic Direct Drive – move, and the watch is powered automatically. Or hand wind it and see the power you are generating in real time.

In the realm of fine watches, time is measured by Seiko innovation – A heritage of dedication to the art and science of time.

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B0012LWQK8
• Item model number: SKA389
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,484 in Watches (See Top 100 in Watches)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great product...would recommend to anyone, March 26, 2008

By 

A. Adams (Baghdad, Iraq) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seiko Men's SKA389 Kinetic Black Ion Watch (Watch)

I am currently deployed to Iraq and the watch I came with stopped working so I thought I'd order a new watch. I wanted something that didn't require a battery, wouldn't stop working and that was reliable. Having owned a Seiko kintetic in the past it was natural for me to look at their selection.

I settled on this one because I don't need the bling. I like the black finish and red dial. I recieved this watch very quickly (I'm in Iraq) and began wearing immediately. I have had no issues with it and love it. This watch is not bulky like I expected it to be, very low profile on your wrist and wears comfortably. I wear this watch on combat missions, during PT, in the gym, everywhere. I only take it off when I sleep.

I would recommend this watch to anyone looking for good quality and a nice masculine watch.

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For Pragmatists, Not Collectors, March 26, 2010

By 

C. Kelleher "cmkelleher" (new york, ny United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Seiko Men's SKA389 Kinetic Black Ion Watch (Watch)

Some Seikos have a lot of charm and personality (the Sumo, the Monsters, the Razorback, etc). This watch ain't one of those. It is instead a highly polished efficient timekeeper that does its job in a flawless though bland manner. It keeps time, it's well made, it looks nice in an understated way, and it will probably last for 10-15 years without needing a battery or service. This is remarkable, yet also unexciting. Some watches are for collectors, others are for utilitarians. The SKA 389 (notice the lack of a catchy nickname!) is in the latter category.

First, how it works. This is a quartz movement, accurate to within 3-5 seconds per month. This is about 30 times better than the best automatic movements available. That said, the movement lacks the soul of an automatic - the second hand moves in discrete boring one second chunks from one notch to the next, without the fluid sweep of a mechanical watch. If you want aesthetics, there is little on display here, but if you want the time delivered accurately, here you go.

Unlike a regular quartz though, the SKA will not need a battery in a few years. The Kinetics use a rotor to generate electrical current which is then stored in a high capacity titanium lithium ion battery. (The current models of Kinetics no longer use the capacitors that the initial models did. Seiko had problems with that device and switched over to these batteries.) Unlike your cell phone battery, this combination of battery and power level is good for roughly 20 years according to Seiko. The tech hasn't been around that long of course, so we can take that as an estimate only, but I would say you'll get at least a decade out of it without needing service or a new battery.

Seiko wants you to think of this watch as being a hybrid of automatic and quartz technologies, so they have an "exhibition" (see-through) case back so you can watch the rotor as it turns around in back. You can also hear a mechanical whir and feel the rotor turn as you swing your arm. The actual movement though is not visible through the case back (just as well, as most quartz movements resemble circuit boards more than anything else) so instead you see the rotor and a few big gears that generate the current. There is nothing elegant here, and if you are expecting something like a decorated jeweled ETA movement here, you will be sorely disappointed. You'll watch the rotor turn for maybe 5 minutes, show it to a few friends, and then never look at it again. In comparison, the average automatic watch movement is far more charming to observe, even over the long term, but again the SKA 389 ain't about entertainment or charm.

Seiko tells you in the manual that the max power reserve on the SKA 389 is 6 months. (That is how long the watch would take to stop if you took it off and didn't wear it.) To hit that level, you'll have to swing the watch back in forth in your hand many thousands of times or walk about a mile in less than 48 hours. Wearing the watch over the course of a single day will get you about a week's reserve, so most users who are not vigorously active will only slowly build up a reserve, and will probably rarely hit the full six month reserve. Regardless, you'll have more than enough power on hand to take the watch off at night, for a weekend, or even a whole week. This is far superior to even the best automatics, which will give you 40-50 hours of maximum reserve power at full wind.

Aesthetics: functional and low key. The matte black finish is elegant and the watch feels well made. As with all Seikos, finish and detail is impeccable, and the watch looks far more expensive than it is. My complaints are with the size of the watch and the band. The 40.5 mm diameter of the watch is smallish for ordinary male wrists. As with all Kinetics, the square base plate (that the circular face sits on) is disproportionately large (part of the generator assembly I guess) so the watch has a bit of a squarish shape on your arm rather than the more traditional circle, which makes the 30mm face of the watch look smaller than it is. According to current style, men should have about a 42mm faced watch (or bigger) so this watch is unstylishly small, at least unless your wrists are also small. My 7.5 inch wrist is by no means huge, but this watch looks teeny on it. Adding insult to injury, the band is also quite narrow, so narrow band and average to small sized face means this watch will be utterly lost on a big guy's arm. If you don't mind this, or if your wrist is not that large, this is not an issue.

Warranty is three years. The watch also has a "power reserve" reading feature where you can press a second button and get a rough indicator of your power reserve by the movement of the second hand. After sweeping to show you the power level, the second hand freezes in place until the time "catches up" with it and then starts moving again. A neat gimmick, but one you'll probably use only to make sure the watch is working correctly. There is a date complication on the face. The watch has a steel bezel that can be used as a countdown timer, and this bezel rotates smoothly and precisely. It is functional and understated (see a trend here?) but does not feel as sturdy or precise as the excellent bezel used on, say, the Monster series of dive watches. Water resistant to 100 meters. Hands and markers are luminescent, with average lifespan of glow in the dark time, maybe four to six hours or so of readability in the dark I would estimate.

All in all, this is a good watch for people who want to own one watch. It's not especially collectible, and doesn't have much of a dynamic personality. It will get the job done and work well and last long in the process. Think of it as the Toyota of watches, though without the current recall issues. If you are a guy with small wrists who need a reliable and reasonably attractive watch, you probably won't go wrong with buying this especially at the excellent Amazon price offered at time of this review. If you're a watch buff who likes to collect timepieces with character, you may want to pass on this. The "eternal-battery" feature is nice and the kinetic charging feels somewhat grittier than the bland potted plant solar charging systems offered by Casio and Citizen, but this particular example of the Seiko Kinetic line is not built for personality.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple and fashionable, February 22, 2009

By 

R. PERALES (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Seiko Men's SKA389 Kinetic Black Ion Watch (Watch)

I wanted a basic watch that could act as an everyday watch as well as something could be worn out for the evening. The black band looks great, and I get more compliments than friends who spent much more for a flashy watch. I am more than satisfied with the purchase of this watch.