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Product Specifications
| Watch Information | |
|---|---|
| Brand, Seller, or Collection Name | Seiko |
| Model number | SNK809 |
| Part Number | SNK809 |
| Model Year | 2011 |
| Item Shape | Hardlex (Used for Seiko Only) |
| Dial window material type | Hardlex |
| Display Type | Analog |
| Clasp | Buckle |
| Case material | Stainless steel |
| Case diameter | 37 millimeters |
| Case Thickness | 13 |
| Band Material | Canvas |
| Band length | mens |
| Band width | 16.8 millimeters |
| Band Color | Black |
| Dial color | Black |
| Bezel material | Stainless steel |
| Bezel function | Stationary |
| Calendar | Day and date |
| Special features | Luminous |
| Item weight | 2.08 Ounces |
| Movement | Automatic |
| Water resistant depth | 30 Feet |
| Warranty type | Contact seller of record |
Product Details
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
332 of 345 people found the following review helpful
By Lonchodomas
Seiko offers two similar versions of a mechanical "military" watch:
The SNK809 (which is black, but there are other colors). This has a 21 jewel movement (generally the 7S26B, but the earlier models have the 7S26). It has a 36mm case (excluding the crown) and18mm wide band.
The other model is the lager SNZG15 (which is black, but there are other colors). This has a 23 jewel movement (generally the 7S36B, but earlier models have the 7S36). It has a 40mm case (excluding crown) and an 22mm band.
Both of these watches are gray market. You won't see them for sale in US stores.
I've owned my SNK809 for several months and love it. Its very accurate for the price. Mine gains about 5 sec/day. You'll have to spend a lot of money to do better than that in the mechanical watch world.
Two of my friends own the SNZG15, and they seem to gain about 10 sec/day. Note: The fact the SNZG15 has 23 jewels doesn't mean its more accurate than a 21 jewel movement. It's larger, pushes more mass (bigger hands), and thus I speculate is inherently less accurate than the smaller SNK809.
I got my SNK809 on eBay for $45 + $25 shipping (2009). However, it was shipped from Hong Kong. It had to clear customs, shipping takes about three weeks, and has more inherent risk. I'd expect to pay more on Amazon if it was shipped from within the US. Similarly, I've seen the SNG15 for as little as $105 with free shipping, shipped from Singapore.
What I did not appreciate at the time I bought my SNK809 is that its water resistant rating is 30 meters (WR30M). 98 ft. That seems sufficient unless you're a serious scuba diver, right?
Wrong.
Look up water resistant ratings for watches on Wikipedia.
30 meters is the static water pressure for the test conducted in the ratings lab. The working/dynamic pressure rating will be much less. You should not even shower wearing a WR30M watch, let alone swim with it. WR30M is considered splash resistant only. I have splashed my watch, it still runs great, but depending upon your lifestyle, this may or may not be an issue.
The bigger SNZG15 is rated at WR100M, which you can swim and skin dive with. The smallest rating you should swim with (but no skin diving) is WR50M.
The other aspect of the SNK809 you should be aware of is that its smaller than most watches are today. In the 1960's an 18mm band was typical. Today its small, aesthetically, particularly for a person with large wrists.
When I first got my SNK809, I was taken aback by how thin the band looked (and I have smaller than average wrists). I have read the market Seiko is targeting with this model is teenagers in Asia. That market base probably has smaller wrists than the average American male.
But after wearing it for awhile, I noticed I wasn't banging it into things like I do with my larger watch. And it fit under my shirt sleeves better.
Its notable that my friends say the 22mm SNZG15 is a bit bigger than they wish it was.
I've concluded I like the 18mm band. I'm an outdoorsman (when I can be), and do wish the SNK809 was at least WR50M. Other reviewers will say they wish it had a hacking mechanism or a sapphire crystal. Those are not issues for me, and for the price, let's get real.
This is a phenomenal mechanical watch for what you'll pay. I wear mine to work every day. I wear it to meetings and snicker to myself as my second hand moves at six clicks per second, while others sitting at the table suffer the one second lurch of the ubiquitous quartz movement. Yes, I'm a watch geek. Just be aware of the smaller width of the band and WR30M rating. If those aren't big issues for you, you can't beat it.
The SNK809 (which is black, but there are other colors). This has a 21 jewel movement (generally the 7S26B, but the earlier models have the 7S26). It has a 36mm case (excluding the crown) and18mm wide band.
The other model is the lager SNZG15 (which is black, but there are other colors). This has a 23 jewel movement (generally the 7S36B, but earlier models have the 7S36). It has a 40mm case (excluding crown) and an 22mm band.
Both of these watches are gray market. You won't see them for sale in US stores.
I've owned my SNK809 for several months and love it. Its very accurate for the price. Mine gains about 5 sec/day. You'll have to spend a lot of money to do better than that in the mechanical watch world.
Two of my friends own the SNZG15, and they seem to gain about 10 sec/day. Note: The fact the SNZG15 has 23 jewels doesn't mean its more accurate than a 21 jewel movement. It's larger, pushes more mass (bigger hands), and thus I speculate is inherently less accurate than the smaller SNK809.
I got my SNK809 on eBay for $45 + $25 shipping (2009). However, it was shipped from Hong Kong. It had to clear customs, shipping takes about three weeks, and has more inherent risk. I'd expect to pay more on Amazon if it was shipped from within the US. Similarly, I've seen the SNG15 for as little as $105 with free shipping, shipped from Singapore.
What I did not appreciate at the time I bought my SNK809 is that its water resistant rating is 30 meters (WR30M). 98 ft. That seems sufficient unless you're a serious scuba diver, right?
Wrong.
Look up water resistant ratings for watches on Wikipedia.
30 meters is the static water pressure for the test conducted in the ratings lab. The working/dynamic pressure rating will be much less. You should not even shower wearing a WR30M watch, let alone swim with it. WR30M is considered splash resistant only. I have splashed my watch, it still runs great, but depending upon your lifestyle, this may or may not be an issue.
The bigger SNZG15 is rated at WR100M, which you can swim and skin dive with. The smallest rating you should swim with (but no skin diving) is WR50M.
The other aspect of the SNK809 you should be aware of is that its smaller than most watches are today. In the 1960's an 18mm band was typical. Today its small, aesthetically, particularly for a person with large wrists.
When I first got my SNK809, I was taken aback by how thin the band looked (and I have smaller than average wrists). I have read the market Seiko is targeting with this model is teenagers in Asia. That market base probably has smaller wrists than the average American male.
But after wearing it for awhile, I noticed I wasn't banging it into things like I do with my larger watch. And it fit under my shirt sleeves better.
Its notable that my friends say the 22mm SNZG15 is a bit bigger than they wish it was.
I've concluded I like the 18mm band. I'm an outdoorsman (when I can be), and do wish the SNK809 was at least WR50M. Other reviewers will say they wish it had a hacking mechanism or a sapphire crystal. Those are not issues for me, and for the price, let's get real.
This is a phenomenal mechanical watch for what you'll pay. I wear mine to work every day. I wear it to meetings and snicker to myself as my second hand moves at six clicks per second, while others sitting at the table suffer the one second lurch of the ubiquitous quartz movement. Yes, I'm a watch geek. Just be aware of the smaller width of the band and WR30M rating. If those aren't big issues for you, you can't beat it.
88 of 92 people found the following review helpful
By JT
Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a nice little entry level automatic watch. Upon opening the box it came in the first thing I noticed was the size of the watch itself and the band. The watch itself is somewhat small but not too bad. its slightly larger than a quarter. The band however is much smaller than I expected. I have tiny wrists so It doesn't bother me too much but someone with a larger wrist may find it odd looking; it's really just preference and shouldn't make or break the deal as the band can easily be swapped out. The watch has a nice heavy weight to it and doesn't feel cheap like some other larger automatics I have. One strange thing I noticed right away when I picked up my watch was that the weight that spins the mainspring slides against the interior of the watch as I move it. So I can feel the weight as it moves around. This doesn't bother me but I hope its normal and doesn't mean I got a faulty watch. Everything is working fine at the moment (I've only been wearing it for a day) and I see no other problems or peeves about the watch. I'll break down the pros and cons here:
(PROS)
+ Overall nice looking watch. As most watches; the picture online just doesn't do it justice.
+ Watch has a nice weight to it.
+ It's an automatic for under $100; thats a bargain, especially for a Seiko.
+ The luminous hands are pretty good and last for a good 20 minutes. (Not as good as a Seiko Monster but what do you expect)
+ Comes with a 3 year warranty (although the retailer warranty card I received was not filled out by Amazon, not sure if this matters)
(Cons)
- Both the watch's body and strap were smaller than I expected.
- Hardlex glass is not exactly the best material, it suffices but Mineral would've been better. Sapphire is good too but thats a little too much to ask for in a watch of this caliber.
- Grindy mainspring weight.
- Malaysian movement. Although it says this watch has a Japanese movement in the specs; There is a Malaysian movement in them. I believe these are designed in Japan and built or assembled in Malaysia; either way the movement is definitely not made & assembled in Japan. If this was already common knowledge I apologize.
- Water resistance is sub-par. This watch should at least have the ability to withstand swimming and not just be resistant to minor splashes.
All in all it seems like a nice watch. As long as that weight isn't defective and its normal everything should be fine. I'll post an update eventually to let you know how its held up over time.
*** Update
I've been wearing the watch almost everyday for a few weeks now. It's kept time perfectly only gaining a couple seconds a day. It's by far the most accurate automatic I own; even more than some of my Swiss ETA movements. As far as the quality of the watch it seems almost perfect. I love the size and look of it. The Hardlex has held up and I still have no scratches on the dial or caseback (More time will tell how well it really holds up) The only problem I have with this watch is that it seems theres still some friction between the weight and the inside of the watch body. This has been causing it to sometimes keep the weight stationary at some points rather than spin around as it should. It still spins with enough force but some normal hand movements have not been enough to keep the weight moving. That being said it hasn't been a big enough problem to cause the watch to stop on me. It still keeps ticking long after ive put it down. After some research I realized this watch uses the same movement as the famous Seiko Monster & is a bit of a workhorse for seiko.
(PROS)
+ Overall nice looking watch. As most watches; the picture online just doesn't do it justice.
+ Watch has a nice weight to it.
+ It's an automatic for under $100; thats a bargain, especially for a Seiko.
+ The luminous hands are pretty good and last for a good 20 minutes. (Not as good as a Seiko Monster but what do you expect)
+ Comes with a 3 year warranty (although the retailer warranty card I received was not filled out by Amazon, not sure if this matters)
(Cons)
- Both the watch's body and strap were smaller than I expected.
- Hardlex glass is not exactly the best material, it suffices but Mineral would've been better. Sapphire is good too but thats a little too much to ask for in a watch of this caliber.
- Grindy mainspring weight.
- Malaysian movement. Although it says this watch has a Japanese movement in the specs; There is a Malaysian movement in them. I believe these are designed in Japan and built or assembled in Malaysia; either way the movement is definitely not made & assembled in Japan. If this was already common knowledge I apologize.
- Water resistance is sub-par. This watch should at least have the ability to withstand swimming and not just be resistant to minor splashes.
All in all it seems like a nice watch. As long as that weight isn't defective and its normal everything should be fine. I'll post an update eventually to let you know how its held up over time.
*** Update
I've been wearing the watch almost everyday for a few weeks now. It's kept time perfectly only gaining a couple seconds a day. It's by far the most accurate automatic I own; even more than some of my Swiss ETA movements. As far as the quality of the watch it seems almost perfect. I love the size and look of it. The Hardlex has held up and I still have no scratches on the dial or caseback (More time will tell how well it really holds up) The only problem I have with this watch is that it seems theres still some friction between the weight and the inside of the watch body. This has been causing it to sometimes keep the weight stationary at some points rather than spin around as it should. It still spins with enough force but some normal hand movements have not been enough to keep the weight moving. That being said it hasn't been a big enough problem to cause the watch to stop on me. It still keeps ticking long after ive put it down. After some research I realized this watch uses the same movement as the famous Seiko Monster & is a bit of a workhorse for seiko.
28 of 30 people found the following review helpful
Amazon Verified Purchase
I purchased this watch as my first foray into mechanical watches, knowing that it was a budget watch with excellent credentials, and calibrating my expectations to this. I have not been disappointed.
First things first, this watch is NOT a Japanese movement, and buyers should not expect a Japanese movement, regardless of what Amazon's description may say; I did not, at this price point. The movement is designed by Seiko in Japan, but produced in Malaysia, and the markings on the watch clearly indicate this. I have contacted Amazon about this, but they do not seem to show any interest in correcting their ad copy. Caveat emptor.
The movement in this watch as purchased in January of 2012 is a 7S26C.
I have been tracking the accuracy of the watch I received for about 50 days now, taking the time once a day from both the watch and a clock disciplined by the time signal transmitted by the observatory in Boulder, CO. The long-term accuracy is excellent, with an aggregate drift of 13 seconds over this time period. The daily drift is variable, with nearly 1/4 of daily readings showing no change at the second granularity, and 3/4 or more of the readings within +/- 2 seconds per day. I don't know how other units may compare to the one I received, but I am quite pleased with its performance.
The case finish seems to be plenty hard, and is very even and relatively attractive. After nearly two months of wear there are no apparent marks or dings in the finish. The crystal appears to be very hard (likewise no apparent marks there), certainly harder than the Skagen crystal I wore previously, and is very flat and not unduly prone to reflection.
I had concerns about the nylon band looking cheap, but it is reasonably classy and matches the style of the watch body. The clasp and keepers are stainless steel with a matte finish, with the clasp appearing to be cast and the keepers extruded wire. The butt joint of the wire keepers is clean and well-deburred, and of course not visible when the watch is worn.
The lume on the hands and dial is very efficient, much brighter than any watch I have previously warn (which is pretty much limited to Timex and Skagen in recent memory). It is also evenly laid. If I had a complaint about the lume, it would be that the 12 o'clock position bears the same small dot as all other positions, making it easy to read off by one hour mark if you must read the watch in an unusual position. This is not a show stopper, but it does require some care.
As others have noted regarding the 7S26 caliber, the rotor is a little bit noisy. I do notice a rattle from my wrist from time to time going about my daily business. On the other hand, it is plenty efficient. I do not consciously wind the rotor unless I have had to lay the watch aside for an extended period of time (such as when working at a particularly dirty or wet task for the better part of a day), and then I give it no more than a couple of twirls, if anything. I normally wear the watch 24/7 and I have not had any stoppages. When first starting the watch after receipt, I twirled it for 5 to 10 seconds, put it on, and didn't give it any further special attention.
All in all I feel this is an excellent introduction to mechanical watches, and a good everyday watch for the price.
Pros:
* More than adequate everyday accuracy
* Casual but not "cheap" look
* Good fit and finish, quality materials, feels solid
* Light and slim for an automatic
Cons:
* Band appears likely to be good for only about a year (time will tell)
* Occasional rattle from the winding rotor
* Malaysian movement finish is workmanlike but not particularly fine
First things first, this watch is NOT a Japanese movement, and buyers should not expect a Japanese movement, regardless of what Amazon's description may say; I did not, at this price point. The movement is designed by Seiko in Japan, but produced in Malaysia, and the markings on the watch clearly indicate this. I have contacted Amazon about this, but they do not seem to show any interest in correcting their ad copy. Caveat emptor.
The movement in this watch as purchased in January of 2012 is a 7S26C.
I have been tracking the accuracy of the watch I received for about 50 days now, taking the time once a day from both the watch and a clock disciplined by the time signal transmitted by the observatory in Boulder, CO. The long-term accuracy is excellent, with an aggregate drift of 13 seconds over this time period. The daily drift is variable, with nearly 1/4 of daily readings showing no change at the second granularity, and 3/4 or more of the readings within +/- 2 seconds per day. I don't know how other units may compare to the one I received, but I am quite pleased with its performance.
The case finish seems to be plenty hard, and is very even and relatively attractive. After nearly two months of wear there are no apparent marks or dings in the finish. The crystal appears to be very hard (likewise no apparent marks there), certainly harder than the Skagen crystal I wore previously, and is very flat and not unduly prone to reflection.
I had concerns about the nylon band looking cheap, but it is reasonably classy and matches the style of the watch body. The clasp and keepers are stainless steel with a matte finish, with the clasp appearing to be cast and the keepers extruded wire. The butt joint of the wire keepers is clean and well-deburred, and of course not visible when the watch is worn.
The lume on the hands and dial is very efficient, much brighter than any watch I have previously warn (which is pretty much limited to Timex and Skagen in recent memory). It is also evenly laid. If I had a complaint about the lume, it would be that the 12 o'clock position bears the same small dot as all other positions, making it easy to read off by one hour mark if you must read the watch in an unusual position. This is not a show stopper, but it does require some care.
As others have noted regarding the 7S26 caliber, the rotor is a little bit noisy. I do notice a rattle from my wrist from time to time going about my daily business. On the other hand, it is plenty efficient. I do not consciously wind the rotor unless I have had to lay the watch aside for an extended period of time (such as when working at a particularly dirty or wet task for the better part of a day), and then I give it no more than a couple of twirls, if anything. I normally wear the watch 24/7 and I have not had any stoppages. When first starting the watch after receipt, I twirled it for 5 to 10 seconds, put it on, and didn't give it any further special attention.
All in all I feel this is an excellent introduction to mechanical watches, and a good everyday watch for the price.
Pros:
* More than adequate everyday accuracy
* Casual but not "cheap" look
* Good fit and finish, quality materials, feels solid
* Light and slim for an automatic
Cons:
* Band appears likely to be good for only about a year (time will tell)
* Occasional rattle from the winding rotor
* Malaysian movement finish is workmanlike but not particularly fine
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Like the watch.
So far I like the watch. I don't know enough about watches to give an in depth review, but it works fine (so far) and it has nice look to it. Read more
Published 7 hours ago by Dennis R Iacobbo
2.0 out of 5 stars
Doesn't hold a charge
First automatic I've purchased, and probably will never get another if this is any indication of a typical one. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Adam
5.0 out of 5 stars
Time
This is my 3rd Seiko watch in 28 years. The other 2 watches are working fine still....they require a battery. Read more
Published 1 day ago by J. F. Vogel
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Recreational Watch
Accurate and attractive at a very competitive price. I needed a watch for the weekends and this fits the bill perfectly.
Published 3 days ago by Daniel Dwyer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent watch for a great price !!
I was looking for a watch that I didn't need to replace batteries and that would be very reliable and accurate --- and this more than fits the bill !!
Published 7 days ago by Kacz
4.0 out of 5 stars
Nice watch
I prefer casual watches for daily wear, so this fit the bill pretty well. It's comfy and fits smaller wrists well. Keeps time well, of course. Read more
Published 8 days ago by Tim Lee
3.0 out of 5 stars
Seiko 5 Black canvas strap
I gave this 3 stars because once you take it off, it only runs for 5 hours before it stopped. Aside from that, I do like that it's not very heavy and a good watch for every day... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Richard K. Eng
1.0 out of 5 stars
Seiko Men's SNK809 Seiko 5 Automatic
bad unreadable dead after 1 year wow :( wold never buy again Black Canvas Strap Watch not impressed don't like it
Published 9 days ago by vitaliy demchuk
2.0 out of 5 stars
Lasted ten months
As the title says: I am ten months into owning this watch and it has ceased to function. I haven't damaged it in any way -- not even a scratch -- but then one day the weight at the... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Man967
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not the best watch
I have several watches from Seiko, Citizen, and Swatch. I'd have to say that this is a pretty decent watch (but not something I'd recommend to my friends). Read more
Published 10 days ago by Larry Sloan
Product Description
Amazon.com
The Seiko 5 Men's Automatic Black Strap Black Dial Watch is a stylish timepiece with the convenience of automatic movement. A uniquely designed, black dial features white Arabic numbers marking the hours on an inner circle and the minutes on an outer circle, while small, bar indexes encircle the dial on an outside minute track. Silver-tone hands with luminous fill make it easy to tell time day or night, and the slim second hand is detailed with a red accent. For added convenience, a day and date display are set at three o'clock. The polished stainless steel case extends to meet the black nylon strap, which wraps comfortably around the wrist and fastens with a traditional buckle. Water resistant to 30 feet (100 meters), this high-performance watch is perfect for everyday wear.
This is an automatic mechanical watch. Automatic watches do not operate on batteries; instead, they are powered automatically by the movement of the wearer’s arm. If the main spring in your automatic watch is not wound sufficiently, timekeeping may become less accurate. In order to maintain accuracy, wear the watch for 8 hours or more per day, or manually wind the main spring by turning the crown. When not in use, automatic watches may be kept charged with an automatic watch winder – a watch storage unit which may be purchased separately.
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.
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