Seiko

Seiko 5 Men's SNK809 Automatic Black Strap Black Dial Watch

• Automatic self-winding watch, never needs battery
• Exhibition case back
• Nylon strap with buckle

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

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, and this modern timepiece offers a peek at its inner workings with an exhibition case back. 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.

Product Description

Stainless steel case with a black canvas strap. Fixed stainless steel bezel. Black dial with luminous hands and Arabic numeral hour markers. Minute markers around the outer rim with Arabic numerals at 5 minute intervals. Luminiscent hands and markers. Day of the week and date display appears at the 3 o'clock position. Skeleton. Automatic movement. Scratch resistant Hardlex crystal. Skeleton case back. Case diameter: 37 mm. Case thickness: 13 mm. Tang clasp. Water resistant at 100 meters/ 30 feet. Functions: hours, minutes, seconds, calendar. Seiko 5 Black Dial Black Canvas Strap Automatic Mens Watch SNK809.

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Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 3.9 x 3.4 x 1.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 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: B002SSUQFG
• Item model number: SNK809
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (125 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67 in Watches (See Top 100 in Watches)
  • #44 in Watches > Casual Watches

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

166 of 172 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great watch, but the WR30M could be an issue for some ..., March 14, 2010

By 

Lonchodomas (La Mesa, CA) - See all my reviews

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.

48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Decent Entry Level Automatic, July 13, 2010

By 

JT (Long Island, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Seiko 5 Men's SNK809 Automatic Black Strap Black Dial Watch (Watch)

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.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Decent value and features, February 27, 2010

By 

Jonathan Gala (New York, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

I've had this watch for a few years. As others have noted, it runs a little fast -- seems like a few minutes every week or so. Probably not bad at this price point, but it kind of defeats my purpose in getting an automatic watch, which was to not have to worry about the watch -- no winding, no battery, it just works. Instead, I have to constantly correct it.

The other negative for me is the feeling of vibration when it gets moved around -- maybe it is some kind of internal suspension to provide shock resistance, but it feels and sounds a little cheap. It's a kind of buzzy clack, especially when the watch is moved perpendicular to the face.

On the plus side, it looks nice, I enjoy having the day and date, the glass back is cool, and it way exceeded its advertised water resistance for me: I forgot to take it off when I went diving to 45 feet, and it has worked perfectly with no fogging or other signs of trouble since then. As far as I know it is unrated at any given depth, so that was impressive.

If you are sure you want an automatic watch, this is a good and inexpensive way to get there. For me, I kind of wish I had either gone with a similar watch in quartz for a thinner case and better accuracy, or just gone upmarket.