Seiko 5 Sports | Automatic | Stainless Steel SRPE57K1

Product Information

We’ve spent quite a bit of time here at Worn & Wound documenting the relaunch of the Seiko 5 Sports line (see news of the original announcement here , and Ed Jelley’s in-depth review here ). With so many new models coming to the market, as well as the implications of what it means to replace the beloved SKX007 and related models, this release was easily one of the biggest of the year in terms of its importance on the market as it relates to the watches we cover here. Now, almost a year after we first learned of the new Seiko 5 Sports series, we’re seeing the first new additions that represent the first move away from the very obvious diver aesthetic we’ve come to know. Think: Seiko 5 Sports, but without the bezel, and you have a pretty good idea of what’s in store. All this is to say that whatever the price point or collection, a Seiko (or a mechanical Seiko, at least) is something no watch snob will roll their eyes at. Pieces from the more affordable collections remain gateway watches. Countless people wearing Royal Oaks and Lange 1s will tell you the first mechanical watch they bought was a Seiko. In fact, some collectors only collect Seikos. If you require an extra large bracelet or you are in need of additional links these may be supplied at an additional cost.

The words instant classic get thrown around a lot when it comes to watches. I don’t want to outright say that this watch is an instant classic, but it has all the makings of one. It’s affordable and has styling and wearability we haven’t seen from Seiko in recent years. Seiko has been pushing upmarket for the last few years and it is starting to appear that the new line of Seiko 5 watches is what consumers in the affordable space have been clamoring for from the brand. Watch sizing can only be generally carried out on watches with metal bracelets, steel, titanium, gold, etc. The markers and hands are filled with Seiko’s LumiBrite lume and will glow just as fantastically as any other Seiko you have seen. If you’re not familiar with Seiko lume, it will glow brightly at the slightest touch of light and last for hours. For this watch, Seiko decided to remove the rotating bezel and replace it with a polished one instead. This makes for a very clean and refined look which results in a much more classy and sleek timepiece, yet with sporty elements. This makes this watch much more versatile and suitable for all kinds of occasions. Both formal and casual. Seiko 5 SRPE57K1 movement The Seiko 5 SRPE57K1 is built as a clean and elegant everyday timepiece, but very evidently, it is inspired by Seiko’s previous SKX diver and the current, Seiko 5 sports SRP. In its design, it is very similar to a dive watch, however, it is missing one crucial element – the unidirectional rotating bezel.Numerous applied elements on the dial add depth that makes them pop out beautifully. One of my favorite applied logos has always been a Seiko applied logo. For whatever reason, those 5 letters look fantastic when applied to a dial. Seiko did that here as well as bringing in applied markers.

With so many OEM design choices for the SRPD, there’s less of a need to change a base watch, but still, you’d be glad to know that there are a lot of cross-compatible mod parts between these two lines of divers. A lot of mod parts for the SKX007 can be used for the SRPD Sports series, and you can find the complete compatibility list here .For the SRPD and SRPE watches though, they have so many variants that they had to separate them into 5 other categories: Sports, Suits, Specialist, Street and Sense. Not to mention the many collaborations that Seiko is using this line with, which brought us the Seiko Street Fighter watches , the Seiko Naruto watches, and more. The SKX007 is still king when it comes to mod parts availability, and with plenty of information and tutorials out there, this is also the best model for newbies when trying their hand at modding for the first time. It is also the no-brainer choice for fans of the diver watch look. You see, I’ve always tended toward cleaner watches, even with my divers (like my Mido Ocean Star and Omega SMP 2254.50, the latter which I’ve described as a ‘dress diver’). So how could I have been so surprised when the new, fixed-bezel Seiko 5 SRPE51 came along? How did I not anticipate the love?