In Review (and win it): The Seiko Presage Style 60’s Automatic Watch

Seiko SRPG05 41mm Automatic – $393.75 ($525)

Note: Above link goes to Macy’s, where they’re running a “lowest prices of the season” sale through Sunday 10/24. And since Macy’s is an authorized dealer, you’ll get decent customer service and a manufacturer’s warranty, which won’t happen if you go gray market.

• Pro: It looks a lot like the Omega Semaster 300 heritage line. Only for under 10% of the price.
• Con: The bezel is fixed. Doesn’t move. Really wish it would.

And thus endeth the world’s shortest watch review.

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Ah c’mon, let’s spill some more words.

Retro but modern. That collision of characteristics is all over men’s style these days. And that makes sense. We’re 1/5th of the way through the 21st century, but nobody wants to dress like they’re living in The Jetsons. Yet adorning yourself like you’re heading to a Mad Men costume party would make you look like a cosplaying goofball. So what to do?

Grab a pair of google-glass, your great-great-great grandfather’s monocle, stare at both of them intently… then throw them in the trash.

You want the middle ground. This “Style 60s” line of watches from Seiko is the middle ground.

Fixed bezel is classy. Retro-slim with coppery, slightly aged looking minute markers.

With a 41mm case size, it’s not some 36mm throwback. There are classic dive-watch vibes, but as already stated, that bezel is fixed. Which is a slight bummer. Some of us use our bezels to time stuff pretty often (say while cooking, keeping an eye on an expiring parking meter, etc.) Not sure why they went fixed, when a rotating bezel is just so darn handy.

Really comfortable on the wrist, and would also look great on a NATO.

The watch sure is comfortable. The “gently rounded case” and a terrific bracelet combine for a feel that puts clunky and rigid watch designs to shame. Clasp has just one micro-adjusting position to help dial in the fit further. Some will have wanted a few more for an even more precise fit. Links are all brushed/matte, with polished sides. No blingy inserts or any of that nonsense. Thickness is 12mm with a boxed shape crystal. It’s not paper thin, but it can easily pull duty as a dress watch too.

Box shaped hardlex crystal gives it some presence, but it can still be worn as a dress watch.

The 4R35 automatic movement hacks as well as hand-winds with a super satisfying, uniform, “zip zip zip” as you spin the crown. That crown does not screw down though, and thus water resistance is “just” 50m. But moving the crown in and out from flush to the case, to date adjusting position, to time adjusting position, is a reminder that this isn’t a cheap watch. There’s no wiggle. No wobble. Each position is decisive. And I’ve felt crummier crowns on much, much more expensive watches. It’s a reminder that how the crown feels (and how the movement winds) is huge indicator of the overall quality of a watch. It’s like the foundation on the house. It’s “the bones.” The rest is just window dressing (especially the actual window dressing) if you’ve got problems with the foundation.

Exhibition case-back shows off the 23 jewel 4R35 movement.

The designers kept the contrast under control by going with an off-white/cream/slightly aged looking shade to the lumi-bright on the hands and accents around the indices. True white woulda been a bummer. Too garish. This is just right, and goes great with the coppery-shade of the bezel’s minutes markers.

There’s really only a few things that could be done to “improve” this new line, if anything at all. First, make the black color option available in the United States. At post time the black appears to be a Japan exclusive. For crying out loud guys, it’s the freaking black option. I don’t think the clich© is “you can have it any color you want… BUT black.” Second, a rotating bezel would be super appreciated (see the Christopher Ward C65 Trident).

Give us the black with a rotating bezel, maybe throw in a grey and black striped NATO and a spring bar tool, and the line will be out the door.

UPDATE: Congrats to Matthew S. who won the drawing for the Seiko Style 60s watch in this post!!

Enter here to win the blue Seiko Style 60s shown in the post above. One entry per person. Deadline for entry is 11:59 pm ET 10/21/21. Winner will be notified by email. Note that this thing is “game worn” but for the photo shoot only. And during photo editing I noticed a ding in the bezel, right at the 10 minute mark. I have zero clue what happened there. Didn’t drop it. Didn’t fumble it. Not sure if it showed up that way. And yeah… didn’t even notice until I was cropping/resizing the shots for this post. Anyway, good luck.