UPDATE: Entries are closed. Stand by for a winner announcement.
***Enter here to win*** the Seiko Samurai SRPL13 used for photos in the review below. It’s a simple email and name form, we don’t sell your info, and we won’t even auto-add you to our own email list. Deadline for entry is 11:59pm ET on Wednesday December 10th 2025. One entry per person. Winner will be notified by email. Once we get necessary info, we’ll send the winner the watch we used for the review. Good luck!
Editor’s Note: Here in late 2025, Omega just released the newest version of their $9,200(!) Planet Ocean. And it looks really quite similar to the Seiko Samurai 2 (both in terms of style and dimensions). So with that and it being the holidays and all, we figured now’s a good time to give away the Seiko we bought earlier this year for review. Thanks for reading Dappered, and here’s to a great holiday season.
“Everybody’s got an angle” – Bing Crosby, White Christmas
And this watch has a lot of them. Angles on the lugs, the indices, and even the links in the bracelet. It is what sets it apart from the rest of the dive-watch-template-following crowd. It won’t be for everyone, but for those who want something different but still versatile, the new Seiko Samurai has just enough edge, thanks to those edges.
It’s most distinguishing features:
The sharper angles on the drilled lugs & irregular-pentagon links
Smaller and thinner than the previous Samurai, these updated models still have plenty of wrist presence while maintaining the OG’s unique look. With lugs that don’t curve but instead slope and then sharply drop off, as well as five sided links which mimic that two-step slope & fall, it’s got a distinctive, quiet, “sword-y” look to it. It’s comfortable, and the chamfers certainly aren’t a knife’s edge, but the way it flows is less curved Jaguar E type and more… “contemporary DeLorean.” Without the political overtones. “Yo that ain’t a ‘Jeep Wave,’ bruh.” Welcome to Costco, I love you.
41.7mm diameter and 12.3mm thick. Shown on a 7.5″ wrist.
Surprisingly wearable thanks to slimmed down proportions.
If it’s got a celebrity doppelganger, it’s probably Omega’s Seamaster Diver 300m. That’s a bit of a reach, but they’re approximately the same size, and the angles on the links and lugs mimic a bit of the Omega’s busyness. But as the Seiko has a fully brushed case and 3-link bracelet, it comes off as much more of a tool watch, and less of a dress diver.
Matte bezel.
Knurling on the crown.
Small, tonal date window between 4 and 5.
Powered by a hacking and hand-winding Seiko movement (4R35), the power reserve is a standard ~40ish hours, the rotor is surprisingly quiet, and winding the thing at the crown is a dream. No funky feels, clicks, or trips if you unscrew the crown and take it for a spin. The knurling on the crown carries over to the bezel providing grip while maintaining some visual subtly, and the bezel is matte. Which is awesome. No glossy or shiny surfaces on this thing. It’s odd that more brands don’t lean in this direction, and instead often use polished bits and bobs on their hunks of time-telling water-proof steel.
Solid caseback.
Four micro-adjustment holes in the double push-button clasp.
Another “why don’t other brands do this more often?” feature are the drilled lugs. Wriggling in a forked spring bar tool (and scratching the lugs in the process) isn’t required if you want to pop off the bracelet for a leather or NATO strap. Just stick a poker in one end (available in almost all watch repair kits/on many watch tools) to depress the spring, and you’re on your way. Of course it’d be nice if the bracelet had quick release pins, but that’s starting to ask for more than the price tag would indicate. Same goes for wishing it had an on-the-fly micro adjustment option in the clasp. Those convenience details are quickly becoming industry standard, but for now, those ain’t here. You do get a wee diver’s extension though, in case you’re truly gonna wriggle into a dive suit and head underwater.
Drilled lugs: Much easier to swap out the bracelet for straps.
Just “poke and pop.”
Shown above: C&B’s 20mm ‘Roo leather NATO
In a world of Sub copycats, Seiko’s Samurai has always been more unique than most. Thanks to a new slimmed down frame, this new version is an upgrade while still retaining the sharper individualism of the original. If you want a tool watch with some beef yet not the whole cow, and a look that’s got some edge but isn’t visually running-with-scissors, then the Samurai is ready to serve your needs.
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