Back to the basic: Seiko 5

My most beautiful Seiko 5： 返璞归真，简单就好

The Chinese phrase at the title is a great philosophy in life. What it means is simplicity is the ultimate of all complexity. Everything will eventually come back to the basic...... 

Seiko 5 is the basic line of Seiko mechanical watch. It is the budget entry-level series. What is Seiko 5 stands for? The five refers to:

1. Diaflex (unbreakable mainspring)
2. Diashock (Seiko's shock resistant design)
3. Automatic winding
4. Date/date indication
5. Water resistant

This is a sleek design and smooth lining case... It gives this watch a classic look. Coupled it with a conservative oyster type bracelet is a sure wining formula. Seiko 5 is renowned values for money; the case and the bracelet are made of solid stainless steel. Despite being relatively cheap, Seiko 5 does not give you a sense of crap or lower end finishing. It is descent for a watch of RM120; a price that I paid at the end of 1990's. 

This Seiko 5 has the mineral crystal and a clean white dial. The mineral crystal with water marks of Seiko and Seiko 5 logo slightly above the 6 o'clock position. The only thing I dislike about the dial is the Seiko 5 logo; without the logo, it will look more plain, and simple. The day-date is at 3 o'clock position, housed in a beveled silver border. The luminated hour and minute hands are silver coloured and highlighted in black. The match-stick hour markers are also highlighted with black and at the end of the markers is a luminated dot for night visibility.  

I quite like the bracelet of this Seiko 5. The oyster bracelet has been proven again and again that it is very comfortable to wear. The old traditional clasp has Seiko wording standing out. It is not like newer Seiko 5 with engraving letters or logo.

The screw in stainless steel case back is plain, simple and beautiful. Maybe I have seen too much of see through back case. Seriously I think it is rather stupid to expose your weakness. Seiko 5 movements are undecorated and unpolished machine made movement. I really cannot comprehend how to appreciate or enjoy watching such movement. Maybe for some mechanical freaks, it is wondrous to see how a mechanical watch functioning. Or maybe it is designed for someone who first encountered an automatic watch. 

(A fantastic photo of 7S26 by John Davies who also wrote an in-depth review of this movement)

I won't touch on 7S26 movement here. I had written about it while blogging about Seiko Diver SKX007K. Basically, the 7S26 is a non hacking, non handwinding 21 jewels automatic movement and is beating at 21.600 alterations per hour.

Seiko 5 are mass produced but highly reliable entry level Seiko. They are known for being sturdy, affordable mechanical watches that come in a great variety of  choices. There are literally hundreds models of Seiko 5 and it is virtually impossible to keep track of all of them. And for sure this won't be the last Seiko 5 that I posted. Stay tuned for other Seiko 5......

P.S. Is election time in my country..... This is a watch that is highly suitable for politicians. It is cheap and reliable.... It is not flamboyant, extravagant, or showing off.... it sends a message of humbleness and down to earth. I have a tendency to evaluate what the candidates wear.... If a representative wears a RM600,000 Audemars Piguet or full diamond encrusted Rolex; do you think he will serve you or your interests well? Then again one should always question how they financed their lavish life style...........