![]() With up-to-the-minute features like water- and shock resistance, the first 5 was a stark departure from the horological old school and in time birthed a flourishing line of watches spanning just about every category, including pilot-, diver-, dress- and military-style watches. Modern, metallic, sharp-looking, and attainable, this was a new kind of timepiece for a new time. Beginning with the Sportsmatic 5, it was immediately clear that these weren’t like your granddad’s ticker. Introduced in 1963, the line was intended to appeal directly to a new group of consumers: the revolutionary young generation coming of age in the 1960s. If this is your first encounter with the watch in question, however, let me clarify at this point that it is, in point fact, several different watches. Image credits: Jeremy Budiman, Max Komthongvijit, Arun Sharma on Unsplash ![]() The Seiko 5 in three of its many forms: A dress-, field- and dive-style watch Such distinctions have made this (quoting Hodinkee again) ‘possibly the single most widely owned and produced automatic watch in existence’. What’s more, should you encounter a serious horologist out in the wild, having a Seiko 5 on your wrist is a surefire way to get chatting with a new watch buddy. It’s the rare watch that works in any context, whether you’re looking for a weekend beater or something you can wear out to dinner with your snootiest friends. In many ways, the Seiko 5 can be considered the perfect watch: It’s affordable, sure, but it’s also reliable, reputable, appropriate for any age, and - a rare distinction among respected timepieces - you can buy one in the same place that you get all of your consumer electronics and the toiletries you’re too embarrassed to buy in person. It is, as Rescapement memorably put it, ‘like the Playboy Magazine that a young teen finds under dad’s bed: it represents an introduction to a vast, often confusing new world.’ It isn’t just for beginners or people hunting for a bargain, though. It is ‘the worst-kept secret in watchdom’ to quote Hodinkee, who go onto call the Seiko 5 ‘long revered by those in the know as the most unbeatable bargain in watchmaking by a huge margin’.Ĭonsequently, the Seiko 5 has a well-established reputation as being the perfect movement to get you started. Ask any watch fan what the best ‘cheap’ movement on the market is, and there’s a good chance they’ll point you straight in the direction of this legendary budget line from one of Japan’s most respected watchmakers. So when a great, affordable self-winding watch comes along, you can bet that the watch world is going to sit up and take notice.Įnter: the Seiko 5. ![]() They also tend to come with a degree of heritage that is baked into the appeal as well as the price tag. These are complex, delicate instruments that require time, expertise, and expensive materials to make. Great affordable quartz watches are a dime a dozen, but finding a worthwhile mechanical timepiece that doesn’t break the bank is a much bigger ask. These prohibitive prices don’t stop aspiring watch collectors from dreaming, though. It’s enough to have anyone who doesn’t regularly bathe in a vault of doubloons breaking out in a sweat. Then, when you get to the Big Three ( Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, and Vacheron Constantin), you’re already firmly into five-figure territory. An equivalent Omega is in the same ballpark. An entry-level Rolex can easily cost in excess of £5 000. Just leave one lying on a smartphone or near a TV, for example, and you might find that exposure to a magnetic field has left yours all in a tiz. They require more care and maintenance than their battery-driven counterparts and can have a reputation for being somewhat finicky and sometimes keeping less than perfect time. Sure, mechanical timepieces are objects that represent some mystical blend of beauty, sophistication, and history, and watch fans understandably fawn over them, but they can also be intimidating. Buying a mechanical watch is a big commitment.
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