3,112 articles · 997 videos found · page 75 of 137
Teddy Baldassarre
Teddy Baldassarre is an authorized luxury watch retailer of brands like TUDOR, OMEGA, IWC, Grand Seiko, Breitling, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Zenith, Longines, ORIS, MIDO, Tissot, Hamilton, NOMOS Glashütte, Baume & Mercier, and more.
Teddy Baldassarre
The Seiko SARB033 has joined the ranks of Seiko watches that are more popular and coveted than ever - despite never having been sold outside Seiko's home country of Japan and also despite exiting the market entirely back in 2018. In this article, we explore the SARB033 and its closest siblings from the elegant collection and try to uncover what makes these hard-to-find timepieces so appealing. Seiko SARB Collection History: Seiko introduced its SARB collection exclusively to the Japanese market in 2006, positioning it as a more upscale alternative to the sportier 5 Sport line, which also offered watches with the brand’s own automatic movements at very approachable prices. The SARB series (no, the letters don’t stand for anything, we checked) was built around the Seiko Caliber 6R15 movement, more on which below, introduced by Seiko one year prior. The first generation of SARB watches (SARB001, SARB002, and SARB005) appears to take inspiration from the King Seiko “Vanac” editions that made a brief but impactful splash on the market in the 1970s, with their angular cases, funky dial colors and textures, and faceted crystals. The next wave (SARB007, 009, 011) goes for more of a rounded, “Retro Modern” character, with vintage designs influencing the three-hand-date dials. On the heels of that trio came the first models in the series to really break through to widespread enthusiast acclaim outside their native Japan, the mountaineering-inspired “Alpinist” m...
Teddy Baldassarre
The beginning of October is the official marker of the beginning of spooky season, at least in my opinion. In the spirit of Halloween inching closer and closer on our calendars, I thought it would be fun to take a deep dive into a watch that really channels the energy of the season, at least as far as nicknames go – the Seiko Monster. And, to lean even further into the fanfare, I’ll be focusing solely on the most Halloween-appropriate colorways of the Seiko Monster universe – that’s right, it's the bright, pumpkin-y Seiko Orange Monster from here on out. Below, I’ll be walking you through a little history lesson for context, breaking down the various generations of Seiko’s Monster diver, ultimately to help you determine for yourself if this watch is an unlikely icon or a horological monstrosity. Seiko Monster Context First things first – the “Monster” moniker is a nickname for this line of divers that the enthusiast community came up with itself, and the brand has yet to embrace it officially. The early 2000s, at large, is representative of something of an identity crisis for the watch world, as the necessity of wristwatches as a time-keeping tool waned. Each brand has its own approach, but when I think of the early 2000s for watches, chunky, bold, imaginative, and somewhat overbuilt pieces are the first things that come to mind, especially on the heels of the relatively conservative watch designs of the 1990s. Ultimately, the origin story of the Seiko ...
Worn & Wound
eBay Finds is back! This bi-monthly installment will feature a selection of watches currently listed on eBay that have caught the eye of editor Christoph McNeil (@vintagediver). If you come across any hidden gems on the ‘Bay drop us a note at info@wornandwound.com for potential inclusion. Seiko Sportsmatic SilverWave 69799 Starting off this week with a killer vintage Seiko, and one you don’t see for sale often. This 1964 Sportsmatic SilverWave is just really cool. The SilverWave is one of Seiko’s earliest divers, with a water resistance rating of 30 meters and an internal rotating countdown bezel. The 38mm steel case is a great size, and it’s in good shape. The original crown is at 4 o’clock, and when it’s in the “in” position, you can turn it to rotate the inner bezel. The silver dial is nice, showing a touch of aging as is the bezel. The snap-on caseback still shows the Seiko wave log and the serial number which dates it to April 1964. The automatic movement is clean and it runs well per the seller. This comes on a Seiko beads of rice bracelet which isn’t original, but looks great. Nice example of a hard to find early Seiko diver! View auction here Vintage Bulova Chronograph Here’s a real beauty, a vintage Bulova chronograph that features a stunning slate blue dial with dual silver subdials. The 37mm squarish case looks good, still exhibiting the original brushed finish on the top. The dial looks mint, with nice steel stick markers and hands. Ther...
Teddy Baldassarre
Seiko has no shortage of dress watches, many of which come from the Presage collection, which boasts some of the best values out there. That said, I recently came across a watch that not only comes from the Japanese brand's more basic, entry-level Essentials collection, but is actually the cheapest Seiko out there at the moment. Yes, the Seiko SWR064 is affectionately dubbed the Seiko Tank for obvious reasons, but there is something distinctly Japanese about it. I had my initial doubts about this watch, but when factoring in the design, style, and price, there was no real way of getting around the fact that this is a starter dress watch that exudes value. Let's get into why. Seiko "Tank" Case The case of this Seiko “Tank” is done in stainless steel, with a gold-plated finish that really fits in with the retro styling. I’m usually really turned off by gold-plating but the cohesiveness with the dial elements pulls it together. As for the size, it measures 27.9mm wide, 38.5mm tall, and 6.7mm thick (30 meters of water resistance). For the sake of comparison, the Cartier Tank Louis “Extra Large” comes in at 27.75mm wide, 38.1mm tall, and 8.18mm thick, so the sizes are very close. There’s not a lot of chatter about this watch out there but I did notice some people say it’s too big to be anything like a Tank, which is demonstrably false. The similarities don’t stop there, as the positioning of the brancards is similar - though I do wish they were just a little b...
Video
Hodinkee
Another variation of Grand Seiko's chronograph is joined by the first ever variant of the brand's high-beat manual wind movement.
Worn & Wound
When it comes right down to it, there’s no more important watch brand to the enthusiast community than Seiko. Sure, Rolex is the biggest brand in the world, and the most recognizable brand name (for any product) ever. But no other brand matches Seiko for variety, accessibility, quality, and pure fun. There’s truly something for everybody under the Seiko tent, and it’s a brand that we find ourselves unable to quit, even when they frustrate us for any number of reasons. But this isn’t about those frustrations. This post is about the Seikos we love the most. We asked our contributors to pick their favorite Seiko of all time, and we think as you read through these selections you’ll find that the thing that ties them all together is a deep personal connection to a watch. That’s what’s at the heart of this hobby, and what makes Seiko so special. We want to know the Seikos that you love the most, so let us know in the comments what you’d pick. Elodie Townsend – Seiko Flightmaster SNA411P1 I can’t hear the name Seiko without getting misty-eyed about the watch that introduced me to the wider world of horology fandom: the Seiko Flightmaster SNA411P1. It’s big, brazenly busy, and admittedly over-packed with features that I would never use (calculus, anyone), but that pop of yellow and the charm of its over-complications make it a joy to wear, use, and show off. My dad got me my “Flighty” as a gift for my 21st birthday years back; when the price hadn...
SJX Watches
Advanced digital watches haven’t deterred leading Japanese brands from continuing to earnestly develop high-accuracy quartz watches in analog formats. Chief among them is Seiko, which has just unveiled two new limited editions of its satellite-linked Astron GPS Solar. While the SSJ037 appears to be a simple time-only watch and the SSH185 looks like a straightforward dual-time chronograph, each watch is solar-powered and includes an electronic perpetual calendar. Limited to 1,500 pieces for the SSJ037 and 1,200 pieces for the SSH185, the new collection is sci-fi inspired, featuring colours and textures common to fictional depictions of space stations. Initial thoughts There are a couple different approaches to making high-accuracy quartz watches. The first is pretty obvious, and involves developing ever-more precise quartz oscillators. Seiko has long been a champion of this school of thought, although Citizen has inched ahead in recent years. The other approach is to make a reasonably precise quartz movement that automatically syncs with an external signal, which might be a radio signal broadcast from any of the atomic reference clocks positioned around the world, a bluetooth signal from the user’s phone, or, in the case of the Astron, a satellite signal. Since the brand debuted this technology in 2012, Seiko has refined things making the watches sleeker and the interface more intuitive. As a result, the time-only SSJ037 is an ordinary 42 mm in diameter and 12 mm thick;...
Teddy Baldassarre
Seiko and Citizen are the two undisputed titans among Japanese watch brands, known and admired worldwide for their technical excellence, design acumen, and legendary price-to-value ratio, not to mention the role that both brands have played in the technological and cultural evolution of watchmaking in general. And while these world-renowned companies have been fierce competitors from the beginning, they have a lot in common as well. Here we present a side-by-side comparison of Seiko vs. Citizen, starting with their earliest days and concluding with an overview of what each brand is doing today. Seiko vs. Citizen: Origins of Two Japanese Watch Pioneers With its very high-tech lineup and avant-garde designs, one might be inclined to think Citizen Watch Company is a relatively new player on the worldwide watch scene, but one would be mistaken. The company today known as Citizen was founded in 1918 by Kamakechi Yamazaki as the Shokosha Watch Research Institute. The name “Citizen” first appeared on the dial of a pocket watch that Shokosha produced in 1924; it is believed to have been suggested by Yamazaki’s close friend Shinpei Goto, then the mayor of Tokyo, who believed such a watch should be universally appealing and accessible to all “citizens” of Japan. Shokosha merged with the Schmid company, a Japan-based manufacturing firm founded by expatriate Swiss watchmaker Rodolphe Schmid, in 1930 to become Citizen. Joining the expertise of Shokosha’s Japanese watchm...
Teddy Baldassarre
Everyone knows about Seiko and Grand Seiko, but…what exactly is King Seiko? Well, King Seiko is one of those cult-classic throwbacks that dodges easy categorization or market segmentation. The 1960s elegance and sheer retro vibes exuded by this collection is charming and a little quirky in a world where big brother Grand Seiko has reached downright mainstream status. In 2021, the King Seiko KSK SJE083 resurrected the historic KSK model and the collection has slowly grown since then under the Seiko Luxe collection of higher-end offerings. Here we see the Seiko SPB389, which is a mid-century-inspired watch that will appeal to the kind of person who loves being early to a trend. Seiko Luxe Explained First off I wanted to address the Seiko Luxe collection, because I know not everyone is up to date with the tiers of Seiko. Where standard Seiko is your more classic, accessible fare, the Seiko Luxe collection is the higher-end series that consists of offerings like King Seiko as well as Presage watches with special touches like enamel dials and the more refined pieces in the Prospex collection. Seiko Luxe generally starts around the $750 mark and goes up to over $3,000, so the range is quite broad. Personally, the only Seiko watch I’ve ever purchased is from the Seiko Luxe collection (an enamel dial Presage I reviewed here) and it really is so much watch for the money. King Seiko SPB389 Case and Bracelet When King Seiko first returned to the scene a couple of years back, it w...
Video
Two Broke Watch Snobs
Here’s what you need to know before deciding on Seiko or Citizen, based on insights from 10 years of reviewing both brands hands-on.
Teddy Baldassarre
If you’ve been in the watch game for long enough, there is a better-than-zero chance that you’ve owned, had someone recommend for you to own, or have at least come across the Seiko SKX series. The Seiko SKX (notably the black SKX007 and Pepsi-style SKX 009) once served as the go-to value proposition in all of watches. You can still find them trading on the open market for upwards of $500, but there was a time where one could be had easily for $150-$200. A 42mm, ISO-certified, bona-fide dive watch, the SKX represents the last vestige of a true tool watch that predates hype and everything that comes with it. I own one, and continue to wear it, scratch it and bang it around fearlessly. Seiko filled the dive-adjacent void once filled by the SKX, now discontinued, with a series of Seiko 5 models in all manner of colors that resemble the SKX but never quite took the idea across the finish line. And that’s because the SKX was a cult classic for a reason. It married function and form (except for accuracy, but that’s hardly why you buy a sub-$300 diver) in a way that we only hear about in tales from our “elders” who used to buy Rolex Submariners and GMT-Masters for $150 five decades ago. It’s been a number of years now since the SKX has been a production model in the broader Seiko lineup. But just two summers ago, the venerable, vertically integrated, Japanese juggernaut of a brand unveiled something new in the Seiko 5 range – a travel-ready, SKX-looking release ...
Fratello
When people mention Pepsi in the watch world, they refer to the red and blue colors on a GMT or dive bezel. Rolex’s GMT-Master was the first watch with such a bezel, but Seiko also made numerous watches with red and blue bezels. In a surprising turn of events, Seiko has now launched two new […] Visit Introducing The Seiko 5 Sports × Pepsi Limited Editions - Are These The First Watches With Official Pepsi Bezels? to read the full article.
Time+Tide
Has Seiko completely stolen Rolex's thunder by collaborating with Pepsi on some real 'Pepsi bezel' watches - that are less than $1,000?The post Forget GMT-Masters: Seiko has officially teamed up with Pepsi appeared first on Time+Tide Watches.
Worn & Wound
eBay Finds is back! This bi-monthly installment will feature a selection of watches currently listed on eBay that have caught the eye of editor Christoph McNeil (@vintagediver). If you come across any hidden gems on the ‘Bay drop us a note at info@wornandwound.com for potential inclusion. Vintage Seiko LCD How about a full-kit vintage Seiko LCD to start us off this week? This gem heralds from 1984 and looks every bit the 80’s watch! The squarish stainless steel case is excellent, unpolished and sharp with the original finish. The crystal looks clean, and the LCD display works well. The original bracelet is superb as well, with the Seiko SQ signed buckle. The caseback even has the original little oval sticker. This watch looks new old stock, and maybe it is. It comes complete with the inner and outer boxes, instruction booklet, price tag and hangtag! Can’t beat this gem! View auction here Vintage Citizen Leopard Super Beat 8 Next up is a seldom seen vintage Citizen Leopard Super Beat 8. The Super Beat has a hi-beat movement for better accuracy. The oval/cushion case looks unpolished, and has light wear to it but looks more like a nice steel patina than wear for me. The gray dial is excellent, with raised stick markers that have lume, skinny hands and a vertical day/date at 6 o’clock. The crystal is a mineral glass that has some scratches. The crown is original and signed with the Citizen logo, and the mesh bracelet is original as well and also signed. The movement...
Video
Fratello
When the opportunity arose to tackle a Fratello Summer Watch Picks 2025 feature, I jumped at the chance. My managing editor Nacho and I did have a chuckle, though. You see, here in Sydney, Australia, it is currently winter. Southern Hemisphere, represent! When the discussion first occurred to write this feature, I looked up the […] Visit Fratello Summer Watch Picks 2025: Henry’s Top Choices From Seiko, IWC, Rolex, And More to read the full article.
SJX Watches
Grand Seiko returns to its Sport Collection with an even bolder and edgier take on its flagship chronograph with the Tokyo Lion Tentagraph SLGC009. Combining an oversized case Brilliant Hard Titanium and a high-spec, high-beat chronograph movement, the striking new is Tentagraph is surprisingly not an all-new design but an iterative evolution that builds on the existing Sport Collection case. Initial Thoughts While a strength of Seiko itself, chronometry-focused Grand Seiko has historically struggled with sports watches, though not for lack of trying. In 2019 Grand Seiko launched the angular and aggressive Sport case featuring a facetted, polygonal form with a sapphire-covered bezel to celebrate 20 years of Spring Drive. Grand Seiko intended the design to evoke the mane of the brand’s lion mascot. In 2023 came the regular production Tokyo Lion series, and the brand also extended the design language into its jewelled Masterpiece watches. The “lion’s mane” case design reminds me of the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Concept, and with the addition of an octagonal bezel the resemblance has only grown, though I wouldn’t say it is derivative – if anything the Grand Seiko case is a more boisterous take on the 45GS design from the late 1960s. The earlier Spring Drive GMT Chronograph SBGC275 with a less stylised case design I quite liked the Sport case when it was launched in 2019, especially the rose gold SBGC230, but it felt unfinished with a round bezel and buttons. With...
Teddy Baldassarre
Some watches become icons unexpectedly, and we would argue that no model better represents that idea than the Grand Seiko SBGA413 Shunbun – a watch that, on paper, should not even be an icon to begin with. So much of this watch’s ascension into the broader horological pantheon has to do with everything that GS does right in its process to create a watch from start to finish. We know the brand for its vertical integration, its attention to detail, its mastery of the craft when it comes to dial design, case construction, and finishing. Not to mention how the brand has made it mark as the the name in movement accuracy. All of these aspects and more are on full display within and without the SBGA413. It is a masterclass in subtlety and craft, and one that is truly more than the sum of its parts. To understand the SBGA413, we must first understand the origin story. Grand Seiko Shunbun Background In 2019, Grand Seiko unveiled four watches as U.S.-only exclusives in what it called its “Seasons” collection. Each watch employed the brand’s 62GS case concept (the brand’s first automatic watch), and two were mechanical while the other two utilized Grand Seiko’s Spring Drive technology. The Grand Seiko Shunbun SBGA413 represented the Spring season and did so visually via a unique dial with a hint of pink emblematic of the cherry blossoms in bloom at the start of the spring season. This subtle dial which only appears in certain lighting conditions was paired with an u...
Worn & Wound
Back in May, I wrote about a Seiko release that got me thinking about the brand’s current perception among watch enthusiasts. Those Seiko 5 sports watches were a clear throwback, I think, to a time period when Seiko was the brand of distinction and choice for fans of affordable watches. Those days are gone. We still love Seiko, of course, but there’s just a lot more competition, and everyone’s game has been stepped up a bit. It’s worth remembering, too, that the Seiko of a decade ago wasn’t just the enthusiast’s choice for divers. Seiko has always made a huge variety of watches in all different styles, and another recent release from the brand is a good reminder of that, and a throwback release in its own way. Back in the day, being involved in watch forums meant that you’d see endless questions about what watches to buy as an alternative to any number of rare, expensive, or otherwise unattainable luxury watches. That way of thinking about watch collecting has really shifted in recent years with the growth of the microbrand scene and the wide acceptance of new, original designs. But a nicely made “dupe” still has a place, and Seiko is about as good as anyone at delivering. The new SWR103, SWR104, and SWR106 are simple rectangular dress watches running on a quartz movement that retail for a little over $300. They also look a whole lot like the Cartier Tank, down to some very specific details. Seiko has made a Tank dupe for as long as I’ve been intere...
Teddy Baldassarre
The GMT market has changed dramatically in the past seven years. I use that number specifically, because it takes us to 2018, when Tudor brought attainable traveller GMT (independent hour hand functionality) to market in a splashy way. Since then we have seen brands like Longines and Mido continue the work by delivering more options at even better price points. From a general “caller GMT” standpoint, Seiko has knocked it out of the park with models like those within the SSK range. We are living in a GMT moment with more options than ever. But if you took things back just one more year, to 2017, you could argue that it was the year Japan’s Grand Seiko made a mic-dropping value statement by way of the SBGM221, a traveller GMT in a dressier package with elite functionality while delivering value that far outpaces its price point. In 2025, that value proposition has not changed at all. Background: The DNA of the SBGM221 looks back to the early roots of Grand Seiko in the 1960s to inform its design, but from a modern standpoint more directly can look to the SBGM021 released around 2010. That year is significant because it was the first year the brand arrived in the U.S. market. Aesthetically, the SBGM021 is an illustration of the older style of co-branded Seiko/Grand Seiko fare. Fast forward to 2017, and the watch reaches its completed form. But the 021, with its ivory dial, and general – and honestly quite original – GMT layout is established. You can see the direc...
Video
Teddy Baldassarre
Let's begin this review of the Seiko 5 GMT Sports SSK023 with a spirited chant: "NWA! NWA!" No, I’m not the hype man for the groundbreaking ‘90s hip-hop act. It’s a New Watch Alert, and all kidding aside, I went and bought a watch, something I haven’t done since I picked up my Doxa Sub 200T Divingstar last year. In spite of my attraction to that yellow-dialed wrist magnet, there’s a new contender in my regular rotation, and it’s not Swiss. Nope, I’ve gone and picked up a new Seiko 5 GMT Sports model, and it’s getting an awful lot of my attention. I’ve fallen hard for the SSK023, probably the most basic four-hander in the Japanese brand's catalog, and I couldn’t be happier. Now, this is hardly my first Seiko rodeo. I’m a longtime fan whose gateway was an old-school 6309-7049, the famed "Turtle" dive watch, discovered by my wife in a mom & pop jewelry store for a mere hundred bucks. It’s not even my first Seiko 5 spin around the block, and I’ve got the SNXJ89, Seiko’s budget take on a classic silver-dialed Datejust, to prove it. However, it is my first Seiko 5 Sports watch with the new-era logo. Prior to the SSK023, I did snag the 55th Anniversary LE, the SRPK17, and it’s everything it’s advertised to be, with its note-perfect re-creation of the very first Seiko 5 Sports model from 1968. That tonneau-cased beauty is a banger, down to the original Seiko 5 shield logo, but the SNK023 represents my first real dip into the modern Seiko 5 pool, and...
Teddy Baldassarre
When considering the most versatile watch brands in terms of both global reach and variety within their own brand portfolio, it’s difficult to identify a brand that surpasses Seiko. In 1881, a young entrepreneur by the name of Kintaro Hattorri (pictured below), opened up a shop in Tokyo's Ginza where he sold and repaired watches and clocks. At just 21 years old, Hattori took a massive risk in hopes of creating something bigger. These hopes were realized in the coming century as the watch brand he created established numerous watchmaking milestones and eventually changed the course of the entire watch industry with the release of the legendary Astron, the world's first quartz wristwatch, in 1969. In more recent years Seiko has established itself as one of the most beloved brands on the market, offering a wide range of styles from dressy to sporty to space-age high-tech and all for what most would consider very accessible prices. In this blog, we dive into the wide world of Seiko watches, naming our favorites from the brand's major families, in hopes of providing a jumping-off point for your own research into a potential next purchase. Some Ground Rules Given the number of watches that could be included, we will need to draw the line somewhere, so don’t be concerned if one of your favorite Seiko models is not on the list. We will focus primarily on regular-production models, not limited editions that may be unavailable before too long. We've envision...
Teddy Baldassarre
Teddy Baldassarre is an authorized luxury watch retailer of brands like TUDOR, OMEGA, IWC, Grand Seiko, Breitling, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Zenith, Longines, ORIS, MIDO, Tissot, Hamilton, NOMOS Glashütte, Baume & Mercier, and more.
Teddy Baldassarre
We never really know how – or when – it happens, but some watches manage to achieve an iconic status that gives them a certain immortality long after discontinuation. We know the types, from the Speedmaster to the Submariner to the Royal Oak. But not all icons are pricey and they’re certainly not all Swiss. Enter the Seiko SKX007, a watch without a nickname, whose reference number is as recognizable as any of the aforementioned icons I just listed. The SKX, as we call it shorthand, is the value king in all of horology because of its capability from top to bottom, literally. Today we are going to be examining the SKX007, a watch that Seiko has since moved on from and never truly replaced. We will look at it at face value (as well as current secondary market value), for the watch’s impact on collector culture, and for its staying power even in the face of no longer remaining in production. Seiko SKX007 History And Specs In order to properly contextualize the SKX007, we must go back in time to the 1970s, when Seiko made its first impactful dive watch. Notice how I say "impactful," as the lot of you ready yourselves to remind me not to discount the 62MAS. For the record, I am not – at least not entirely. The 62MAS has proven to be a classic for Seiko, but the diver that really put the brand on the map in terms of culturally relevant tool watches was the Ref. 6105 which was worn by Martin Sheen in the film Apocalypse Now. It has since gone on to take the name of his c...
Teddy Baldassarre
The Grand Seiko “Snowflake” is not just a watch that helped define Grand Seiko as a luxury brand to be reckoned with in the 21st Century: it is also at the vanguard of an industry-wide movement toward making dials more beautiful, enticing, and unique - not only with the bold use of color, but with textures that play with the concept of 3D space and the interplay of light and shadow. Nearly every Grand Seiko model of note can claim a dial (and often a nickname) with a distinctly eye-catching motif, usually inspired by the breathtaking natural wonders of the company’s native Japan. Other luxury watch brands have noticed and followed suit - from luxury leaders like Rolex, Patek Philippe, and Audemars Piguet, to attainable brands like little-brother Seiko and its main competitor, Citizen. The “Snowflake,” Grand Seiko’s first and still most famous textured dial, is arguably the OG of this trend; here is the story of how it came to be and where it stands today. As success stories for new watch brands go, it’s hard to find a better case study in the past decade than Grand Seiko. The Japanese high-luxury watchmaker has, in its relatively short stint in the international market, elevated itself in the eyes of many collectors to the upper echelon of watchmaking prestige and collectibility, competing for connoisseur attention and dollars with well-established maisons from Switzerland and Germany. This plaudit, of course, comes with a caveat: Grand Seiko is not ...
Video
Question, suggestion, or just want to say hi? Drop a note.