# Seiko Military: Advice Sought



## Verkitso (Aug 28, 2006)

After many years of slightly irrational and borderline xenophobic feelings towards Japanese watches, based on certain iffy events in the Second World War, my eye has been caught by some Seiko military watches -- the SNK805K2 and the SNK425. They're both green, mechanical watches, priced at around Â£50 on the 'net, with crystal case backs and day/date displays. I'm sure you've all seen them, but what I'd like to know is... are they any good, particularly in terms of reliability, build quality and robustness, or should I invest in a quartz 'beater' instead..?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## Steve264 (May 29, 2006)

I've had both models - they are superb - the quality and reliability transcends the price by orders of magnitude. If they had swiss branding they would probably be 3 or 4 times the price. You'll find many other fans of these watches on here.


----------



## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

Yep the 1st mechanical beater I bought when I got into watches, virtually bullet proof although the crystal does get scratched if your a mechanic







Kept excellent time as well.


----------



## foztex (Nov 6, 2005)

I second Steve's advice, brilliant value for money and good looking too.










theres mine









Andy


----------



## hippo (Jun 27, 2006)

Steve264 said:


>


Wow Steve love that pic!!!


----------



## dan18 (May 30, 2006)

i have a black snk809. i couldn't recommend them enough. they are very versatile, if you feel like changing the strap to leather, or nato etc.

go on, you know it makes sense.

regards,

dan.


----------



## Verkitso (Aug 28, 2006)

Thanks for the advice, people, and for some great pictures. I really like the sun-dappled one -- looks more like a still from an arthouse French film than a picture from a talkboard! In the meantime, I've been having a look on eBay for one of these Seikos, and quite a few seem to be sold from Hong Kong. Are they likely to be legit? And can anyone recommend particularly good places to look?


----------



## Running_man (Dec 2, 2005)

Verkitso said:


> Thanks for the advice, people, and for some great pictures. I really like the sun-dappled one -- looks more like a still from an arthouse French film than a picture from a talkboard! In the meantime, I've been having a look on eBay for one of these Seikos, and quite a few seem to be sold from Hong Kong. Are they likely to be legit? And can anyone recommend particularly good places to look?


I've bought from a Hong Kong eb*y seller named evayung. (Just do a search in the advanced search box). She's sold over a thousand watches and still has 100% positive feedback. I was very pleased with my Seiko 5 sport which uses the same movement as the military ones you're interested in.

Andrew.


----------



## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

i got mine 2nd hand off ebay for about Â£20 IIRC. The seller said it was running OK but losing 20 seconds a day, I was new into collecting then but thought I'd give it a pop, I started wearing it every day and after a week it settled down and now runs consistantly +2 sec's.

I have mine straped to one of Roy's heavy duty nylons and a deployat clasp now (the nato seemed too thin for it).


----------



## Griff (Feb 23, 2003)

I've got one of these too










But I much prefer this Oris military style


----------



## Seamaster73 (Jun 25, 2006)

My 809 was the most accurate 7S26 I ever owned, +2 right out of the box.

I've always thought that along with the 031, this little Seiko is one of the best VFM automatic watches on the market.


----------



## Bladerunner (Jun 4, 2006)

Griff said:


> But I much prefer this Oris military style


Very nice Griff, like the clear design of the dial; understand why you like it.


----------



## rgee (Dec 12, 2006)

I recently purchased a new SNK809 on bracelet for Â£46 delivered from a UK 'bayer, not had a chance to wear it yet tho. I've also noticed that there is a SNK809 with Japanese movements and it has 'Made in Japan' in the 35 position. Are these any better than the 'normal' ones?


----------



## normdiaz (May 5, 2004)

Hard to go wrong, for the money, with a Seiko 5. For a step up, perhaps the Spirit line with 6R15 movements (vs the 5's 7S26) which both hand-winds and hacks (features lacking in the 5's).


----------



## ernestrome (Dec 27, 2006)

pg tips said:


> Yep the 1st mechanical beater I bought when I got into watches, virtually bullet proof although the crystal does get scratched if your a mechanic
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have one of those with a metal strap, it was Â£27 off ebay. I love it. The crown has got a little sticky in the last few days though, ie need a screwdriver to pull it out and hten it is very hard to turn.


----------



## Verkitso (Aug 28, 2006)

Thanks for all the advice. Having seen the picture of the black version on a NATO 'Bond,' that's the option I've decided to go for, but a bit more research reveals that there are two sub-versions: the SNK809K2 and the SNK809J2. The difference seems to be that the J2 is made in Japan, so where is the K2 made, do you think... Korea?


----------



## pg tips (May 16, 2003)

K=Singapore afaik


----------



## Verkitso (Aug 28, 2006)

pg tips said:


> K=Singapore afaik


Thanks for that. A quick Google shows that you're right. I just wanted to make sure that it wasn't likely to have been assembled in China.


----------

