Seiko SKX173 Mod "Recon"- An In-Depth Look

I've alluded to the origin of this mod a few times but here is a more comprehensive look at the design choices and modifications I used in what I am now referring to as the "Recon."

The Seiko SKX is a beloved diver amongst enthusiast's. However, due to the rather high cost now, I couldn't reasonably justify buying an SKX outside of simply that I've always wanted an SKX. But it's in this conundrum that I found myself venturing into the world of modding. And it's here that I decided what the build would become. It would be an SKX173 which I simply love and the general look would be moving towards the tactical, tool watch experience that the SKX is known for.

With the dial figured out, I thought about wearability and general aesthetic. The SKX wears fairly well on smaller wrist which was another reason why I'm a big fan of the SKX line as a whole, but I also wanted to make it more wearable. So I opted to choose parts that will make it as slim as I could including a slim, domed sapphire crystal, slim bezel, and a slim caseback. Together the case height is reduced from the standard 13.3mm of the typical SKX down to 12mm making it even more wearable for me. As for the look, I knew I wanted to go for the tactical, military-inspired look, so naturally I opted for PVD everything which also works well with the 173 dial.

The next part was thinking about what I wanted to do with the hand set and other design features I wanted to express in the watch itself. For this, after much thought, I decided to pay homage to several pieces that have really impacted my watch collecting journey and who's designs I wanted to give a nod to, while still creating something unique and not a 1-1 clone of anything, which I sought to avoid.

It's here that I scribbled down a number of watches but settled on 3 big ones (in addition to the obvious SKX173 that this is build from). Those being: The Rolex Explorer, the Squale 1521, and the Tudor Black Bay 58.

It was less about what the watches are exactly and more about what they represent to me that I wanted to convey. The Explorer representing the sports luxury, go anywhere and do anything watch. The Squale representing a true military divers tool watch. And the Black Bay 58 representing the contemporary inspired by the vintage. Each of these ideas are the typical types of watches I actively seek out, and to put these small homages into the watch just felt right.

For reference:

Hour and Minute Hands- Mercedes style; Explorer

Red Minute Hand- Homage to the orange; Squale

Bezel- Red pip and vintage diver style insert; BB58

Seconds hand: this was a general arrow hand I liked and found it to be reminiscent of the second hands found on field watches

Finally, the subtleties. Given that the watch is designed to live and breath as a Seiko, I got an NH36 movement along with an OEM Seiko173 dial, paying respect to the heritage of the brand and the watch itself. While it is not and will never be a true Seiko SKX, it only felt right to give this build the beating heart of the brand it represents. And along with this, I went with a color matched kanji date-wheel, again respecting the Japanese roots of Seiko.

So that's it, a better look at the SKX173 "Recon." The TLDR of this is simply that it's a watch that embodies ideas, designs, and legacies of what I love most in the watch world. As an enthusiast it was cool to develop the concept of a watch to call my own. As a hobbiest, it was fun to bring it to life!