Seiko SRPB55 Review

I’ve owned the Seiko Samurai SRPB55 for roughly three years now. It’s a great watch that I don’t see reviewed very often. Given this, I decided to share my thoughts on a watch that’s been on hikes, camping, and to the beach. It’s been in the Pacific Ocean many times – including a stint in Maui – and survived many swimming pools and rivers. If you’re looking for a dyed-in-the-wool dive watch that can take anything you throw at it, this is it.

Why I bought it, and my initial concerns

I purchased the watch to upgrade my Seiko SKX009 (which I continue to own anyways). I wanted hacking (the ability to make the seconds hand stop once the crown is pulled out for accurate time synchronization). The SKX doesn’t have this capability, but with the Samurai, the 4R36 movement gives you this feature.

The SKX is also a great watch, which is why I still own it. The Samurai, which is part of Seiko’s “Prospex” collection, is on a different level entirely, however. It just feels more premium in comparison to the SKX. I must admit that I did have some initial concerns regarding the SRPB55 at first, though. I ordered it sight unseen from Amazon, so while I was waiting for it in the mail, the two things that I thought may be deal breakers were:

1.) the case size at 44mm

2.) and the (what I assume is PVD) black, gunmetal coating, which Seiko calls “hard coating”. I wasn’t sure how durable this would be long term, and many black PVD-coated watches can look pretty beat up once the silvery stainless steel starts breaking through the surface.

After three years of ownership, however, both of these fears have been unfounded.

The Case: Not Your Typical Seiko Design Language

Speaking of the case, it’s a far cry from what we normally see from Seiko. The sharp, angular lugs are short and slope straight down. The overall geometry of the case is very interesting, as even the sides slope inwards toward the wrist. This makes it a pleasure to wear and very ergonomic. It doesn’t feel like most Seiko cases, which tend to be more rounded.

While it appears large “on paper” the 44mm case size shouldn’t scare you off. It wears exceptionally well, and the short, stubby lugs should allow it to accomodate even smaller wrists. The lug-to-lug is about 47.5mm for those interested, and the 44mm is a little overstated, because the bezel overhangs the case by a mm or two.

The case is done in a brushed, matte finish, complete with a gunmetal coating. This gives the watch a very tool-like finish, and it looks and feels more like a piece of equipment than a “dress diver”. The only polished parts on the watch are the lip surrounding the bezel and a small section of the side case. To this day, none of the gunmetal coating has worn off, and the watch still looks brand new. In fact, it hides scratches better than any of my stainless steel watches. So this was another unfounded concern, at least so far.

Even the case back looks more “premium” than that of the SKX, with a similar etched tsunami wave medallion, but with alternating brushed and polished finishes. The screw down crown is brushed, with a slight polished bevel, and is knurled just like the side of the bezel. The bezel action is nice, but there’s definitely some play. The numerals and hash marks on the bezel itself are technically gold, but look more subdued than a pure yellow gold bezel – they appear bronze more than anything else.

The screw down crown feels buttery smooth, as does the hand-winding. Whilst screwing the crown down, you really get a feel of the quality. It doesn’t have that rough, grinding feel that the SKX has, and it stops perfectly once it’s screwed all the way down so you know you’re not screwing it in too tight.

The Star Of The Show: The Dial

The stamped dial is done in an almost “Clous De Paris” finish, which looks awesome, especially in the sun. It’s not something you see everyday. The applied Indices are heavily lumed and surrounded by yellow gold, which actually aids in overall legibility.

Speaking of lume, it’s seems even brighter than the SKX’s lume, and anyone who’s owned a SKX dive watch knows that its torch-like lume is hard to beat.

The printing on the dial is exceptionally crisp, which is impressive considering the texture of the guilloche.

Another nice feature of this watch is the way the bezel sits high over the Hardlex crystal. The crystal appears to be slightly sunk in, so if you bump your wrist into a door, the bezel will take the hit, not the Hardlex. While some say that Hardlex is inferior to Sapphire, I’ve owned many a Seiko and never scratched a Hardlex crystal. Still, having some extra protection for the crystal is always nice.

Extra Upgrades And Additional Features

One of the most unexpectedly pleasant surprises about the Seiko Samurai is the drilled lugs. This allows for easy strap changes. Push in the spring bar through the hole drilled in the side of the lug, and the strap pops right off. The OEM strap is so good you may not want to change it though. It’s soft and comfortable right out of the box, and comes with matching gunmetal coated hardware. Like the case, the finish hasn’t rubbed off of the keeper or tang buckle yet, which is surprising – but welcome.

The Samurai SRPB55 looks great on a variety of straps, including a tropic, which I’m a huge fan of.

Seiko Samurai on Tropic Strap

It should be noted that while you can buy aftermarket bracelets for this watch, there are no OEM options available from Seiko, so that might be a perceived negative for some. Like all Seiko dive watches, the Samurai also utilizes “fat” spring bars (they’re thicker than standard spring bars), so not all straps will be easy to work with.

The Anti-Seiko Seiko

In a lot of ways, this watch is different than most of Seiko’s other dive watch offerings. The sharp, angular geometry of the case and knurling on the bezel and crown, coupled with the gunmetal finish, give it a very industrial feel. Industrial in a good way. It helps the watch look and feel like a true tool. One that was made for a specific purpose before the quartz watch or dive computer existed.

The watch wears so much better than the dimensions would suggest if you’re just looking at the specs online. The dark case’s finish has not only held up better than I ever would have imagined, but it appears that it’s actually helped either hide, or even prevent, scratches that would already be prevalent on any of my other standard steel watches.

With 200 meters of water resistance, the watch is ready for anything you throw at it. I haven’t babied this watch, so I know. If you want a Seiko diver that’s a little more unique, this is your ticket.

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