REVIEW: Seiko SFK001 (Solar Sumo GMT): The Ultimate Travel Watch?

I went on a bit of a binge recently and bought a few watches, after a long - 13 year - gap in acquisitions (I already discussed the Mühle Glashütte Panova Turquoise here). Today, I wanted to share my thoughts on the this Seiko SFK001 – or as I call it, the Solar Sumo GMT.

Let’s start with the movement, since it’s arguably the watch’s reason to exist, and why I was interested in it in the first place. As far as I can tell, this is the first analog solar quartz movement with a traveller GMT function. Given it’s a solar quartz, as long as it gets some light, it’ll run practically forever, with just the occasional date correction.

Moving on, we have a standard Seiko Sumo case. It’s a big, heavy boy, at 45mm by 13mm, with a 52mm lug-to-lug distance and 200m of water resistance. It fills my 6.7” wrist entirely. This is not a demur, unobtrusive piece, yet is quite comfortable when on the right strap and at 13mm high, it can fit under a cuff. I’ve taken to wearing it on a grey perlon strap, which looks great.

Despite the large diameter, the lug width is just 20mm. That taper from 45mm to 20mm mean the lugs must do a lot to look good, and these deliver. They have a ton of dimension, being made of no less than seven facets each, with a combination of brushed and polished surfaces, and sharp cuts and flowing lines. They also sharply downturn at the end, making them wrap around the wrist, helping the wearability. Also - they’re drilled lugs! So thoughtful of Seiko.

The large screw down crown is nicely grippy. It seems like putting it at 4 o'clock was a way to get away with not having to have a crown guard; I think any guard would ruin the flowing lug lines and the watch looks better for it, even if on first blush it looks awkward.

The 60 minute-marked bezel is a pleasantly tactile steel ring, with a blue-grey anodized aluminum insert and a lume pip at 12. It’s clean and simple. The buttery turning action makes it easy to operate despite the limited grip area. It’s the nicest turning bezel I have on any watch i own (i love my SMP GMT, but the bezel action is crude and agricultural in comparison - and I’m being generous). One issue, though, is that - at least on my copy - It is annoyingly difficult to get it lined up back right. It doesn’t ‘click’ with the lume pip back at 12; instead there’s a slight ‘dead zone’ with a little play, and the next click is just past 12.

The overall effect is is a very tough, rugged design. This is not a piece that needs to be babied - though it’s steel, so it’ll scratch; mine has already picked up a few

That bezel leads to a very deeply dished rehaut beyond the mineral (I believe) crystal (edit - nope, it’s sapphire), which acts as the chapter ring. That rehaut is two-toned, the upper half the same color as the dial, and the lower slightly lighter. It’s not aggressive, but just a subtle nod to traditional two-color GMT bezels. Very nice.

And now the dial, which is really fun. The solar panel dial is beautiful, changing from dark turquoise to grey, depending on the light. It has a subtle basketweave texture and a sunburst effect, which makes it very eye-catching and lends a great deal of depth. Odd numbers from 1-23 ring the dial between the applied hour markers. Those markers are a combination of circles for most hours, triangles for 6 and 9, a double triangle at 12, and a small pip at 3 to accommodate the date window, The markers seem glued to the dial, which makes them slightly float over the dial on close inspection, instead of sit flush on.

That black-on-white date window is tiny. Dial text is fairly minimal: “Seiko” at 12 in white, with a creamscicle sandwich of “X” (the logo of the Prospex line), “GMT,” and "DIver’s 200m.” It’s not too much; any more might be though.

Lastly, the handset is quite simple. The hour, minute, and second hands are polished steel, and are exceedingly flat. While not bad, they almost seem plasticky, and are probably the worst feature of the entire watch. The second hand has a lume pip on the counterweight, which is a fun touch, though. Finally, the GMT hand is a bright orange arrow, which adds a nice pop of contrast to the proceedings.

One big negative - the included bracelet is awful. The end links don’t match the case at all, and it’s just not comfortable. Had I not taken the bracelet off and replaced it with a fabric strap, I would’ve returned it. But putting it a fabric strap changed the comfort and style so much that it became a keeper.

What does this all add up to? I think the Seiko Solar Sumo GMT has a great argument for being the ultimate travel watch yet. It’s rugged, with a legendarily robust case, quartz movement, and great water resistance that will take any abuse an adventure throws at it. The solar quartz movement means it’ll keep nigh perfect time, giving you one less excuse for being late for any flight or train, and will work just about forever without a battery change or service. Worst case scenario, the capacitor will need a swap in 15 years. The beautiful dial has enough style and shine and the many faceted lugs sparkle things up quite a bit, making it passable for the occasional nice dinner or business meeting. And while losing any watch is painful, a quartz that’s $775 MSRP (I paid about $200 less than that, new) wouldn’t be ruinous to most if stolen/broken, and being a quartz Seiko, it’s not going to attract attention like a premium or luxury watch might. And it’s so heavy that it can be used as a knuckle duster if required :D 

Would it have been nice if Seiko put this movement in a smaller case? I’m sure they will soon enough. But I bought the SFK001 to be a travel tool watch - something rugged, relatively inexpensive, eminently reliable, and which will proudly wear the scars of adventures to come. I see why the sumo case was chosen for the launch of this movement. seems a great match for this movement. And that’s why I’m looking forward to many years of use of this piece.