Seiko 5 vs Timex Mechanical/Auto for beginners. Just a passing thought.
I was wondering for the past few days, what would be a great option for entry-level brand new mechanical or automatic watch between these 2 brands? Because as of recently, these 2 are the only legit options in Indonesia.
Any other suggestions welcome. And no, I'm not asking this because I'd like to make another purchase.... yet.... 😏😏😏
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Naufal R Krisna
Based in Bogor, Indonesia. Currently building a web & app developer startup. Also somewhat of a weeb, petrolhead, reader, among other things
Bogor, Indonesia
Member since
Last active: 9 months ago
6.70” / 17.02 cm
Seiko 5 is a better option compared to a Timex automatic. Timex recent prices are almost around the same as Seiko 5 plus with Seiko 5s you get 100m WR on all models, better movement and Hardlex compared to acrylic on most of Timex models. You also have few size options now with the new smaller models being released.
With Timex, the Expedition North is the the best automatic model they make right now for the money but I doubt that is available outside US and Europe currently.
Seiko 5 hands down
Noted 👍
Seiko 5 is a better option compared to a Timex automatic. Timex recent prices are almost around the same as Seiko 5 plus with Seiko 5s you get 100m WR on all models, better movement and Hardlex compared to acrylic on most of Timex models. You also have few size options now with the new smaller models being released.
With Timex, the Expedition North is the the best automatic model they make right now for the money but I doubt that is available outside US and Europe currently.
Noted 😃.
Btw, does the Timex you mentioned look like this? And I just screengrabbed this from jamtangan.com, an Indonesian watch retailer.
Edit: I just realised this is the mechanical model 😅
Noted 😃.
Btw, does the Timex you mentioned look like this? And I just screengrabbed this from jamtangan.com, an Indonesian watch retailer.
Edit: I just realised this is the mechanical model 😅
Same series, they have the mechanical as well as automatic titanium variant with 200m WR. These have good specs, personally not fond of the basic miyota movement but the rest of the watch is good value.
Go with Seiko 5, I'd say. Or...if you don't mind buying a microbrand I'd say try a Boldr Venture. For just a little more money you can get a titanium watch, a Seiko NH35 movement, sapphire crystal and 200m water resistance.
https://www.boldrsupply.co/collections/venture-automatic
You can't go wrong with either Seiko or Timex. Better thing to consider first is to find out which design aesthetic you like. Seiko has so many categories and lines that you can get lost in them, and will want to buy every seemingly nice model you see. Same with Timex.
Both are solid choices. The Miyota and Seiko movements are pretty similar in practice. Different crystals have different advantages: acrylic is very transparent, has a warm tone, creates cool distortions and is retro, scratches easily but can be polished; mineral is very transparent, fairly scratch resistant, very impact resistant; sapphire is very scratch resistant, fairly Impact resistant but has poor transparency and light transmission even with multiple layers of AR coating.
As others have said, it's mostly about which designs you prefer. In the long term I find that looks matter a lot more than specs.