Watches under microscope vol. 20 Seiko 5 SNK543
After a long time, welcome back to another instalment of Watches Under the Microscope.
It's been a long time since I got my hands on anything new, hence the long hiatus. Well, the watch we're going to take a closer look at doesn't belong to me, but to a friend who lent it to me for the purposes of this series - my thanks to him.
The Seiko 5 (without the Sports suffix) was, until recently, a line of extremely affordable mechanical watches from the Japanese giant. These watches could be had for some $60, so one could easily forgive them for some of their imperfections.
But how do they stand up under the unforgiving eye of a child's microscope? Well, go ahead.
The watch has a very interesting dial, which has the Seiko 5 logo structure embossed all over its surface - the numeral 5 in the shield. This structure is sometimes invisible and the eye can only see it under certain lighting conditions. The green colour gives the watch just the right touch.
I consider the printing on the dial to be well done and is several orders of magnitude higher than on such SKX007. Likewise, the hands and the applied logo do have some bumps and imperfections on them, but it is nothing terrible.
The real hell starts when you look at the indices. Seiko has probably tried some form of cutting out the indices towards the edge here, but the result is absolutely awful. Especially with the index at 12 o'clock, this failure is most evident. The lumi layer is applied in a completely ungraceful manner and the indices are full of unevenness, dust and imperfections.
The next chapter is the dial. Although the structure of the embossed logos is attractive and interesting, the dial itself is full of dust, scratches and remnants of "something". A large chunk of "something" is present near the logo itself. According to the owner, the watch has never been opened, so this condition is already from the factory.
I didn't judge the case itself, it is a classic 5 series design that is nothing interesting. Likewise, the bracelet is not original and so is not the subject of this review.
Overall, I consider the little Seiko 5s to be a very good watches and an excellent gateway into the world of mechanical watchmaking. This particular piece has a very attractive dial, which, however, exhibits a large number of flaws. For the $60 it would not bother me, however, I consider my SNXS79 to be a significantly better made watch.
As always, please excuse the quality of the photos. Everything is taken with a kids' microscope, which also needs a lot of light, so the shots show what is hidden not only to the eye, but also to the macro lens of the photo camera.
More parts of this photo series can be found here:
Sugess Chronograph
Citizen BN0200
https://www.watchcrunch.com/nooski/posts/watches-under-microscope-vol-18-citizen-bn0200-40463
Casio F91
https://www.watchcrunch.com/nooski/posts/watches-under-microscope-vol-17-casio-f91-39948
Seiko 5 SNZH53
https://www.watchcrunch.com/nooski/posts/watches-under-microscope-vol-16-seiko-5-snzh53-37330
Cronos LM6002
Casio Edifice EF-520
https://www.watchcrunch.com/nooski/posts/watches-under-microscope-vol-14-casio-edifice-ef-520-34486
Wise Adamascus AD8
https://www.watchcrunch.com/nooski/posts/watches-under-microscope-vol-13-wise-adamascus-ad8-32902
Seiko SNZG13
https://www.watchcrunch.com/nooski/posts/watches-under-microscope-vol-12-seiko-5-snzg13-32511
Seiko SKX007
https://www.watchcrunch.com/nooski/posts/watches-under-microscope-vol-11-seiko-skx007-32249
Buler Astromaster
https://www.watchcrunch.com/nooski/posts/watches-under-microscope-vol-10-buler-astromaster-31818
Laco Rostock
Casio GA-2100
https://www.watchcrunch.com/nooski/posts/watches-under-microscope-vol-8-casio-ga-2100-casioak-31186
Seiko SNXS79
https://www.watchcrunch.com/nooski/posts/watches-under-microscope-vol-7-seiko-snxs79-30976
San Martin SN007 V4
https://www.watchcrunch.com/nooski/posts/watches-under-microscope-vol-6-san-martin-sn007-v4-30628
Seiko SRP777 Turtle
https://www.watchcrunch.com/nooski/posts/watches-under-microscope-vol-5-seiko-srp777-turtle-30392
RZE Endeavour
https://www.watchcrunch.com/nooski/posts/watches-under-microscope-vol-4-rze-endeavour-30022
Seiko SARX035
https://www.watchcrunch.com/nooski/posts/watches-under-microscope-vol-3-seiko-sarx035-29698
Citizen Promaster BN0151
Longines Conquest
https://www.watchcrunch.com/nooski/posts/watches-under-microscope-vol-1-longines-conquest-29323
Watch collector and hobby watch photographer. I enjoy all types of affordable watches. I really like beauty in detail and my favorite watches must be well-made.
I don't really care all that much about the microscopic imperfections. But damn, that macro shots are so fine!
Amazing post, thanks!
Unfortunately the bracelet is not original and I've find it to be a perfect fit. Any idea on what this bracelet is?
The fit is superb for such a price.
Fantastic images 👏👏👏
You certainly get very decent quality for the money spent on these. Love the shadow effect on the Seiko logo on the dial
Had the same watch but with the black dial, one of the best seiko 5 shields out there
Bravo!!
Very cool! So fascinating looking at watches on microscopic levels. So much more to see and explore!
Brilliant post, the micro photography is really interesting to look at, a great perspective on things that can easily be overlooked. I look forward to reading your other posts., thanks 👍