SSK023 Seiko Field GMT First Impressions

I’ve been collecting for a few years now. From Invicta, to the SKX, Tudor, Omega, and back - I’ve had the opportunity to experience a wide range of styles and price points. Two styles stick in my crawl as I aim to pare down my collection - dive watches and field watches.

My initial introduction to “high-end” field watches was Hamilton. All the Khakis; 6 of them at one point to be exact. Hamilton may be my favorite brand and I sorely regret not hanging onto at least one of them. I vowed to snag a KFM to scratch the itch, that is until… I saw the Seiko SSK Field GMT. I’m not sure if it was love or lust, but something told me I had to have it. So, I put my name on the list to be notified of its availability and patiently waited. About a week ago I got a text from the AD offering dibs before they went live on the site. I mean, exclusive access to a watch I already wanted? How could I pass that up? Clearly, I did not.

I received the SSK023 a few days ago. It arrived in standard Seiko 5 Sports packaging - that is to say, nothing special. But as I unwrapped this new addition to my now small collection, I was surprised. See, I initially thought the allure of the design was the connection to the obvious. And, sure, it gives off Explorer II vibes, and perhaps even Tudor BB Pro GMT even more so. But this is something all its own, not an homage.

I’ve avoided the new Seiko 5’s for the most part - mostly due to their new logo and direction in which they’ve headed with the line. This, however… it’s an outlier. In the surface it’s just the SRPG27 with a bezel. I wouldn’t fault you if you oversimplified its description in this manner. But somehow it’s more than the sum of its parts. The bezel doesn’t rotate, and it doesn’t bother me. The crown is push-pull, and it doesn’t bother me. The GMT is a caller GMT, and it doesn’t bother me. It’s bracelet pulls my arm hairs. That bothers me. It’s an affordable, hyper-legible, field watch and that’s it. And that’s more than enough.

So how does it wear? Well, it’s a bit thicker than I’d imagined, but we all know how well Seiko is able to hide a chonky boy with its stepped case construction. This watch is no exception. The case is 39mm with a lug to lug of 47(.9?)mm and 20mm between the lugs. It’s what we often call the “Goldilocks” dimensions. Oddly enough, the case profile reminds me less of Seiko and more of Tudor as its lugs have less of a turn-down and appear more slab-like. This means that you’re wearing the full 47mm - there’s no “feels like” measurement here. It sits dangerously close to my max preference for my 6.5” wrist, but wears comfortably nonetheless. The only real gripe I have with wearability is the caseback. I would love to see Seiko do away with the exhibition caseback and swap it out for a flat, closed, caseback. I mean, it’s a field watch after all.

The crown is easy to operate both on and off-wrist, which immediately made me okay with the lack of a screw-down here. The winding is smooth, but meh, as you’d expect. The GMT function has a satisfying “thud” to its movement as it clicks into place while setting your second time zone (or first, depending upon preference). I am also a sucker for a crown that sits proud without guards. It’s what made me fall in love with the SPB143 and Seiko has done it again here.

So, what are the negatives? None that aren’t easily overcome. The price point is fair, but perhaps a bit higher than some would be willing to pay for the movement. Obviously, setting up a WatchRecon alert should land you one at close to half-retail in a few weeks or so. The other downside is the bracelet. Seiko is known for their shortcomings in bracelet-making, even on the higher end, so it should come as no surprise that this bracelet leaves something to be desired. It’s. Five-link construction, reminiscent of something you’d see on an IWC, is beautiful to look at but not a true five-link. Instead you get non-articulating “links” that are part of a single link that create the look. Not a huge issue. The clasp is fully stamped with a push-button release and a fold over locking mechanism; standard stuff. But the clasp is long. Like, the width of my wrist long. It means that sizing the bracelet requires the clasp be perfectly centered for me on my 6.5” wrist or it becomes a nuisance. But let’s be real here - a field watch belongs on a nato, so do what I did: buy it on the bracelet and swap it to a nato immediately upon receiving the watch. Boom, bracelet issue solved.

Final thoughts? Well, I don’t think it’s gonna scratch the itch for the Hamilton KFM for any length of time. Even with its robust build, better water resistance, and GMT function, it just lacks something that the KFM delivers. Emotion. Heritage. Military history, perhaps. But if you’re not looking to fill that gap, and you want a clean, legible, wearable, field watch at a decent price while also being able to track another time zone, I’m not sure you could do much better. Slam dunk? No. Perhaps more of a layup, with flair. A fingerroll, perhaps.