Hands-on with the Seiko 5 Sports SKX ‘Camouflage’ Street Style Watch
Friday - 18 November 2022
Seiko has released a military wristwatch as part of its 5 Sports watch collection with an eye-catching green camo display and a comfortable black NATO strap to match its robust black hard coated stainless steel case
Are you a camo lover? Despite many believing that camo watches are a little like marmite (you’ll either love them or hate them), you’d be surprised at how popular these military-styled wristwatches are. But even if camo watches are your bag, there’s still a huge array of different styles and designs to choose from on the market. The new Seiko 5 Sports models (one in a limited edition version, the other one a standard model) are going to appeal to a certain audience and that’s what makes them extra special in their own right. In this article, we’re going to look at the new standard Seiko 5 Sports SKX ‘Camouflage’ Street Style watch, but first, a little on the Seiko 5 Sports watch collection…
A run-through of the Seiko 5 Sports watch collection
The 5 Sports watch series by Seiko promises incredible value for money. The collection is home to a wide range of automatic manufacture movements. These homemade calibres sit inside robust cases topped with strong scratch-resistant Hardlex glass. In particular, the Japanese brand’s pilot’s watches and dive watches are popular designs, yet all models from this family promise affordability, reliability and robustness. Watches from the 5 Sports series began emerging in the 1960s. Ever since then, they have been impressing with their functionality and incredible value. The models remain in their low hundreds and each tool-like watch is equipped with an in-house movement, offering typical features like day-date models, GMTs and singular date models. Seiko watches from the 5 Sports collection offer 100-meter water resistance, as well as rotatable bezels with a minute scale, making them ideal companions for snorkelling and swimming.
The new Seiko 5 Sports SKX ‘Camouflage’ Street Style watch
The Seiko 5 Sports SKX ‘Camouflage’ Street Style watch is the non-limited version of an exclusive model released in conjunction with it – the SRPJ39 that I covered in more detail here. It comes in a size of 42.5mm and has been crafted from stainless steel with a sleek black hard coating. It differs from the black and grey camo design of the limited edition version with an alternative green camo display. The light green, dark green and black shades all create an interesting interplay behind a set of hands and markers treated with a layer of Seiko’s Lumibrite for assisted time-reading in the dark.
Differing from the limited edition version, this standard interpretation of the SKX ‘Camouflage’ Street Style watch features a glossy dial surface instead of a textured pattern. The dial is also equipped with a day and date feature at 3 o’clock, presented against a striking white background for added contrast, whilst the hour markers comprise pill-shaped, circular and triangular-shaped indexes. The hour hand is also finished in the familiar chunky cathedral-shaped profile, whereas the minute hand is finished in a prominent arrow-tipped motif. The entire dial is protected underneath a Hardlex glass fitted upon a 100-meter water-resistant case.
The Seiko 5 Sports SKX ‘Camouflage’ Street Style watch features a screw-down crown that assists with maintaining the case’s water-resistant rating. Surrounding the dial is a black hard-coated bezel with a minute scale that stands out in white to match the hour markers and hands on the main dial. Inside the robust case of this new Seiko 5 Sports watch is the Calibre 4R36. The in-house manufactured movement is self-winding and performs at a rate of 21,600 vibrations per hour. It also delivers an impressive power reserve of 41 hours once fully wound and comprises 24 jewels. The movement offers hours, minutes, seconds, day and date functions and puts its performance on show through the back of an exhibition caseback. The simple and reliable beating heart has been utilized successfully in many Seiko models and is also fitted to the heart of the new limited-edition version. Lastly, the new Seiko 5 Sports green camo watch is fitted on a black NATO-style strap. The band secures with a black hard coated stainless steel buckle.
The new Seiko limited edition and non-limited edition 5 Sports camo watches exemplify the Japanese brand’s diversity in a category of watches that is not always everyone’s first choice. Somehow, Seiko manages to elevate this military wristwatch in green camo colours to new heights with a contemporary twist that makes it a versatile daytime companion, as well as one for plenty of outdoor pursuits.
For more information on the new Seiko 5 Sports ‘Camouflage’ Street Style watch, you can call Jura Watches on 01335 453453 and speak to a member of our sales team today.
Technical specifications of the new Seiko 5 Sports SKX ‘Camouflage’ Street Style watch
- Case: 42.5mm – stainless steel – black hard coating – 100-meter water resistant – case thickness of 13.4mm – Hardlex glass top – screw-down crown engraved with the Seiko logo – exhibition caseback
- Dial: Green camo in shades of light green, dark green and black – Lumibrite-coated hands – Lumibrite-coated hour markers in pill, triangular and circular shapes – white day and date feature at 3 o’clock
- Movement: Calibre 4R36 – 41-hour power reserve – 24 jewels – 21,600vph – hours, minutes, seconds, day and date functions
- Strap: Black – NATO – stainless steel black hard coated buckle – engraved with the Seiko lettering
- Reference: SRPJ37
- Price: £280
