I've noticed automatics by Seiko for under $100 on Amazon. Are these any good? I'm certain they don't have sapphire crystals. The five year service would cost more than the watch. are these considered disposable?
Yes, affordable Seiko automatics are very good. I wouldn't worry too much about servicing costs to be honest, just wear it for years and run it into the ground and then must pick up another cheap movement to swap into it (or just buy another Seiko full stop). Many people have Seikos that are 20+ years old and never been serviced but are running fine, those movements are workhorses.
Exactly, besides especially in the particualr price range, there is no better watch on the market than a seiko. Simple as that
ShaggyDog explained perfectly the rest
I own a $100-or-so Seiko 5 dress watch that has served me pretty well! The bracelet it came on wasn't the best, and the movement, visible through a display case back, is very plain, however accuracy is pretty decent, and considering that I do not dress up often, the watch gets the job done for me just fine! Yes, the watch uses a mineral crystal, as expected for this price range, but considering the overall decent quality of the watch it is still a steal of a deal, and I recommend the Seiko 5 series to people on tight budgets all the time. As far as servicing/life of the watch goes, I will simply wear mine until it no longer keeps time reliably, and retire the watch. Because I don't wear it very often, I expect I'll get a decade at the very least out of it.
Great watches for the money. They're certainly not going to be dethroning any Grand Seikos or Jaegers, but for under $100, pretty amazing how much you can get.
If you want the highest quality entry level Seiko, look for ones with a 4R movement, which adds features to the standard 7S26.
I think it's hard to deny that the SNK80x for under fifty bucks is the best deal in watchdom. And if you want to go high class and spend about a hundred or a tad more, you can add various luxuries like a bracelet and move into the 42mm range or larger.
Yeah, I'll just parrot everyone else and say that those watches are great. They run well, they're attractive, they come in an absurd variety of styles, and they start at $50-ish. The only caveat is that the bracelet on the cheapest models isn't so great -- most people just put them on a different strap.
I am actually wearing one right now. The model is SNK793 and I picked it up for about $60. Like others have mentioned the bracelet is very cheap but I spent about another $30 on a Hirsch strap. It is great quality for the money, looks pretty nice, and I don't mind if I bang it up a bit. This watch has actually gotten more compliments than the Seiko/Hamilton watches I own costing nearly 10x the price.
I'd also say look at entry level Orients which are comparable, but there's a lot more variety. Plus I like power reserves and Orient has a ton of those.
I have that one, too. The blue dial is really beautiful. I've been asked if it's a Rolex. I mean, obviously not by people who know anything about watches, but it shows that people see it and think it's something special.
(Mine is on a fine mesh bracelet. The shiny silver complements the blue very nicely.)
I just bought another 2K Seiko without a sapphire crystal...
They're good for what they are, but what I don't like is they're throwaways. You won't service the watch unless it has real sentimental value to you, typically you just throw it away or bury it in a drawer and buy another, something about that just doesn't sit well with me.
In their price range, I prefer Citizen-Miyota automatics; I like being able to hand wind a watch. All entry level watches from Seiko, Citizen-Miyota, and even Sea-Gull are pretty reliable, and I've read many stories of them lasting decades without needing servicing.
I prefer the entry level Orient and Seikos to Miyota. For one, a lot of entry level Seikos do hand wind and hack, and we're coming to a point in the next couple of years where all Seikos will do that. Orient you have to pay a little more for to get those, but you can get a power reserve, which I like. I also prefer the magic lever system. And, at any rate, I've had better luck accuracy wise with cheap Seikos and Orients than Miyota, although I'm not sure what the consensus is on cheap Miyota. I don't see them talked a lot about here (usually just the 9000).
I have a 2008 Seiko 5, which I broke when I dropped on a concrete floor a few years after purchase, when it was out of warranty. I serviced it for $60 through the AD and it has been working brilliantly ever since. (This was before I got interested in watches, and knew no better).
They do have sapphire crystals with AR coating, and they are excellent. I can only give full praise for these.
My Seiko 5 was the first new automatic I bought after discovering WUS. Just checked with time.gov and it's spot-on after 4 days. Not bad for a $140 watch. No regrets. Buy one with the style to your liking and wear it anytime and everywhere.
My Seiko 5 SNK803 I only got a few weeks ago, but so far no problems besides being a bit small for me. Although at that price point, I can't complain. Its affordable even for a college student like me.
You might be surprised just how many cheap Seiko 5s there are. The link goes to a Seiko 5 database I'm working on and I only have half of the Seiko 5s in there that I know of so far.
can't go wrong with an affordable Seiko, you can wear it for years or even decades without service and when it needs a service it's relatively inexpensive.
Besides Amazon, the warehouse clubs like Costco, Sam's and BJ's have an assortment of good cheap watches including Seiko,
(they have watches >1K too), might be worth a look see.
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