This Is The Best Entry Level Watch! - Are Cheap Watches Worth It? - The Seiko 5 SNKL23 Review

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Seiko 5 SNKL23 Review

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7.25 inches

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Looking to get into watches? Introducing your new watch, the Seiko 5 SNKL23 Review...

For most of us, we all have that one watch that started it all. The one watch that kick-started this seemingly endless hobby. Traditionally these watches are more affordable than some of the grails we share but one thing remains universal. These pieces are always remembered as number one, the first watch.

Although there are so many watches that can be chosen as the starting point, one specific Seiko seems to crop up again and again as the one many people own and treasure as being ‘the beginning’.

Seiko is a very popular choice for people’s first watches and although it wasn’t my first watch (that spot is reserved for a watch I had when I was about 7), the Seiko SARB033 was my first mechanical watch. This watch here, the Seiko 5 SNKL23 is infamous at the sub £100 mark.

So before we take a first look at this little Seiko 5 we should probably start with the price. You can pick one of these Seiko 5s up for right around £80 brand new. I’d recommend keeping that in mind as we run through this watches stats…

To start with, the SNKL23 is 38mm wide with a thickness around 10.6mm and lug to lug distance of 45.5mm. The case design itself is pretty modest and elegant, the only distinctively unique aspect is probably the crown position at 4 o'clock, everything else is stylish, smart and clean. So far, you’re getting a lot for £80…

Flipping the watch over and we see (yes, this watch has a display case back) the Seiko in-house calibre 7S26 comes with 21 jewels which sits in an almost endless amount of Seiko divers, most noticeably the SKX, which is priced at £250. The 7s26 comes with 21 jewels.

Sure it doesn’t have hacking or hand winding but I’m not sure how much of a deal-breaker this is for something that costs less than most official straps from the Swiss giants. Back to the front of the watch, we see dauphine hands with touches of lume, a day and date function and black dial in a pin-striped tuxedo style.

Design-wise this is a hard watch to fault. It’s not offensive or out there in any way with the most abstract feature being the crown at 4 and that dial change up. Everything else is modest and executed well.

So, how does this wear on the wrist? Well, This is a very classy looking watch on the wrist. Much like the SARB033 or pieces from the Grand Seiko line up, it’s versatility is it’s selling point. The first thing that jumps out is how symmetrical the case is. That hidden crown at 4 has quite a large impact on this watches aesthetics.

It’s such a compact tidy package that genuinely punches well above its price point. When you consider that this is an entry-level watch with pretty attractive looks, solid stats, a respectable size and is made from a well known brand, it's very hard to fault.