Customer Rating:  
Summary: Quality watch and good value
Comment: I purchased this Seiko dive watch a few months ago from Amazon. I was immediately impressed by the quality (and heft) of the watch. However, that was tempered by my initial disappointment that the watch ran about one *minute* slow per day. I didn't expect an automatic movement would be as accurate as a quartz movement, but that was simply unacceptable. I then took the watch to a local jeweler/watch repair place and had it regulated (at a cost of about $32). Now it is accurate to within about a second a day. All's well that ends well! It is now my everyday watch and I am very satisfied with it.
Customer Rating:
Summary: So far so good
Comment: A week after purchasing this watch I was diving the Spiegel Grove in the Keys. 130+ feet to the sand. Not a hint of a problem. The watch is easy to read under water and the wrist band is very sturdy and easily fits over a wet suit. Glad I bought it. Amazon delivered as advertised.
Customer Rating:
Summary: It's Yellow!!!
Comment: What else is there to say about the Seiko SKXA35? This watch is all show. The yellow-faced dial on this classic-styled dive watche makes a bold statement. This is a watch that will get you noticed.
This watch is styled like several of the vintage Seiko divers. This watch contains the famous 7S26 Automatic Movement. The 7S26 Movement is available in many Seiko watches and is notorious as Seiko's low-end, workhorse movement. Both watch models, the Seiko SKX173 and the SKXA35, are North American variants of the popular Seiko SKX007. The 007 can be purchased for slightly less money than its North American counterparts (however, I believe Amazon sells 'grey market' 007s, so you might not be covered with an in-country warranty). The SKXA35 comes with a 3-year warranty, which is a pretty nice deal.
As previously noted, there are many notorious Seiko Diver Watches housing the 7S26 movement:
SKX781 (Orange Monster)
SKX779 (Black Monster)
SKX007 (Black face, round indicators)
SKX009 (Pepsi)
SKXA53 ('Black Bullet' - variant of the SKX173/SKXA35)
SKXA55 ('Orange Bullet' - variant of the SKX173/SKXA35)
And the list goes on. I prefer the square markers over the circular ones found on the SKX007 which is why I gravitated towards the SKX173/SKXA35.
Needless to say, the 7S26 is a well-used movement. It is a non-hacking movement meaning that the seconds hand cannot be stopped. Some people find that by applying a slight amount of back pressure to the crown they are able temporarily stop the seconds hand. The movement has a power reserve of "40 hours" which means that you should probably wear it every other day to keep it running. If your power reserve is considerably less than 40 hours there is probably something wrong with your watch.
This is an automatic watch. Apparently this fact is beyond some people on Amazon. If you do not wear the watch it will stop. You will need to reset the time. If you are they type of person who does not like to wear your watch daily then do not buy an automatic watch. If you are the type of person who hates setting the time on his watch, do not buy an automatic watch.
Simple fact folks. Do your research.
As for the accuracy...out of the box my watch has been running approximately 2 or 3 seconds slow every day. The accuracy of your watch depends on several variables:
-how long you wear your watch
-how you store your watch at night
-how the watch came out of the factory
The 7S26 is assembled in a factory. It is not regulated beforehand. The accuracy of your watch will vary. Some people report accuracy of +/- just a few seconds a day, other people lose or gain 15 to 20 seconds a day. A gain or loss of 15 seconds a day still falls within Seiko's suggested accuracy of +/-25 seconds a day. In regards to the variables stated above:
-the longer you wear your watch the more wound the spring will be, some people report better accuracy when the spring is fully wound
-storing your watch on its case back, on its side (crown up), or on its face can cause small drifts in time
-some people will get lucky and have a watch with amazing accuracy, other people will not
Some people claim that there is a "breaking in" period for the watch to settle. We shall see with my watch, which has consistently lost 2 or 3 seconds every day when stored on its case back overnight.
This is a Diver's watch. It is hefty and big, the way dive watches are meant to be. This is a manly watch that has a bold wrist presence. The hot yellow color only adds to the boldness of this watch. The watch features a 120-click uni-direction bezel which feels firm but pleasant to turn. The watch displays both the day of the week and the date. Finally, the markers on the watch are painted with Seiko's proprietary paint called "lumibrite" which causes the watch markers to glow in the dark. The glow lasts surprisingly long for paint that only needs to be charged by a light source.
Conclusion: All-in-all Seiko makes a mean automatic dive watch at a VERY affordable price. The 7S26 movement is low-maintenance, cheap and efficient. Seiko also makes some of the best dive watches in the 150~250 price range. The Seiko SKXA35 is a hot, yellow diver. Fans of modern, sporty watches owe it to themselves to check out this affordable and awesome watch.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very good accuracy, in my case.
Comment: From the reading I've done, the automatic movement used in this watch, the 7S26, is an "entry level" movement, so I wasn't expecting great accuracy, even by mechanical watch standards. And obviously, even a top mechanical movement won't be as accurate as an inexpensive quartz.
Pleasant surprise here. In the 3 months that I've had this watch, the drift rate has been about -2 sec per day when I'm wearing it, and about +5 when I leave it on the automatic watch winder. Don't count on getting that yourself, at this price range I suspect there's a lot of variation, and I just got lucky. I also have to note that some other reviewers do note worse performance. However, if you want best case accuracy, a watch repairman can probably regulate one of these to within 5 sec/day or less.
No hacking on this movement. What I did was note what the next minute was going to be, and set the minute hand at the moment that the second hand reached 12. Then I noted what the error was at that point, and calculated the drift rate from there.
To me this is a very attractive watch. I think the pictures do it justice, so judge for yourself. The luminous hands and markers are very bright in the dark, and the glow lasts a long time.
No battery changes of course, but you'll want to get it serviced every few years anyway, and it can sometimes be hard to find a qualified local watch repairman. Depending on where you live, you might have to send it away, and even a simple cleaning and lubrication is going to cost more than most battery replacements.
If you just like the idea of having an automatic watch, though, I think this is a bargain.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Personal Observations
Comment: The Seiko automatic mechanical Diver's Watch SKXA35 fits my 8 3/4" wrist with a hole to spare in the band, which is well designed as the keeper slides but stays put too. The watch has a fine-brushed effect on top, and mirror finished elsewhere, including the stainless steel back (not transparent). The second hand advances 6 times per second. It's warrantied for 1 year internationally and a total of 3 years in the USA by Seiko. WATCHSAVINGS.COM who used Amazon to bill, shipped for free less than 24 hours after ordering, and it arrived on time in perfect condition. The manual is well written in perfect English. I'm very pleased so far. The watch may even last as long as my Rolex that went from 1966 to 2006 before becoming uneconomical to fix. At least the SKXA35 has 21 jewels per the manual!
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