Seiko 5 Sports Military Automatic Green SSA299K1 (Equivalent to SSA293K1, SSA295K1 and SSA297K1) - A very good beater watch, A Review (plus Videos)

One of my sub-collection focus is military watches that are not specifically diver or pilot watches. I currently have two under this sub-category (Seiko 5 Sport 100M SNZG09K1 & Seiko 5 SRP145K1). This latest one, The Seiko 5 Sports SSA299K1 will be the third in the sub-collection.

For this particular purchase, I decided to try a new dealer located in the center of Kuala Lumpur, on Jalan Raja Laut. Perniagaan Jam May May (www.jammaymay.com.my) prices looks rather good relative to other stores that I have been going to. For the SSA299K1, the shop quoted RM644 (plus GST it would be RM682.64). The next closest was from www.citytime.my at RM780 net.

This model has a case size of 44 mm excluding crown (with crown is it 47 mm). It has a thickness of 13 mm and its lug width is 22 mm. Lug-to-lug distance is approximately 52 mm. Made out of 316L stainless steel with cloth strap, the watch weighs in at 90 gm. Protected by Hardlex crystal glass in the front as well as the display case-back. The front glass diameter is 38 mm.



The stainless steel has a sandblasted matte finish and fitted with with a Seiko khaki green cloth weave buckle strap able to fit wrist size up to 8.75 inches. It has two complications, a 24 hour sub-dial located between 10 and 11 o'clock and a date aperture located between 4 and 5 o'clock. The push-in crown is located at 3 o'clock and it has a water rating of 10 ATM or 100 meters.



The SSA299K1 has the drab military green on its dial. It is design to have the element of stealth which is synonymous with it being designated a military watch.

The chapter ring has markers down to 1/5th of a second increment. Every fifth second marker is illuminated with LumiBrite paint. All the markers on the chapter ring is painted white.



On the dial itself you will find the main time scale. This watch has Arabic numberings at the 12, 6, 3 and 9 o'clock positions. These markers are not painted with LumiBrite. Instead, the markers are painted grey with green tone. The scale on the 24 hour sub-dial is also treated the same. The only written alphanumeric on it is the number “24” and “HOUR”.

The brand and logo are located at the 3 o’clock position and there are 4 lines of watch description at the 6 o’clock position. Apart from the word “SPORTS” written in red, the rest of the words are printed with the same grey with green tone colour.




The date aperture is non-obstructive and the numbers are printed on a black background. I like the fact that the design on the SSA299K1, despite having a sub-dial as well as date window, did not sacrifice any of the main markers. This maintains the symmetry which I truly appreciate.

This watch has 4 hands. The sub-dial has hand painted in the orange which the rest are in standard white. The minute and hour hands are like Greek swords and painted with LumiBrite.

The flat Hardlex crystal glass is a shade higher than the edge of the fixed bezel. The bezel may not protect the glass from glancing side impact.

The lugs are angled downwards. This has the effect of making the watch wear better for smaller wristed person. It also has pass-through pin holes. I like this as it makes strap changing rather easy.

An interesting point to note is the polished surface between the lugs at both ends of the watch. It looks like the watch casing was first polished before the main surfaces were given the sandblasted matte finish treatment. Areas where one would not expect to see was not given the treatment hence the presence of polished surfaces.

This watch has a display case-back. Here is where you can view the movement powering the SSA299K1, the Seiko 4R37 caliber. This caliber has a 24-hour hand, which moves correspondingly with the hour hand. The 4R37 vibrates at 6 beats per second or 21,600 BPH and has a power reserve capacity of 41 hours. This movement has a second hand halt mechanism when adjusting.



Standard information about the watch is sandblasted around the peripheral of the display case-back including the serial number. The watch is water rated to 100 meters or 10 Bar.

The cloth strap is rather thin and hard to the touch. The strap holes are simple holes heat treated so as not to fray. The buckle and strap guides are stainless steel with sandblasted matte finish. The brand is stamped on the main surface of the buckle. I am actually rather disappointed with this. In fact, the quality of design of the cloth strap appears to have deteriorated after every successive military watch designed by Seiko.

The Wearing Experience

The watch wears well on my 7.5 inch wrist. The angled lugs kept the watch tight on the wrist despite it having a diameter of 44 mm. In fact, I feel like I am wearing a watch that is about 40 mm in width.

The illumination in the dark is sufficiently bright. As none of the LumiBrite painted markers were substituted by the two complications on the watch, at night, the watch face when illuminated looks complete.

My only complaint is with the cloth strap. A softer and thicker material should have been used instead. This strap is hard and takes time to get used to it.

Below is a video of the watch on my wrist.



Below is the video of the movement of the second hand.





Other Examples in the Series

1. The SSA297K1 is a black dial version with black leather strap
2. The SSA293K1 is a black dial version with stainless steel bracelet
3. The SSA295K1 is a beige dial version with brown leather strap

The Unboxing

The SSA299K1 comes in a simple square white packaging box with a Seiko 5 logo printed in black. Inside this box is a plastic white box that hinges at the back. The watch sits on a white pillow.


It comes with the necessary tags with states the MSRP in Malaysia at RM975.20 (inclusive of GST).

Due to the special price that I got for this watch, the guarantee comes directly from the seller and not from the manufacturer. This tells me that the seller is not an authorised dealer for Seiko.

I am not concerned with this issue as Seiko 5 are easily repaired. Since I was able to inspect the watch before taking delivery, I cannot see any potential manufacturing defects that could warrant me to exercise the guarantee. Anyway, very seldom you hear any problems with Seiko watches once they get passed Seiko's stringent QC process.

Conclusion

This is definitely a very good beater watch. The dial is wide enough for you to be able to see (you don’t need to help of reading glasses to see it – I should know) clearly. Although I do have some feedback on the strap, the positives outweigh the negatives. The strap can be used on all conditions either in the stifling heat of a jungle or in the sea. It gets clean easily with just soap and water. The replaceable items such as the Hardlex crystal is cheap and easily available. 

I definitely would recommend this watch to a friend.

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READ MORE - Seiko 5 Sports Military Automatic Green SSA299K1 (Equivalent to SSA293K1, SSA295K1 and SSA297K1) - A very good beater watch, A Review (plus Videos)

SEIKO 5 Military Sports Automatic Watch SRP621K1 Olive Green Dial & Strap (similar to SRP623K1, SRP625K1 & SRP635K1) – A Handsome Value for Money Watch, A Review (plus Video)

I have been slowing building up my olive green military style collection for the last few years. This is one genre that is seldom highlighted in watch forums. At the moment I have three in this category. The SRP621K1 will be the fourth.

This particular example is part for the Seiko 5 range of products by Seiko. Made out of 316L stainless steel, the case material has a satin finish to give it the dark silvery gray. Round shaped, it measures 44 mm (without crown) across. Lug width is 22 mm while the lug-to-lug length is 51 mm. The watch has a height of 12 mm.

The dial is protected with a flat Hardlex crystal glass. The same material is also used for the display case-back. The watch comes standard with a vintage-style crown located at the 3 o’clock position. The crown is a simple push-down system with three positions (winding; adjusting date & day; and adjusting time). The watch is paired with an olive green nylon strap with a simple buckle clasp and two thin wire bands for the strap lead. The strap has a sufficient length for a wrist circumference of 210 mm. The lugs have a straight-through pin holes which facilitate easy strap changes. Overall weight of the watch stands at 86 grams.



The SRP621K1 is a simple three-handed watch with day and date complications. The day and date complications share a common aperture that partially covers the 3 o’clock hour marker. For the day complication, you have a choice of using either Roman numerals or English to represent the days in the week.



There are two set of scale on the watch. The first is located on the slopped chapter ring. Each 5 minute interval uses Arabic numerals from 5 to 60. In between there is an image of a rectangle with lines dividing it into three sections. The lines that slice the rectangles are the minute markers. This design gives it a nice vintage feel to the watch. The second scale is the hour scale located directly on the dial. It has a combination of Arabic and line markers. The Arabic and line markers are painted light olive with white borders. LumiBrite paint is only used on small square points located under the Arabic numbers (for the 12 o’clock, it is put on a triangle).



The dial is smooth and is olive green in colour. Surprisingly, there are 7 lines of text and logo on the dial. Three of the lines are located on the top half while the other four lines are on the bottom half where the last (in very small font) is located around the dial edge. The word “SPORTS” is the only one written in red.



The hours and minutes hands have a Greek sword-like design and lumed with LumiBrite. The seconds hand looks like an arrow with fletchings where the arrowhead has its borders painted in red with LumiBrite.



The case-back is a screw-down display piece which allows one to view the Seiko 4R36 movement. Operating with 24 jewels and 21,600 bph (or 3 Hertz), it is an automatic movement with hand “windable” and seconds hand stop capabilities. It also powers day and date wheels and its main springs have 41 hours of power reserve. Based on specifications, it is rated for an acceptable error of -35/+45 seconds a day. In reality, the actually performance is far superior.

The watch casing is rated for 10 ATM or 100 meters of water pressure.


Wearing Experience

The SRP621K1 is a comfortable watch to wear. The dial is clearly readable. The 44 mm width is on the higher side but manageable. A 42 mm would be just nice. It slips easily under shirt cuffs.

The dull satin finish on the stainless steel makes the SRP621K1 blend itself with the background rather seamlessly. This unassuming watch is great if you do not want to bring attention to yourself. Not unexpected since this is touted as a ‘military’ watch where blending in unseen is a key requirement.

At night, you can see the glow from the LumiBrite painted sections of the watch, namely the 4 markers, the hours and minutes hands as well as the arrow head on the seconds hand. Unfortunately, the illumination is rather dull. Seiko could have put in more luminous paint to make it standout better. 

The only other unfavorable comment that I have would be on the strap. The nylon strap looks cheap. Seiko could have invested more in making it more unique. Instead, it looks like many typical cheap aftermarket nylon straps found in discount stores and sold in bulk. Below is a video of the watch on my wrist.



Nevertheless, for a watch at this price point (MSRP RM800.30; Purchase price RM600), the positives outweigh the negatives. Value for money for a watch.The vintage look of the dial makes it rather handsome in my opinion.




Photo Gallery

SRP621K1	SRP621K1	SRP621K1

READ MORE - SEIKO 5 Military Sports Automatic Watch SRP621K1 Olive Green Dial & Strap (similar to SRP623K1, SRP625K1 & SRP635K1) – A Handsome Value for Money Watch, A Review (plus Video)

The ORIENT Automatic Military Collection CER2D009F (or ER2D009F) Olive Green Dial – An excellent starter watch for budding WIS, A Review (and Video)

As part of my continuing focus of collecting military themed watches with olive green dial, I was able to land the Orient CER2D009F into the collection. My trusted internet merchant, www.citytime.my emailed me about the latest batch that just arrived at his store. The MSRP in Malaysia is RM418 (inclusive of 6% GST) but I got it for just RM295.

The CER2D009F is sized perfectly for my wrist. With a width of 41 mm (excluding crown) it has a thickness of just 11 mm. Its lug size is 22 mm which helps make it feel like a watch with smaller dimensions. Made out of stainless steel, the surface is polished including the solid screw-down case-back. The dial is protected by a flat piece of mineral crystal glass.

The watch is traditional in design with three hands, a date complication in an aperture located at the 3 o’clock position. The crown is also located at the same location.

There are 5 lines of text and graphics on the dial. The first three which includes the brand as well as the logo are located on the top half of the dial. The final two are on the bottom half where the fifth line is in small font with information about the production coding.



There are two sets of scales on the dial. The other scale is the minute marker scale while the inner scale is for the hours. For this second scale, Orient employs both markers and Arabic numberings. These markers are painted with luminous paint. It is important to note that the date aperture did not totally replace the 3 o’clock marker. By using black digits with white background, there is some semblance of balance between the 3 o‘clock and the 9 o’clock markers.



The two main hands are partially skeletonised while the seconds hand is a simple thin rod. Only the two main hands were given a good dose of luminous paint.



The engine powering the watch is the Orient in-house Caliber 48743. This is an automatic movement operating in the 21600 BPH or 3 Hertz band. It has 21 jewels and the main spring is able to keep a maximum power reserve of approximately 40 hours. It has a stated accuracy of +25 seconds ~-15 seconds per day.

The watch is paired with genuine dark brown leather strap with a signed buckle. The water resistance of the watch is stated at 50 meters.

The Wearing Experience

This watch feels like a dress watch. Wears well and the leather strap is comfortable. In all honesty, Orient should have chosen a canvas or nylon strap for this watch to strengthen its military heritage. The choice of leather makes it very confusing watch to classify at first glance. I guess Orient is thinking more of making this watch a dressier version instead of a real military-tool watch.

Apart from this feedback, I got nothing adverse to report about this watch. Due to the price point, this timepiece would be a good starter watch for budding young WIS. Below is a short video of the watch on my wrist.

Photo Gallery

CER2D009F	CER2D009F	CER2D009F
CER2D009F	CER2D009F	CER2D009F

READ MORE - The ORIENT Automatic Military Collection CER2D009F (or ER2D009F) Olive Green Dial – An excellent starter watch for budding WIS, A Review (and Video)