Seiko SKX007: A Long-Term Owner's Review Of The Value Icon

We never really know how – or when – it happens, but some watches manage to achieve an iconic status that gives them a certain immortality long after discontinuation. We know the types, from the Speedmaster to the Submariner to the Royal Oak. But not all icons are pricey and they’re certainly not all Swiss. Enter the Seiko SKX007, a watch without a nickname, whose reference number is as recognizable as any of the aforementioned icons I just listed. The SKX, as we call it shorthand, is the value king in all of horology because of its capability from top to bottom, literally.

Today we are going to be examining the SKX007, a watch that Seiko has since moved on from and never truly replaced. We will look at it at face value (as well as current secondary market value), for the watch’s impact on collector culture, and for its staying power even in the face of no longer remaining in production.

Seiko SKX007 History And Specs

In order to properly contextualize the SKX007, we must go back in time to the 1970s, when Seiko made its first impactful dive watch. Notice how I say "impactful," as the lot of you ready yourselves to remind me not to discount the 62MAS. For the record, I am not – at least not entirely. The 62MAS has proven to be a classic for Seiko, but the diver that really put the brand on the map in terms of culturally relevant tool watches was the Ref. 6105 which was worn by Martin Sheen in the film Apocalypse Now. It has since gone on to take the name of his character, “Captain Willard.” That watch was produced until 1977.

The "Captain Willard" led to the introduction of the SKX007, and the watch whose mantle the SKX picked up was the Seiko 7002. It carried many of the visual hallmarks present on the future SKX, including a black dial, white painted markers, orange text, and arrow hands, as well as a rotating dive-time bezel. The 7002 was water resistant to 150 meters and produced from the late 1980s until 1996. This is where our story picks up in earnest.

The year 1996 was 30 years ago. It was the year that gave us the very first Tom Cruise Mission: Impossible film in addition to the SKX. The watch launched with a price tag of about $430 and it launched in two key configurations, both of which have become individual members of tool-watch lore: the consistently mentioned 007, and the SKX009. The latter being differentiated by what many consider to be a “Pepsi” bezel. I for one, take a different approach when looking at the bezel considering Seiko’s longstanding partnership with PADI, and the shared red-and-blue colorway found in that bezel color combination. 

What makes the SKX so special is that it arrived in a sub-$1,000 price bracket with an in-house Seiko caliber and was dive-ready in a serious way, as it complied with the ISO6425 guidelines, which defined how a watch could be called a dive watch. There are few countries that are not ISO member nations, so this distinction would have been very crucial to real divers at the time, especially considering 1996 may have still boasted recreational and pro divers who didn’t rely entirely on a dive computer.

Of course, history is one thing, but considering that this watch is part of nearly every enthusiast collection on the planet and on the wishlist of burgeoning collectors, let’s look at the bona fides of the SKX.

Case and Strap

The case of the SKX measures 42.5mm in diameter (this is when measuring the case from 2 o'clock to 8 o’clock) and boasts a bezel measuring around 41mm. A fairly compact 45.5mm lug-to-lug and the visual real estate occupied by the bezel makes the watch wear significantly smaller than that diameter might indicate – more in the 40.5mm to 41mm range. It is relatively tall, at 13.3mm, taking into account the flat mineral crystal, though the organically sloping case sides aid in breaking up the visual perception of thickness, and are actually quite elevated when it comes to a watch of this price. 

In terms of finishing and case construction, the SKX features directional brushing across its top surfaces with polishing along the curved case sides, the edge of the bezel, and the screw-down crown that is stationed between crown guards in Seiko’s customary 4 o’clock position. The crown and the screw-down caseback allow for the 200-meter water resistance rating. The case design is distinctly Seiko, making the SKX collection easily identifiable, another notch on the icon belt. It features a 120-click, unidirectional, elapsed-time diver’s bezel, which operates well with good action. It is relatively easy to align with the chapter ring and dial but does exhibit minimal back play. This is just a factor to bear in mind with a watch like this.

Set in the 22mm space between the lugs the SKX here comes accompanied with a Black polyurethane strap, which is very thick, very long, and very stiff. I have come to like it as a design object, but it hardly fits my 6.25in wrist and the strap sticks out in a way that's simply not functional. The further truth is, this strap never breaks in. But that’s ok, because there is no shortage of strap options out there, and the SKX is what the kids call a “strap monster,” meaning there is no strap that can ugly this watch up. 

That being said, the other OEM option for the SKX is a five-link bracelet. It feels cheap and it’s jangly, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love it and that it wasn’t the best option for this watch, full stop. The overall case package is punctuated by its crystal made of Hardlex, a proprietary Seiko material but one that is prone to scratches that sadly cannot be buffed out. That being said, a dive watch with scratches looks mighty cool. Turn the watch over and you’ll find the signature Seiko wave engraving that is a nice touch for the price.

Seiko SKX007 Dial

The Seiko SKX007 and SKX009 both come in a matte dial layout either in black (007) or blue (009). The dial features triangular and circular indices printed in white, each with its own proportionally smaller application of LumiBrite (Seiko’s proprietary luminescent material). Paired with lume within Seiko’s distinctive polished handset, this is best-in-show lume regardless of price. Tracking the seconds is a black-and-white stick seconds hand complete with a lumed circle counterweight, and at 3 o'clock, there is a faceted window through which we see the printed day and date wheels laying underneath.

As is Seiko’s custom, “SAT” is executed in blue on the day wheel, with “SUN” in red text. On the periphery, we have a steeply angled chapter ring color-matched to the dial and complete with linear markings denoting the minutes. Dial text here is minimal, with only “Seiko” and “Automatic” at 12 noon and “Diver’s 200m” printed in orangey red at the 6 o’clock position. The Diver’s text is meant to signify the watch’s compliance with the ISO 6425 standard. 

Movement

The movement inside the SKX debuted along with it in 1996. It is of course, the the non-hacking and non-hand-winding 7S26 caliber. Utilitarian in its finish and architecture, the 7S26 has still earned an impressive reputation for reliability and durability, and has been utilized in millions of Seiko watches. It beats at 3Hz and boasts a power reserve of 41 hours, with accuracy ratings that, frankly, don’t come within a country mile of chronometry records. 

It is typical to see accuracy of  -6 and + 13 sec./day when tested across five positions. As a longtime owner of the SKX007, I have always found the lack of hacking and hand-winding to be a fun differentiator between this watch and others in my collection. It’s like the Shake N’ Bake of watches. Viewing the SKX in the context of the time it was created, the 7S26 made a lot of sense for the SKX collection at that time, as we were years away from the brand introducing its 4R series.

Owning The SKX007

So I have had the distinct pleasure, as I alluded to earlier, of owning an SKX for nearly 10 years now and it’s honestly hard to believe that when I type it out loud. I recall sitting in my law school lectures, occasionally opening a tab to an Amazon listing for an SKX and thinking if I should just pull the trigger. It was a roughly $230 purchase at the time, and for a broke law student who was recently engaged, the price seemed as steep to me then as a Nautilus does now.

Through the fortune of a LexisNexis points promotion, I was able to obtain an Amazon gift card just by doing legal research. And you know what I put that gift card towards? Yup. I remember my distinct underestimation of the sheer size and stiffness of the strap. I remember quickly going back to Amazon to buy the bracelet. But I also remember another thing.

I remember how the watch made me feel when I took it out of its packaging. The matte dial with the stark white indices gave me a nostalgic feel. And that is because it reminded me so much of my dad’s watch, a ref. 5513 Rolex Submariner that he wore through my entire childhood, and that he still has to this day.

Somehow, this $230 diver captured the toolish essence of the watch that effectively got me into watches. Sure, the SKX case profile, and thickness are far less refined than that of a Submariner, but there is an achievement in its simplicity that gives it a timeless appeal. It’s the sort of appeal we find in vintage watches. And the SKX isn’t yet vintage. It’s the sweet spot that brands keep looking for in modern releases, and that they can’t get right, often overcomplicating the basics that the SKX gets so right.

I began wearing the SKX on the OEM leather strap often. I even tested out wearing it with a jacket and tie a la Rustin Cole in True Detective, although his diver was a Lorus and the strap was not quite the behemoth of the SKX.

Once I began to wear it on the jangly jubilee, my wife began to take notice of the watch, falling in love with its charm. There was a one-and-a-half-year period where the SKX became hers. It’s her adventures that gave it the large hairline scratch on the dial. She wore it on vacations, took it swimming in the ocean, and she found little to complain about the 42.5mm case on her wrist.

She later developed a watch collection of her own, punctuated by a Rolex OP 36 with a silver dial, which then led to the SKX coming back to me. As a true enthusiast and a collector in my own right, I won’t lie and say that I wear the SKX all of the time. In fact, I hardly wear it anymore. But I will never get rid of it. Sometimes it's my gym watch, other times my weekend watch.

Over the years, the sort of thoughtless wearing experience in the early days left battle scars on this watch that register as memories. What was once a gift-card influenced Amazon purchase – perhaps the least romantic way to buy a watch – has become an anchor of my collecting journey. I have to think that whenever I have children, as soon as they are able to withstand the weight of a watch on their wrist, I’ll show them the SKX. I'll tell them it’s a watch that can’t be broken. And if by some magic they do manage to break the thing, I’ll have no reservations in sending it off to the in-house powerhouse that is Seiko.

The thesis of my experience with the SKX is the ability to say I picked one up in its time, and that they just don’t make ‘em like this anymore. This seems like the perfect time then, to examine what the SKX means in today’s horological world.

The SKX Legacy

There are very few affordable watch icons, and the SKX certainly stands above the rest, but I have always found it deeply interesting that people with Subs and Speedys in their lives crave an SKX in their collection. I was there once, and picked one up on Amazon for a mere $220 back in 2015. This was after reading countless articles where folks talked about being able to snag one for $150. Those were the days. 

The legacy of the SKX is more than just its value, something that has changed since its discontinuation. It’s the fact that it comes from a lineage of Seiko dive watches that began as affordable and remained affordable. Just think about the fact that a Rolex Submariner could be had in the 1960s and ‘70s for roughly $300. Then think how much one costs now. The SKX and its predecessors kept the tool-watch heritage and affordability alive. And Seiko is a true in-house brand to boot.

Okay, so where does this watch sit now? Well, depending on the day, you will either be shocked or terrified. That’s what discontinuation does. I have seen SKX007s with a J (Japan) serial number sell for above $1,000, and K-serial 009 models sell for the mid-$500s. I could live with a person slurping $500-plus for a brand new SKX. Over $1,000? Get out of town. There are plenty of secondhand deals to be had. That’s why it is important to remember what the watch was in terms of value, especially to those lucky enough to own one and put it through it’s paces.

Today, Seiko has supplanted the SKX with a series of watches in the Seiko 5 Sports collection in the SRPD “5KX” range. These cost just under $250 and present tremendous value, but they are not the pure distillations of sports watch that the SKX was in the sense that they only have 100 meters of water resistance, no screw-down crown, and they have an exhibition caseback. But in terms of overall look, they do scratch that SKX itch.

In the end, the Seiko SKX007 and SKX009 (and SKX013 for the "small diver" fans out there) have become relics of the past. We are nearing the 30th anniversary of the SKX line being in our lives, and it felt as good a time as ever to take this look back in time. I am sure many of you have stories about your SKX, and I would love to hear them in the comments. You can learn more at seikowatches.com.