Seiko 5 SRPB27 Watch Review - Affordable "Super Compressor" Watch

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Today we are going to examine and review a new acquisition of mine , the Seiko 5 SRPB27 automatic Semi super compressor watch from powerhouse japanese watchmaker Seiko. The seiko 5 line is a traditionally cheaper line of watches compared to the other Seiko lines such as the Prospex, Presage, and Professional series but the Seiko 5 line does offer a lot for your money. This is actually my second watch from the Seiko 5 line in my collection of affordable Seiko watches and it has been quite a delight test driving this one for the past couple of weeks prior to publishing this article. Let's get into it!

Case

The SRPB27 is housed in a 316L stainless steel case and has a diameter of 42MM and a width of 11MM. Some enthusiasts might see the 42MM case size and immediately say "too big" , but it sits rather nice on my 6.25 Inch wrist to be quite frank. The thickness at 11MM is just perfect for a slim diver of this style and I think it is okay in terms of thickness. This 42MM case has highly polished sides and brushed lug tops with a highly polished smooth bezel. One thing I did notice is the quality of finish when comparing this watch to something such as the seiko SARB033. The finishing is not as clean and definitely shows in the overall finish of the case. Please do keep in mind that I picked this watch up for $150 USD so I cannot really complain about small details like that. The lugs are rather blocky and I would of liked to see them taper a bit more which would of made the watch conform to the wrist a bit better like the Longines Vintage Compressors. The caseback is fully polished and screwed down as well with a mineral crystal displaying the automatic 4r36 caliber seiko in-house movement. This watch features two crowns which function with ease. The first crown over at 2:00 is used to function the bidirectional inner rotating bezel used to time 60 minutes or countdown 60 minutes which does work wonders. If you are wondering if it can be easily moved by a bump or a swift door knock the answer is no..you really have to rotate the crown with your hand to even move it. The other crown located at 3:00 which is a Pull/Push crown ( typical on seiko 5 models ) is used to set the day/date complication as well as the timeset. I would of liked to see 200M of water resistance instead of 100M of water resistance considering this is designed as a diving watch, but oh well. I mainly chose this watch due to the design and the aesthetic of the piece. I REALLY like super compressor watches but just did not feel like buying a vintage compressor which will have problems down the road. I also was considering a Longines Compressor diver but the lug to lug on that piece is way too big for my wrist.

Movement

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Another big selling point was the actual movement inside of this watch. The 4R36 or the "NH35" movement is a reliable and trusted movement used across the board in modern watchmaking from micro brands all the way up to the Seiko Prospex lines in watches such as the Seiko Turtle SRP777 or even the Presage line in watches such as the SARY055 which cost upwards of $300 USD, so you see the value proposition here. This movement contains 24 Jewels , hacking , hand-wind, and a very consistent accuracy of 5-10 seconds gained or lost a day from my experiences with a few Seiko watches with the 4R36 caliber movement. Another good thing is that its completely produced by SEIKO and if it needs to be serviced 10 years down the road pretty much any watchmaker can do it. The power reserve is around 40 hours and is pretty consistent which is a big thing for me. For example, my seiko SKX009 power reserve is god awful. I will wear that watch all day and put it down to go to bed and by morning ( 8 hours later ) , the thing is dead. In conclusion, a big win for seiko for incorporating this movement in a $150 watch, it is well worth it just for the movement in my honest opinion.

Dial

The dial configuration I chose to go with was the black dial with the grayish accent on the inner rotating bezel. There are a few other alternatives as I believe they offer a "Pepsi" style bezel as well. Anywho the dial is covered with a mineral crystal and does have some depth to it as the rotating bezel sits above the actual dial. The dial has lumed markers ( lume shot below in pictures ) and markings for the 60 minutes of time. It is a pretty "boring" dial and very tooly looking in appearance, but sometimes simple is better. Also we do get a nice Seiko 5 applied logo which sits below the 12:00 position and is raised a bit.

Hands

The hands on this model are quite standard and go along with the watch aesthetic in my opinion. They do reach out to the beginning of the rotating inner bezel which is nice to see. There is also a generous amount of lume on the hour and minutes hand which glows in the dark to an extent. They are shaped like an odd rectangle and are circular towards the end of the hands. The seconds sweeping hand is rather thin and I would of liked for it to be a bit thicker as it is rather hard to see in low light conditions.

Bracelet

​This watch is equipped with a pretty standard seiko oyster style bracelet using the pin system to adjust links. I did not have an issue adjusting the links on the bracelet and removed 4 links in total to get a decent fit to my 6.25 inch wrist. This model does not have a divers extension on the bracelet but does feature 4 micro adjustments which are useful. The bracelet is completely brushed and polished on the sides. I did notice it is not as rounded off on the sides when compared to a bracelet provided on something from the Seiko Prospex line. The bracelet comes with a rather cheap fold over stamped polished clasp with a two button release system and a fold over Seiko buckle. The bracelet DOES fit comfortably though and I really do not have a problem with it. There are always alternatives such as a nice rubber strap or a NATO strap from your favorite supplier.

Caseback

The caseback on the SRPB27 is screwed down and completely polished with a "SEIKO" logo printed on the mineral crystal along with some other standard information. We do get a nice glimpse of the 4R36 movement at work which is nice to see, especially for new watch enthusiasts wanting to really see how a watch works from the inside.

Conclusion

Furthermore, for the price I honestly don't think you can go wrong with a super compressor styled Seiko 5 watch. In todays watch industry it is very hard to find an affordable super compressor style watch as most brands that produce new vintage re creation watches are very expensive such as the JLC Compressors or the Longines Compressors. The watch gives you more than what you pay for with a great 4R36 reliable and robust automatic in-house Seiko movement and 100M of true water resistance. I am not a professional diver but I do feel safe taking this swimming with me in a pool, beach,lake or elsewhere. I do not honestly think I will ever be going 200M deep in the ocean, so no need to worry about that. If you are looking for a super compressor style watch that does not break the bank and is under $200 USD I can recommend this watch to my readers/viewers. I have also left a link below where you can grab one. Thanks for reading please remember to leave a comment and check out the detailed pictures/specifications below.

Official Specifications
Seiko 5 Sports Automatic 24 Jewels SRPB27 SRPB27K1 SRPB27K Men's Watch
Features:

316L Stainless Steel Case
Stainless Steel Bracelet
Automatic Movement
Caliber: 4R36
24 Jewels
Hardlex Crystal
Black Dial
Analog Display
Luminous Hands And Indexes
Day And Date Display
See Through Case Back with Hardlex
Deployment Clasp with signed safety
100M Water Resistance
Lug Width: 22MM
Approximate Case Diameter: 42mm
Approximate Case Thickness: 11mm

​Where to buy ( Link Below for Lowest Price on AMAZON )
http://amzn.to/2CdlRzm

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