Seiko SRPC44 Gold Turtle Watch Review

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Case

The relatively new to the turtle scene is the SRPC44 Golden Goose! This watch is identical to the former popular Seiko Prospex turtle line, but its painted in a gold coating/color. No, this is not real gold in any way and is just a coating of a gold color. The case 200M water resistance case measures 45MM across by 13MM thick with a pair of 22MM lugs. A nice little feature is the drilled lugs which made changing out straps
that much easier, especially with those thick stock Seiko spring bars which can be a real pain sometimes to remove. In terms of finishing the gold is highly polished on each side while the top portion remains brushed just as every other Seiko turtle. It does fit nice on wrist and does wear smaller than its' dimensions suggest due to a short lug to lug width. It also features a steel screw sown caseback with the typical Seiko embossing. The crown on my example is located at the 4:00 which is very true to most seiko dive watches and actually threads very nicely and I didnt have an issue with this model unlike a few of the Seiko SKXs I have picked up over the years.

Dial and Lume

The sunburst-like black dial features lumed Lumibrite markers and a very legible handset. The dial really does go well with the gold tone as well as the gold/black 120 Click bezel. Believe it or not...My bezel ligns up! I was quite surprised as most seiko divers from the Prospex line have misaligned chapter rings and bezels. Hence, one of the reasons many buyers opt out for other watches with good quality control
and better specifications for the same money, such as the Oceanica Reef Dive watch. The bezel insert remains aliminum, so no ceramic upgrade yet - but it does operate fairly smooth with minimal backplay. Now the lume is always good with seiko models as they use their in house formulated Seiko Lumibrite which glows green in color and will
last the night! ( well no Lume really lasts 9 hours but,
it will last around 30 minutes before it fades.

Same Rubber Band BUT...Gold Buckle

I really do like these Seiko silicone bands , as they are really really soft and conform
perfectly to the wrist. There is absolutely no reason to swap this one out as it fits the aesthetic of this diver perfectly as well as my wrist. The buckle is also painted in gold to match the case, which you would expect at a price of around $400 for this Seiko diver.

Movement

Yep...Did you guess? It is using the Seiko 4R36 which is the Day/Date version of the seiko NH35A. This movement works, lasts a long time, is robust tough and fairly accurate within + or - 10 seconds usually out of the box. The movement is quite simple and beats at 3HZ , has hacking and hand wind with a quickset day and date function.

Conclusion

If you are a true Seiko fan, and really want something out of the ordinary, or perhaps a "Blingy" turtle, perhaps this model is for you. I have even seen the new custom jubilee bands in full gold color which pair with these, and...it looks pretty good and bad at the same time. It is kind of like wearing a Michael Kors gold watch, but your wearing an actual decent entry level Seiko diver at the same time. I am not sure if these are for everyone, most definitely not for me as I would
only wear a gold watch if it was actually gold, or atleast gold capped with real gold material. But, as I have always said we all have different tastes :)