Sea King SK-1 300M Dive Watch Review

Sea King is a new microbrand which released quite recently on the marketplace via their webshop. The watch is around the $500 pricepoint and has a lot to offer for the money with quality movement and components alike. Here on the Watch Addict channel I try to find watches from Smaller brands offering something out of the ordinary or just watches that punch above their pricepoint, which I believe the Sea King does.

Official Webpage - www.SeaKingWatches.com

Case

The SK01 is cut from 316L stainless steel and has a 44MM case diameter. Too big? No , considering it only has a lug to lug width of 49.5MM it wears much smaller than a true 44MM watch. In comparison this watch wears really like a 42MM watch. The thickness comes in at 12MM and 13MM if you include the domed sapphire crystal which rests above this black dial. The sides are finely brushed while the slight Omega style 22MM lugs spiral with a polished finish which looks great. The crown is over at the typical 3:00 position with no crown guards, but is quite easy to function. This case design would of looked odd with crown guards so Im glad they left that design aspect out. This is a true dive tool watch so we get a very useable 300M of water resistance with that screw down crown/caseback for diving, snorkeling, swimming, or whatever water activity you may be doing. A nice little touch is the crown Sea King logo in a crisp matte finish on the crown. Bezel action is fairly decent with no play whatsoever nor alignment issues, each click is solid and precise as a true diver should be.

Easy To Grasp at any angle Coin Edge Bezel

Caseback is fairly simple and screwed down with some specifications and a matted/brushed logo. You can also see here the solid end links from the bracelet, which Is a must!

Dial

There is no hiding the fact this watch certainly takes hints from the older Omega Seamaster 300 ( The one Ray Donovan wore ) but that is not a bad thing. The dial is straight black with a hint of red on the long sweeping seconds hand and “Automatic” printed in red above 6:00. Its the small details like these red accents that really make a watch likeable. Large C3 SuperLuminova filled markers framed in a polished silver outline allow for easy legibility of time and use of the rotating 120 Click ceramic dive bezel. If theres one thing that this watch doesn’t need any more of , it’s lume. Even the polished ceramic bezel is lumed which shines a greenish hue along with the white markers. At night it really looks spectacular and lasts quite a while. Since this is using a SW200 Swiss Made automatic movement, our date window is at the 3:00 with a white background to match the indices and fine minute markers.

Movement

Its quite funny that the last watch I reviewed and really liked as well sported the Swiss Made Selitta SW200 movement. This movement is said to function better and more efficiently than its friend, the ETA-2824. It beats at 28,800 BPH, contains 26 jewels, and has hacking and hand wind capability of course. You can expect around 38 hours of true power reserve from the SK-01.

Bracelet

One of the nice features of the SK01 is that they certainly did not take any shortcuts when designing the bracelet. It is a solid screw link bracelet made of 316L steel and ALSO contains a beautiful ratchet divers extension which operates with ease. The clasp is also signed for small detailing. Now whether you dive or not, the extension is useful as you can adjust it in increments for on the go sizing if your wrist happens to swell up in the heat or shrink in the cold. This is somewhat similiar to the glidelock function on my Submariner, only they are designed quite different. For my 6.5 inch wrist I removed 5 links with ease thanks to the screws which I had no problem removing and putting back.

Conclusion

The Sea King is certainly a well constructed timepiece all around from the smooth brushed finish to the bracelet and polished tops. It was very hard for me to find something actually wrong with the SK-01 because it was executed quite well. I was a bit scared when I saw “44MM” at first before receiving the watch, but once on the wrist I was wowed at how perfectly it conformed and actually fit me. At a $519 pricepoint, only $125 or so above most microbrands using NH35 movements, I think it certainly will be desireable and offers a lot for the money. Then again there are microbrands using lesser quality movements such as 9015 Miyotas and charging more than this watch. If you like the overall aesthetic and small details this watch has to offer, I say go for it - I doubt you will be dissapointed.