The Seiko SKX173: An Owner’s Retrospective

It was December of 2011 when I picked up the Seiko SKX173 – the watch that got me into watches. I’d say it was all downhill from there, but I think I’ve managed to contain myself relatively well when it comes to watch enthusiasm – I’m more practical when it comes to collecting (don’t even consider myself a collector) since I really like to wear what I have. I do tend to lean towards the sentimental side, hence the Seiko SKX173 on my wrist today that’s been a part of my horological journey for the better part of the last 14 years. Although a lot has happened between then and now, I remember choosing the Seiko after hitting the watch forums and getting a better idea of what kind of watch I wanted. I wanted something that was rugged, durable, cool looking, and mechanical. At the time, I only had limited experience with some Timex quartz watches, and the SKX felt like a huge bump up. I paid roughly $250 for the SKX on Amazon and in a few days, the watch arrived. 

It came on a rubber strap, which immediately got me searching around for other options. I ended up buying a WJean Super Oyster bracelet (which looking at it now is more jangly than it is super), a single pass leather nato (didn’t know that leather on a diver was a faux pas), and a chunky military-style nato from CountyComm. For me, that was all I needed. A solid watch, a few strap options, and that’s all. Man, how times were simpler. The Seiko SKX was a springboard for me, launching me into the world of watches. Pretty much everyone who was/is into watches has a similar story regarding the SKX. They were the place to start if you wanted a mechanical watch, but a lot has changed in the last decade. The rise of microbrands (I do not say that as a pejorative) has presented us with tons of affordable options with spec sheets that rival watches many times their price. Brands have moved up market, some have shut down, but the space continues to be inclusive, whether you’re looking to spend $100 or $10,000 on your watch.

About five years ago, Seiko made the call to discontinue the SKX lineup, which sent shockwaves through the watch community. Some were outraged, some said good riddance. Was the SKX no longer “cool”, no longer “with it”, could the specs and styling not hold up to more affordable options out there? The answer is “sort of”. It’s a mix of all of the above. What the SKX was was a true diver’s watch that met the ISO 6425 standard for what a dive watch should be. While the standard is lengthy, the main points are as follows: at least 100 meters of water resistance (the SKX has 200), luminous paint on the hour markers and a pip in the unidirectional bezel for timing minutes underwater with clear markings every five minutes,  a running seconds hand with lume to ensure that the watch is working, shock and magnetic resistance, and the list goes on. To put “DIVER’S” on the dial, the watch has to meet these specs in order to be considered a reliable tool that could be used in a life-or-death situation (like swimming around at depth with an air tank on your back). The classic crown at 4, chunky-yet-sleek case of the SKX disappeared from Seiko’s catalog for a while until it re-emerged in the Seiko 5 Sports lineup. 

Again, shockwaves. Upon the release of the watch, the enthusiast community was outspoken about how the watch was no longer a “real” dive watch, and in a lot of ways they were right. The spec sheet was bumped down considerably, but the watch still looked the part. A whole bunch of trendier, more fashion-forward styles of the watch came out with vibrant colors and blacked-out cases. I wrote a hands-on with a few of them when they were released, you can check that out here. I’m not sure calling them dive watches in the headline was the right move, but I believe that had something to do with how Seiko was naming them at the time. The Seiko SRPD series is still in production and lists at $325, which seems like a decent deal for an automatic watch on a bracelet. While it has some shortcomings compared to the SKX of the past, there’s a lot to like.

But what if you want a full on dive watch from Seiko? Something that can proudly sport “DIVER’S” on the dial that both walks the walk and talks the talk? The answer is that there’s a ton of options, but they’re going to cost you more than the humble SKX. Seiko has broken their lineup down into categories, with the PROSPEX being the home to all the tough tool watches you could want. There are plenty of options for an automatic diver with some starting right around $500, like the SRPL13. It is worth noting that a lot of the “Sea” branded PROSPEX hover closer to a thousand dollars, and even exceed that at times too. When you consider that the entry-level Seiko dive watch was $275 over a decade ago (which according to a sketchy online inflation calculator is $396 today), we’re not too far off. The PROSPEX lineup has a lot to like and even includes in the technical data section of their pages that they follow the ISO standards and are suitable for scuba diving. 

With my personal background in industrial manufacturing, I understand that there’s a lot of thought that goes behind discontinuing a product. “Is the replacement good enough? Will the customers complain? What kind of backlash will we face?” I’ve been there, and it’s never an easy decision, but you move on based on the fact that you believe you have a superior product that people will eventually embrace. There’s usually plenty of data to back the informed decision, and while at the time it may have felt brash and weird for Seiko to discontinue one of their most iconic watches, the truth is that I think we’ve moved on and we’re all okay. Whether you’re going to look for a different Seiko or another brand altogether, the sub-$500 watch space is alive and well, especially if you’re looking for a diver. 

Now, back to the SKX173. It’s still running, still looks great, and the scratches tell the stories (let’s be real, the smashes into door jambs and car doors) of a watch that’s well-loved. Although it doesn’t get nearly as much wear as some of my other watches, it will never leave my collection. I’ll always have a soft spot for the Seiko SKX lineup, because it is the watch that started me on my path here. I’m sure the seasoned (grizzled) collectors amongst us will continue to talk about the good ol’ days where you could buy an SKX for a few hundred bucks and be on your way, but that next generation won’t tell the same story. They’ll be talking about the awesome microbrand diver where they met the proprietors of the brand at a watch fair and that’s what sold them on the watch, or the watch on their Instagram Explore page that they took a chance on, and that’s totally okay too.