Latest Review
Blake Buettner is Director of Watches at StockX, a former watch journalist, and a life-long watch guy. Throughout 2018, in partnership with StockX, Blake will be sharing his thoughts, experiences, and unique takes on all things watches. This week, Blake shares the story of owning his Seiko 7002. To learn more about StockX or to shop their catalog of watches, including Seiko, check out StockX Watches.
I’ll never forget the first time I walked into a well known, high-end watch retailer in California. It was in the days leading up to the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and I was wearing a Seiko 7002 from the mid ’90s with a beautifully faded pepsi bezel. An admittedly humble accessory for such a prestigious event. As I strolled into the dealer, eager to explore their selection of vintage Rolex, a salesman working the floor began to approach, with a keen look in his eye, that is until he took notice of the Seiko around my wrist.
I didn’t make any purchases that day.
I still own that Seiko and that experience is a mere footnote in the many years the watch has been in my stewardship. It’s not the most expensive watch in my collection, and it doesn’t get the most wrist time, but it does represent what I love most about watches, and about being a watch enthusiast.
The Seiko 7002 is a predecessor to the modern day SKX and has all the charm we’ve all come to know and love about Seiko divers. This particular watch happens to be going on 20 years old, so it’s developed a unique look due to age and regular usage. The bezel is dinged up, the dial fading, and of course, this is a watch you have to gently shake to get it running. All of this lends to the undeniable personality of the watch, but that’s not what keeps me coming back to it.
I love tool watches for all the same reasons you do. They are everyday wearable, they perform well under any circumstance you can throw at them, and their legibility makes them practical for any manner of activity. My 7002 has these in spades. As an added bonus, I happen to enjoy the aesthetic of the watch, and I have yet to find a shade of NATO that takes away from that.
These qualities make the watch a serviceable part of my rotation. The fact that it’s been a part of some important milestones in my life, make it a keeper for life. From small things like turning 30, to big things like the birth of my son, this Seiko has seen a lot. And it has survived far worse than some shaky visit to a dealer.
This substance over style attitude belies an unspoken quality that binds the fraternity of Seiko owners, from Turtles and Orange Monsters, right on up to Grand Seiko and Credor watches. To me, Seiko represents the soul of the watch enthusiast community for this reason. There is no gatekeeping here, only acknowledgment and appreciation, the kind of which can’t be bought.
