SEIKO 5 Military Sports Automatic Watch SRP621K1 Olive Green Dial & Strap (similar to SRP623K1, SRP625K1 & SRP635K1) – A Handsome Value for Money Watch, A Review (plus Video)

I have been slowing building up my olive green military style collection for the last few years. This is one genre that is seldom highlighted in watch forums. At the moment I have three in this category. The SRP621K1 will be the fourth.

This particular example is part for the Seiko 5 range of products by Seiko. Made out of 316L stainless steel, the case material has a satin finish to give it the dark silvery gray. Round shaped, it measures 44 mm (without crown) across. Lug width is 22 mm while the lug-to-lug length is 51 mm. The watch has a height of 12 mm.

The dial is protected with a flat Hardlex crystal glass. The same material is also used for the display case-back. The watch comes standard with a vintage-style crown located at the 3 o’clock position. The crown is a simple push-down system with three positions (winding; adjusting date & day; and adjusting time). The watch is paired with an olive green nylon strap with a simple buckle clasp and two thin wire bands for the strap lead. The strap has a sufficient length for a wrist circumference of 210 mm. The lugs have a straight-through pin holes which facilitate easy strap changes. Overall weight of the watch stands at 86 grams.



The SRP621K1 is a simple three-handed watch with day and date complications. The day and date complications share a common aperture that partially covers the 3 o’clock hour marker. For the day complication, you have a choice of using either Roman numerals or English to represent the days in the week.



There are two set of scale on the watch. The first is located on the slopped chapter ring. Each 5 minute interval uses Arabic numerals from 5 to 60. In between there is an image of a rectangle with lines dividing it into three sections. The lines that slice the rectangles are the minute markers. This design gives it a nice vintage feel to the watch. The second scale is the hour scale located directly on the dial. It has a combination of Arabic and line markers. The Arabic and line markers are painted light olive with white borders. LumiBrite paint is only used on small square points located under the Arabic numbers (for the 12 o’clock, it is put on a triangle).



The dial is smooth and is olive green in colour. Surprisingly, there are 7 lines of text and logo on the dial. Three of the lines are located on the top half while the other four lines are on the bottom half where the last (in very small font) is located around the dial edge. The word “SPORTS” is the only one written in red.



The hours and minutes hands have a Greek sword-like design and lumed with LumiBrite. The seconds hand looks like an arrow with fletchings where the arrowhead has its borders painted in red with LumiBrite.



The case-back is a screw-down display piece which allows one to view the Seiko 4R36 movement. Operating with 24 jewels and 21,600 bph (or 3 Hertz), it is an automatic movement with hand “windable” and seconds hand stop capabilities. It also powers day and date wheels and its main springs have 41 hours of power reserve. Based on specifications, it is rated for an acceptable error of -35/+45 seconds a day. In reality, the actually performance is far superior.

The watch casing is rated for 10 ATM or 100 meters of water pressure.


Wearing Experience

The SRP621K1 is a comfortable watch to wear. The dial is clearly readable. The 44 mm width is on the higher side but manageable. A 42 mm would be just nice. It slips easily under shirt cuffs.

The dull satin finish on the stainless steel makes the SRP621K1 blend itself with the background rather seamlessly. This unassuming watch is great if you do not want to bring attention to yourself. Not unexpected since this is touted as a ‘military’ watch where blending in unseen is a key requirement.

At night, you can see the glow from the LumiBrite painted sections of the watch, namely the 4 markers, the hours and minutes hands as well as the arrow head on the seconds hand. Unfortunately, the illumination is rather dull. Seiko could have put in more luminous paint to make it standout better. 

The only other unfavorable comment that I have would be on the strap. The nylon strap looks cheap. Seiko could have invested more in making it more unique. Instead, it looks like many typical cheap aftermarket nylon straps found in discount stores and sold in bulk. Below is a video of the watch on my wrist.



Nevertheless, for a watch at this price point (MSRP RM800.30; Purchase price RM600), the positives outweigh the negatives. Value for money for a watch.The vintage look of the dial makes it rather handsome in my opinion.




Photo Gallery

SRP621K1	SRP621K1	SRP621K1