Ready to up your wrist game? In our series The Upgrade, we recommend more premium alternatives to popular watch models to help you navigate your next purchase. Today’s starting place: the classic Seiko 5 Field Watch.
There’s just about nothing else out there quite like the iconic SNK series Seiko 5 Field Watch — that is, nothing like it at the same price level. It’s basic, but for under $100 it offers a pretty decent automatic movement (which is visible, on modern versions, through the case back), solid construction, and an unbeatable military style that’s versatile and satisfying. On the right strap, it can feel a lot more expensive than it is.
Of the wide range of watches in the Seiko 5 phylum, the Seiko 5 SNK Field Watch specifically is where many people start getting into mechanical watches, and with good reason. You can wear one happily for years, but you might eventually want something…more. More refinement, more features, more accuracy, more cachet, perhaps.
Maybe you want the handy features that are standard in higher-end mechanical watch movements, like manual winding and hacking (where the seconds hand stops when setting the time). Well, all that inevitably costs more money. The examples below are all mechanical watches like the Seiko 5 SNK, but each also offer quartz versions that cost a bit less. You’re looking at spending several times the price of the Seiko 5 in any case, but they each represent a solid upgrade in their own ways. (Best of all, the price of each mechanical version is still less than $500.)
Like the Seiko 5’s Size? Try a Marathon General Purpose
The Marathon General Purpose watch offers a few things the Seiko doesn’t. The 37mm diameter of the Seiko 5 makes it work well for many wrists, especially those not previously accustomed to wearing a watch at all. Such sizes were previously considered “small,” but are becoming more common in men’s watches. The Marathon is even smaller at 34mm, but its shape and size make it wear more boldly than it might sound.
