Understanding is an important process for our life. Understanding what is happening gives us confidence. If we understand the principle of action, then we can predict the result. When we understand what we want, it is easier for us to achieve what we want. Today I want to talk about watches, an important quality of which is "understandability".
On the one hand, watches as an accessory tend to be more complicated: new and unexpected. On the other hand, watches as a tool tend to be predictable, accurate and understandable. From these two aspirations, their combination and confrontation, the fabric of what is happening in the watch world is woven. We want something new, beautiful, unusual. Then we get fed up and return to simplicity and clarity.
When I started getting interested in watches, I was also a watch radical. What was interesting were either huge awkward goggle-eyed divers, or immodest skeletons with gears for show, or watches with non-standard indications and the maximum number of complications. At the same time, restrained utilitarian watches in military or pilot style caused sincere bewilderment. Who might be interested in such BORING?
But radicalism passes with time, and the desire for understandable watches appears.
Today in our review of automatic watch in military style - Seiko SNZG11J1. These watches belong to the large Seiko 5 family. This line in the Seiko range is quite interesting in itself. It is worth stopping separately. Back in 1963, the manufacturer himself explained the “5” index as the presence of five important qualities: automatic winding, water resistance, display of the date and day of the week, and anti-shock.
Advertisement and marketing aside, the line is now a family of Seiko automatic watches with solid but basic automatic movements, in a wide variety of designs at an affordable price. The number of Seiko 5 models released is huge. Classics, sports, military, pilots, hommage of popular designs of the present and the past (Europeans and the Japanese themselves). There are many limited editions for different occasions and in the most unusual colors. Movie and cartoon characters, sushi and musical instruments, cars and scooters, national holidays and clothing brands - all this finds a place in Seiko 5 limited editions.
Some models are a real rarity and a desirable target for collectors. In short, if you want a mechanic, but don’t understand what kind of watch you like, your budget is limited and you don’t want to go shopping from different manufacturers, then you can definitely find something for yourself in the Seiko 5 line. And it will be a watch of an understandable manufacturer, on an understandable mechanism, with an understandable quality. Now let's see what the vast Seiko 5 galaxy offers us today. What is the Seiko 5 Sports SNZG11J1 model?
Sandblasted 42 mm watch case with Hardlex Crystal mineral glass on both sides. Water resistant to 100 meters and non-screw-down crown. I love smaller watches, but I must admit that 42 mm is a universal size. I will not talk about Hardlex Crystal, this is the standard for Seiko budget watches. But the crown could be twisted.
The dial is beyond praise. This is why we buy military-style watches: contrasting and understandable markings, white hands on a two-level dial in a pleasant (and somewhat unexpected) blue color. A fairly large window for the date and day of the week with excellent readability. And as a surprise - the invoice (yes, yes!) Seiko 5 logo.
If you look closely, you can read the inscription: "Made in JAPAN". It's impressive that Seiko makes some of its most inexpensive watches in its homeland! Turning off the light, we make sure that the phosphor is not bad, but, unfortunately, it is only on the labels. The numbers do not light up.
The glass on the back of the case gives us a view of the 7s36 movement slowly moving its balance. The Japanese traditionally make mechanisms at a lower balance frequency (compared to the Swiss). Unlike its older brother, 4r35, the caliber 7s36 does not have manual winding and stop seconds. That is, neither to start it properly, nor to stop the clock at will is not in the power of the owner.
There is something strange about this. Something from Buddhism. Although in practice, the clock works very clearly. I shook it - let's go, set the time without synchronizing seconds and go. Enough to get to know the mechanics. But amateurs who daily calculate the second error for the past day and listen to the clicks of a manual winding will be dissatisfied. But sometimes they want to return to such simplicity.
As befits a watch in this style, it comes with a strap. Namely, a blue nylon strap. It is composite (not NATO-design), with a reinforced zone in the holes. From metal fittings - only a buckle. Rings are not metal, but fabric. The only thing I didn't like was the potential inconvenience of a replacement. The belt sits very tightly on the studs, no quick-release design is provided. I'm afraid that when you try to remove it, scratches on the ears are inevitable.
In conclusion, I want to say that the watch left a positive impression. For example, I like watches of this style, but I actively do not accept many shades of green, especially khaki. And here it’s quite an option for land lovers of the sea or jeans.
The Seiko 5 line invites you to focus on choosing watches based on your passion for color and shape. Understand which model is more suitable in terms of style and ergonomics. Because with the mechanism, reliability, functionality and quality, everything has long been well understood.
