Review of the Seiko SKX781K "Orange Monster" By: John B. Holbrook, II September 29th, 2002


Many of you reading this review may not know that I moderate the Invicta Forum on Watchuseek.com, where I have reviewed several different Invicta watches. Others of you who are familiar with my Invicta reviews might be thinking, "hey, what's John doing with a Seiko?"

Part of the reason I now own the SKX781K comes from a series of E-mails I traded with Poor Man's Watch Forum (PMWF) regular "Smaug" (Jeremy Zorns) and the virtues of his Seiko "Submariner." He had posted his review of his watch at about the same time I had posted a long term report on the Invicta 8926 Pro Diver. A spirited but friendly debate ensued about which watch was the better. Jeremy even offered to mail me his watch and suggested that I do the same for him so that we each could do a fair evaluation of the others watch. I declined, but only because I didn't want to have to be without my beloved 8926! Still, my curiosity was piqued with regard to how well a Seiko dive watch stood up to the Invicta Pro Diver (stay tuned for my "shoot out" comparison report of the SKX781K vs. the 8926). Of course, this wasn't entirely my reason for ordering this Seiko.

Anyone who does some reading up on the SKX7xx model watches will quickly find out two things. One, these watches certainly are fan favorites on all the major watch forums (sorry, that's watch fora to be grammatically correct). Rarely is a discouraging word found regarding these Seiko divers. Two, they are somewhat rare, and not easily obtained. As I understand it, these models were never available in the US - only through Seiko Japan. I was told by one dealer that currently the models are currently discontinued by Seiko and only available through "grey market" suppliers. Of the few suppliers I found which had the watch in stock, the price varied between $150 - $200.00 US - and most of these retailers were over seas, so plan on paying hefty shipping fees. I believe the original retail for these models is slightly above $300.00, but I couldn't seem to find an exact number. These two factors have created an almost cult like following for these watches - some even refer to themselves as the "Monster Club." They also played heavily in my decision to order the watch - a somewhat rare watch that is liked by nearly all would have to be a worthy addition to my collection.



So why is this watch called the "Monster?" At approximately 42mm in diameter, the watch is quite large. It also has some impressive heft to it, but I find it comfortable. With an arrowhead for an hour hand, and a sword for a minute hand, you know this watch means business. The polished SS bezel has a pattern that makes griping it for rotating easy, but also gives the watch a very "muscular" appearance. The orange dial on the SKX781K gives the watch an almost rebellious presence - like the horological equivalent of Bart Simpson screaming "in your face dude!" This watch definitely has "attitude" - it is a nice departure from my "mainstream" watches in my collection, and another reason I bought it. All these factors combine to create a watch that can nearly be described as imposing. This is a watch that other watches definitely would not want to meet up with in a dark alley.



Of course if you did see this watch in a dark alley, you'd see it coming from a mile away due to its nearly unparalleled level of luminescent glow - yet another factor in my purchase. Seiko uses a luminescent compound of their own design called "lumibrite." It functions phenomenally. Does Seiko use this same compound on other watches? The fact that the hands and markers on this watch have more surface area than most to coat probably is one factor in why this watch glows like a lighthouse. The SKX781K is now my new movie theater watch. Never again will I look at my watch in the middle of a movie and not be able to see it.



The bracelet and clasp on this watch are an absolute joy. The bracelet is a perfect match to the watch, heavy and rugged looking stainless steel - attractive, yet functional. The push button clasp is the nicest I've seen on any watch in this price class, and is reminiscent of the clasp on the Omega Seamaster. The diver's extension (to allow the watch to be worn over a dive suit) is another nice touch. The pins which connect the links in the bracelet are of a design I'm not familiar with. Instead of traditional "split pins," the links have pins with end collars on them. After doing a bracelet sizing myself, I have to honestly say I much prefer split pins. The pin and collars are a pain to remove from the links, and pretty tricky when comes to getting them back on. The little collar end pieces are near microscopic - hard to work with and easily lost.







The crystal used on the SKX781K is Seiko's own "Hardlex" crystal. I believe it is some sort of specific formulation of mineral glass - very hard, but not very scratch resistant. Probably very suitable for a dive watch (sapphire being much easier to crack, but practically impossible to scratch). For me the watch loses points here for not having an anti-glare coating of some sort. I can't figure out a practical reason for this, other than cost savings. The bezel, which does a nice job of protecting the crystal, is one of the smoothest I've ever used when you rotate it. It feels like it's riding on ball bearings, with just enough tension so that you know it won't get accidentally moved.



This watch employs Seiko's own in house developed automatic movement - the 7S26. Seiko uses this 21 jewel movement in nearly all their automatic watches, and has done so since the 1970's. As such it has gained a reputation for being extremely durable. However the online accounts that I read indicate that the watch is not as accurate as other comparable automatic movements. I'll be doing an accuracy test when I compare the SKX781K to the Invicta 8926. The movement is not "hackable" and while the rotor is bi-directional making an extremely efficient self winding movement, the 7S26 cannot be hand wound. Also typical of Seiko's 7S26 autos is the inclusion of a day and date indicator. A day indicator is usually a nice feature, but on this watch I consider it a hindrance, if only a minor one. A watch with an orange dial clearly isn't going to be worn every day. That means it will likely run down between uses (I believe it has about a 40 hr. reserve). So the day indicator is just one more thing I'll have to set when I use the watch. But again, I'm nitpicking here.



Overall, I'm absolutely delighted to have the Seiko SKX781K as part of my collection. It's a really fun watch to own. For the money, I think this is probably one of the best watches you can buy if you actually intend to dive with it. Even if the watch never sees anything deeper than kitchen sink, it is an excellent watch, but probably won't appeal to everyone, and certainly isn't an every day watch. Heck, when I first saw it, I thought it was ugly as sin. But the watch really grows on you - once the Orange Monster has you in its clutches, it doesn't let go.

*All information and images contained in this review are the original work of the author, John B. Holbrook, II and are copyright protected. Use of any of the information or images without the permission of the author is prohibited.

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