Seiko SPL005P1

I travel a lot. Those who know me know that I have been everywhere and seen so many things. I sometimes wonder myself how I have managed to fit everything in my life so far. I guess that would explain the large bags underneath my eyes. Anyway, if you trave like I do, you have to keep track of more than one time zone. There are a lot of watches out there that can do this but as I travel to developing nations where security and personal safety can be an issue, I have always opted for practical solutions that won't hurt my wallet. Hence, our subject matter for the day is the Seiko SPL005P1.

The SPL005P1 is from Seiko, a Japanese institution when it comes to manufacturing watches. I don't know of any other company in the world that makes their own parts, cases, straps, batteries and even lubricants! This watch is a quartz watch so it is far more accurate than any other automatic watch out there can ever be. Anyone who tells you otherwise does not know anything about watches. I love automatics but for the purpose of accuracy when it matters, I prefer quartz. This is why I also love quartz chronographs. But I digress.

The SPL005P1 has a case size of roughly 42mm. It has a crown and 2 pushers to adjust the alarm function and second time zone. On top of that, it also has a date function. As with most world time watches, the bezel has the names of cities etched into it. Pushing either of the pushers will move the main hands forwards or backwards a time zone. The smaller subdial at 12 o'clock features your home time. The subdial at 9 o'clock is your elapsed seconds and the subdial at 6 o'clock is your alarm function. When the alarm function goes off, it emits a beeping sound. I wish it was a bell but you can only find those fancy sounds with more expensive automatic alarm watches. 

The strap that comes with it is brown cow leather. I changed mine to a black crocodile strap as I prefer black. The case is highly polished and will leave visible fingerprints. The crytal is hardlex, a Seiko propriety material which is in-between mineral and sapphire. I have never had problems with hardlex and I think it's a beautiful material. I wish the crystal had some AR coating though as it reflects light quite easily making it harder to see the time. There is no lume on the dial, the indices or on the hands so in the dark, you won't be able to tell the time at all.  

In practical use, this watch has proven invaluable. It serves to help me keep track of the time back home as well as wherever I may be. It also wakes me up for when I need it. At its price point, it is cheap enough that if it gets stolen, I won't lose sleep over it. Heck, the strap I have attached is more expensive than the watch itself. So as you can see, the pros for this watch far outweighs the cons. I know that most watch lovers would frown at quartz movements but in my opinion, this watch can't be beat for practical reasons.

Here are some photos:

Unfortunately, this watch is already discontinued. However, Seiko did release a new World Time watches. You can check them out.

• SRP125 - blue dial
• SRP132K1 - 130th anniversary model 

Both of these watches are automatic with the reliable 4R36 movement, have a day and date function, and a world time bezel. The 4R36 allows you to handwind the watch and the movement hacks meaning if you pull out the crown, the seconds hands will stop allowing you to synchronize a watch accurately. These watches are around $150 in Asia, an amount that I don't think would break the bank in the grand scheme of things.

Ciao!