I Was Wrong About Seiko — SPB513 Speedtimer

As a small watch content creator here on YouTube, I cannot count the times that somebody has asked my opinion on Seiko. Well, actually I probably could. It would probably be around four or five times, but you get the point. My answer has always been the same. Overrated, overhyped, okay watches, horrible bracelets. That was until a few months ago when my son hit me up and told me that I needed to review this watch right here. One look and I knew that not only did I want to review this watch here on the channel, but I wanted to add this one to my personal collection as well. This is the SPB513 Prospect Speed Timer by Seiko. The watch that has made me second guess every bad thing I have ever said about the brand. Out the gate, you're going to notice that I do have it on a NATO. And I do want to point out that as much as it surprised me, it is not because the bracelet is horrible. And in fact, the bracelet is actually very nice. Seiko calls it a multi-row bracelet and points out that it inherits design characteristics from the speed timer chronograph of the 1970s. I would call it one of the most interesting, thrilling bracelets that I have seen in a very long time. With a solid horizontal bar that is vertically brushed being linked to the next by two high polished vertical links. This design, in my opinion, not only looks good, but it allows for great articulation resulting in an incredibly comfortable wearing experience. The clasp, yeah, it could use a little improvement. Although machined very well, the point at which the clasp and the bracelet connect could definitely benefit from a little tighter tolerances. With that said, I will say that the bracelet has exceeded my expectations, honestly, by a long shot. If I had to be critical, the one thing that I would say is that at this price point, it would be nice to see a micro adjust. But honestly, that's going to be the same situation with a ton of watches in this range. Overall, I would say that this bracelet honestly is a winner. So why did I opt to put it on a NATO, you ask? First off, just look at this thing. With that said, the 39.5 millimeter case, while on trend and for most people, a perfect size, the short lug to lug of just 44 millimeters makes this watch wear just a bit small for my taste. I think adding the NATO gives it a little bit larger appearance because of the way that the strap folds over on itself on the side. I have a beautiful dive watch from San Jose Collection that is the exact same way. It came on a NATO and I swapped straps several times before ultimately deciding that the watch was just born to live on a NATO. So there you have it. That is probably the tip of the day. If you own a watch with a shorter lug to lug and you've got a bigger wrist like myself, throw that bad boy on a NATO and thank me later. By the way, this is the perfect time to mention my Vinenzianico Arsenale 5,000 subscriber giveaway. It's coming. I'm currently picking up about 300 subscribers a month. So I would say that it's going to be in the next five or six weeks. And if you would like a shot at winning, just make sure to watch that video. I'll go ahead and link it in the end of this one. Moving on to the finish, for my taste, this thing is spot on. Radial brushing on the top of the lugs, horizontal brushing on the sides with just the right amount of high polish on a very heavy chamfer and on the bezel. Flip it on its side and you will find two unsigned crowns, one at the three o'clock and one at the four. Normally the unsigned part that at this price point would drive me crazy. But given that Seiko is going for the vintage vibe, honestly on this one right here, it doesn't bother me at all. The crown at the three o'clock handles setting the time and the date. Yes, that is correct. If you squint your eyes and look really close between the four and the five o'clock markers, there is a really tiny date. The crown at the four o'clock operates the internal rotating bezel with a 60 minute countdown timer, complete with the last 15 minutes being highlighted with three five minute markers in orange. A novelty at best, I know, but it does look very cool and it is the very feature that makes this watch a speed timer, despite all the criticism online of it not being a chronograph. To use it, you simply rotate the bezel until the desired amount of time you're looking to track meets the minute hand. To put it more simply, let's say that you were doing something that needed to be timed for 20 minutes. You simply rotate the bezel until the 20 minute marker is aligned with the minute hand. That is when the countdown starts. Track that until your minute hand catches up with the 60 minute marker and that is how you know that 20 minutes has elapsed. The finish on the hands and the indexes, honestly, I cannot find anywhere where Seiko actually shares these specs, but I do know that Time and Tide has called them blackened and Jodi from Just One More Watch, I believe, called them gunmetal. I am not sure what they are, but I can tell you that they look absolutely great in the way that they play with the light and being that they are applied, they are extremely legible in the way that they just pop off the dial. Speaking of the dial, is it cream? Is it silver? I've even heard it called a matte silver white, so I am not sure that anyone actually knows, but I can tell you this, that I've been wearing this watch almost daily since I got it and sometimes it looks like it could be silver, sometimes it looks like it's cream. Either way, it is absolutely one of my favorite parts about the watch, hands down. The Lume by Seiko Standards is not going to win any awards with just a dab of LumaBright at the tip of each hour marker and some inlaid into the handset and the triangle at the 60 minute marker. Personally, I am 100% okay with this because it does give the vintage vibe that Seiko was going for. Flip the watch over and you get a solid case back signed with the Seiko logo and bearing the information needed to tell you just what this watch is capable of. Made in Japan, stainless steel, sapphire crystal, water resistant to 200 meters, which is crazy because that's even without a screw down crown. The Prospex logo letting you know that this is part of Seiko's professional grade collection. Last but not least, the serial number and the number revealing what's under the hood. In this case, it is the 6R55, one of Seiko's high performance movements that boasts three days of power reserve. How do I know that? Because it says so right here on the dial. Seiko achieved the three-day power reserve by slowing the beat rate down to three hertz or 21,600 beats per hour, a sacrifice that most of the time I would say is not worth the trade. But honestly, in this case, I'm okay with it because Seiko is not trying to pass this watch off as a master chronometer. But if you are curious, if you can visually see a difference in the secondhand sweep between a three hertz and a four hertz, here is an example with my San Jose collection beating at 28,800 beats per hour and the Seiko beating 7,200 beats per hour less. You tell me, can you tell a major difference? Although I will say that I was kind of shocked to learn that Seiko allows for an accuracy deviation of plus 25 to minus 15 seconds per day. To me, that is kind of a tough sell for a watch in this price range. But I did throw mine on the time grapher and tested it in five positions, and it was running at plus two to plus nine seconds per day. So I guess that Seiko is probably taking into consideration mass production and leaving a lot of room for error. Bottom line, honestly, this watch is just cool. Did it convert me to a Seiko crazy? No. But I will tell you this, it has made me second guess how many great watches I have passed on because I didn't take the time to give them a hard enough look. And I will also say that this watch is not going to be leaving my personal collection anytime soon. By the way, don't forget to check out the Vinenzianico video. You'll find it somewhere in here. If you like the video, please consider giving it a thumbs up and subscribing while you're there. I'm James. This is Blue Color Luxe, and I will see you in the next one.