I'm giving this watch 5 stars. This is a mechanical automatic watch, and I think after reading some of the reviews here, people don't always know what that means. Mechanical watches have some idiosyncrasies you have to be willing to accept to really appreciate what they are. They will never be as accurate as their quartz cousins, so they can't fairly be compared to them. I did my research before buying this watch, and hopefully my review will help someone make a good decision before making a purchase.

First, it's a Seiko 5. This means that it's more of a tool watch than anything, and very much entry level in the world of mechanical watches. It is however, a line with a great history, and the movement has a reputation for robustness and longevity. There are examples that have gone decades without service, and still perform well. Materials are of good quality, stainless for the body and bracelet, and the crown is Seiko's Hardlex... somewhere between mineral and sapphire with regard to scratch resistance.

Looks... this watch has polished sides, and a brushed face. The lines between the brushed and polished surfaces are very crisp. I like field style watches, and this one is a fine - if slightly busy- example of one. You can't get an idea for the detail level until you see it in person. I think it's amazing the level of detail Seiko can get into a watch at this price. The Seiko and "5" logos are applied, which adds a great deal of depth to the face of the watch. The outer ring of indices are set slightly above the face of the dial, also adding to the depth. When you look straight down on it, the brushed face doesn't reflect light into your eyes, but the sides are brightly polished. The indices are painted with lume, as are the hour and minute hands. The second hand has a tiny dot of lume at the tip, but you can only see it for a few seconds after you charge it with a flash light. The tip of the second hand is red, and really stands out against the stark black and white that otherwise dominates the watch face. The lume is still sharp and visible in the morning, even without specifically charging it before bed. I love the look of the bracelet, which is why I chose this version over one of the ones with a strap. I'm not sorry I did, but I will say the bracelet is one of the places Seiko saved money on this watch. I heard in numerous places that the bracelet had a "cheap" feel to it, and experience bears this out. The end links are hollow, and mine didn't really curve evenly across the lugs. The links are folded, not solid, and the pins are split springs that don't feel like they would be very secure. The bracelet tends to rattle a bit when you wear it, but it doesn't pull the hairs on my arm like some I've tried.  Not a bad attempt for the money (a decent stainless bracelet can easily run over $100 by itself), and because I knew about it going in, I'm not disappointed. I wound up removing it, and have settled on a Nato style strap.

Accuracy has been very surprising. The 7s36 movement is unregulated, and is rated at something like +20/-40 seconds per day which sounds horrible. Most are far more accurate than that though. Mine was running about 10 seconds fast when I first got it, but after a couple of weeks, it settled down to -1.7s per day (per WatchCheck). The COSC standard is -4/+6 seconds per day, and this watch falls comfortably in that range. I'm ecstatic with that from a $130 automatic watch. The movement is non-winding and non-hacking. Again, I knew this going in, so it isn't a surprise.  Never having personally owned an automatic before this one though, I didn't realize how annoying that would be.  I don't wear this to work (I know, it's not an expensive watch, but still..), so it only gets worn on weekends, evenings and days off. That means that from time to time it runs down and stops.  You just do the Seiko shuffle (shake it side to side for a few seconds) and it starts. Doing that daily in place of winding isn't really an option, since you really don't have a feel for how much you have wound the spring. It has quick set for the day and date though, so setting it is no big deal.

Overall... this is a mechanical watch, and that means it occasionally requires some attention. You will need to compare it to an accurate time source periodically and adjust it. It doesn't have a perpetual calendar, so on the first of the month following a month with less than 31 days, you will need to set the date. It has approximately a 40 hour power reserve, so from time to time you may have to start it and reset it, especially if you don't wear it every day. Any mechanical watch has these shortcomings, to some degree. If you know about them, and understand what you are getting, you will really like this watch.  I know I do.