The little known Seiko 7s55 caliber
When it comes to Seiko’s entry level automatic movements, most people will readily think of the well-liked and reliable 7s-caliber automatics that are found in the garden variety SKX and limited edition SKZ divers and of course, the popular Seiko 5 family of affordable watches.
The 7s26 is perhaps the most widely known movement in the 7s-family and is extensively used in the base line Seiko 5 model. The Seiko 5 Sports and Seiko 5 Superiors are adorned with the slightly upmarket 7s36 movement, which has 23 jewels – two more jewels than what the 7s26 has. Limited production run 7s-caliber divers such as the SKZ203K Yellow Monster and the SKZ201K Seiko 5 40th Anniversary diver’s watches also use the 7s36.
So what’s interesting about the 7s55?
Why You Should Not Buy From Replica Watch Sites
It seems that online fake watch merchants have decided to spread their wings and expand their wares to include Seiko, Citizen and Casio watches. This subject actually surfaced in the Seiko & Citizen Watch Forum several times this year.
Personally, I couldn’t care less about replica Swiss watches. There’s a healthy market for them and people buy them as gifts, to try them out before deciding to buy the real thing, for safety reasons (they don’t want to wear their genuine Rolex Daytona going to unsafe places or events) or just for pure fun. Heck, someday I might get myself a replica Omega Speedmaster automatic just for kicks! 
Originally posted 2008-12-25 00:39:00.
Chronometer and Chronograph – What’s the difference?
If you’re a newbie to the wonderful world of horology, you’ve probably heard of the terms "chronometer" and "chronograph". These two words contain "chrono" in them so they have to be related in a way, do they? Maybe you’ve heard the salesperson at the mall watch store trying to point out the Seiko you’re looking at has a chronometer that can time events. Or your friend comes up to you with a new watch and saying, "Hey, check this out – it’s got a chronometer!"
Did that sound right to you? If you’re not sure, then read on. 
Originally posted 2008-02-21 03:27:07.
Citizen Nighthawk BJ7017-50ET review
Watch History
- Date acquired: Nov 26 2005
- Production date: Aug 2005
- Source: Capital Mall, eBay
- Price paid: USD147 (w/o shipping)
- Status: In production
Background
Having a plethora Seiko watches by late 2005, I thought of trying out a Citizen watch for a change. The Citizen Nighthawk had garnered a cult following in SCWF and received a mixed bag of responses. Some liked its undeniably classic and unique looks. Others shunned it because it was quartz controlled, too large or the dial looked too busy and distracting. For some, it was a love-at-first-sight kind of timepiece while for others like me, it was an acquired taste.
Originally posted 2007-12-30 10:55:54.
Preview – The Flight of the Aviator
Not too long ago I received some interesting news from one of my blog readers about a new limited edition, custom made watch that’s due to hit the market this coming December. No, it’s not from any of the usual suspects that you’d expect. Not Seiko. Citizen? Uh-huh. Orient? Hardly. Casio? Nope.
No, it’s not from the renowned small scale modders who customize watches using the basic case designs from Seiko either.
Give up?
Originally posted 2009-09-12 00:15:00.
Seiko SKX011J Diver’s 200m review
Watch History
- Date acquired: Oct 30 2005
- Production date: Jun 2004
- Source: Pokemonyu, eBay
- Price paid: USD140 (w/o shipping)
- Status: Possibly discontinued
Background
The SKX011J is the orange dialed 7s26-0020 diver from Seiko. It was first released in the mid 90s as the SKX011K, which was mostly probably targeted at the SE Asian market. The SKX011K has since been discontinued, while it’s unclear as to why Seiko stopped making the "K" version, it may be possible that the model wasn’t retailing too well.
Originally posted 2008-03-16 16:34:33.
Seiko Kinetic SKA013P diver review
Watch History
- Date acquired: December 20th 2004
- Production Date: July 2002
- Source: Emotus Time Culture, Suria KLCC
- Price paid: MYR700 (USD212)
- Status: Discontinued in some markets
Background
This watch happens to be my first Seiko Kinetic and it took me over a year to decide whether I wanted to try one for curiosity’s sake. Coming from a long-running background of owning quartz and automatic Seikos, I had to do much research on Kinetic watches before contemplating this revolutionary hybrid movement.
Prior to my purchase of this timepiece, I wasn’t particularly convinced if a Kinetic would make a wise "investment". It was probably due advice from one of the watch dealers that I had spoken to, who said that he had heard of Kinetic owner complaints through his network of Seiko watch dealers. Due to this, he pointed out that he sold only quartz or automatic watches in his store, never Kinetics.
I had to find out why he wasn’t keen on selling Kinetics so I turned to the good old Internet for more information. It turned out that there were articles from dissatisfied Kinetic owners who highlighted the problems that plagued their watches.
Well, there was some truth in this as far as the early Kinetic watches were concerned. Seiko had since corrected their teething problems and their Kinetic models constitute their bread-and-butter, mid-priced watches.
Originally posted 2008-07-09 23:45:07.
The little known Seiko 7s26-0020 200m diver
A couple of years ago, someone proudly posted his proud acquisition on SCWF – a strange looking 7s26-0020 diver’s watch that none of the forum members had ever seen. Nobody was able to identify the odd model from Seiko and a few suggested that it may be a fake Seiko watch.
I scrutinized the photos carefully and couldn’t put my finger on it. Appearance-wise, it looked like the garden variety SKX173 model for North America – except that there were differences enough to suggest that it wasn’t a SKX173 at all. The second hand was indisputably borrowed from the SKX007K model as the lumed dot (or some call it “meatball”) was on the opposite end of the hand. It was as though this model was a “Franken Seiko”, i.e. cobbled out of parts from different Seiko models.
Forum members nevertheless congratulated the owner for his strange find. This watch was never seen again on the forum nor was it discussed after that. It was largely forgotten. Until recently.
Originally posted 2008-12-29 19:26:00.