SKX007

It's a new watch init?

It arrived today and I am delighted with it. I already had two diver styled watches with useful depth ratings but this Seiko SKX is the real deal. It is an internationally ISO 6425 certified "diver's" watch. Unlike most watch lines where a select number from each production run are depth trialled, every ISO certified diver's watch must be individually tested to the specified pressure tolerances.

The SKX007 and its family of similar watches (all featuring the legendary 7S26 movement) was first released in 1996 and has been supplied for use in underwater situations ever since. It has proven itself under tough and hazardous working conditions countless times and some examples have been known to have operated reliably for 15 years or more without overhaul. People might buy Rolex Submariners (another certified diver) to pose with but they are much more likely to actually DIVE wearing an SKX .. or so the story goes. Some describe such timepieces as "hammers" i.e. "tool watches".

It is a famous watch in the movies as well. Robert Redford's character in "All is Lost" was just about drowned wearing an SKX009 through thick and thin while Martin Sheen's character wore the 007's almost identical looking immediate predecessor (ref. 6105-7002) during "Apocalypse Now". It's regarded by watch tragics as a true icon and I am mighty pleased to at last own an example.

Sadly production of this model has now finished in Japan and soon it will also close in Seiko's Malaysian factory. So if you want a new SKX you'd better get in quick. Mind you, Hobbs will not be doing any he-man style scuba work at record depths any time soon. But a guy can daydream can't he?