How Does Seiko KEEP Getting Away with This? - The Logic-Defying Seiko Presage Cocktail Time 39mm

In this Seiko Cocktail Time review video, I analyze the new 39mm Seiko Presage SRPJ13J1, aka 'The Aviation' watch. Is it worth it? Is it any good?
Thanks to WatchShop for providing the Seiko Presage Cocktail Time 39.5mm for this review. They had no creative control over this video.

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39.5mm Seiko Presage Featured:

38.5mm Numbered Versions:

Orient Bambino 38mm:

🎬 Chapters
0:00 Inside Seiko HQ
1:42 How Does Seiko Keep Getting Away With This?
2:07 New Presage Cocktail Time 39.5mm
3:16 Worse Than Invicta?
3:54 Who Would Buy This Watch?
4:04 Seiko's Secret Weapon
4:14 I'm Cheating
5:07 Why They're Industry Leaders
6:34 New Dial
7:15 Handset Macro Texture
8:08 What A Looker
8:20 Better Than Before
8:30 Who Will This Fit?
8:45 Why Seiko Charges More For Basic Specs
9:07 Seiko Presage 39mm vs Orient Bambino 38mm

📺 Related Videos

🚨 Disclosures

#microadjustmentholes #hardlex #ad

🎼 Music
Stock Media provided by AudioKords / Pond5

Ben's Watch Club tends to cover affordable watches like Seiko, Timex, Casio, Citizen, MVMT, Vincero, Bulova, Orient, Hamilton, and more. We rarely feature luxury watches like Rolex, Patek Philippe, Breitling, Tag Heuer, Tudor, Grand Seiko, Cartier, Omega, Audemars Piguet, or Hublot due to their price.

[BensWatchClub]

Thanks to WatchCrunch.com for sponsoring this video.
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39.5mm Seiko Presage Featured:

38.5mm Numbered Versions:

Regular 40.5mm Seiko Presage Cocktail Time (Listed diameters are incorrect):

[ktanner]

It's called the Aviation because it's named after a famous gin-based cocktail that turns blue through the addition of the flower-flavoured purple liqueur crème de violette. Cocktail and watch nerddom unite

[Azeria]

The problem is Seiko’s major remaining selling point is their brand, but they’re creeping up into price brackets occupied by Tissot and Hamilton, who have sapphire, better bracelets, and ‘Swiss Made’ on the dial.

[kansasbeals]

As both a Seiko enthusiast and authorized dealer, I wholeheartedly agree with you on the Sapphire issue. They really have little to no excuse anymore for not having Sapphire on the Pressage and Prospex watches, especially considering that several of their "Essentials" everyday type watches come with Sapphire crystals now.

[walroz]

You had so much fun with that intro and it shows - sadistically on point with that remark and grin at the end! Superior stuff Ben keep at it mate <3

[frank]

It's great how your channel has maintained a distinct style and identity as many other channels seem to imitate each other

[coolblack]

The dial on the Srpe45 is absolutely mesmerizing!!! I’m convinced seiko and orient had a meeting about how to make sure I spend every dime I have on the “pretty shiny things” they produce.

[pepavasata]

The "floral" dials as you called it look absolutely amazing in real life. Saw it in a shop recently and I was very impressed with the looks.

[castillo]

Gotta be honest... I have NEVER scratched a Hardlex crystal, and they look quite clear. Though... to be honest, I feel the need to be more careful than one with sapphire, for example, my daily watch has sapphire (field watch, Khaki Mechanical) so I don't really care about scratches.

[herewegoagain...]

This is my exact gripe of Orient: their prices are going up, yet they still rock the mineral crystal. It was fine 10 years ago when Sapphire was still expensive, but it is completely inexcusable today.

[fauzaanC]

The production value on dramatic reconstruction of almost true scenario was shockingly high. Standing ovation for the dollar bill shooting gun.

[thegirthquake]

This is just another example of seiko fans wanting it all-- As a seikopath myself, we always bitch that we want more intricate dials, more styles and better quality everything, but we don't want to pay for it. We can't have it all and we need to stop being greedy. No swiss watch even CLOSE to this price has dial work of this quality. The movement is cheap and easy to service, and the bracelet can be swapped with one of HUNDREDS of strap makers out there. Everything wrong can be easily fixed. If a swiss brand charged $700 for that dial work and a selitta movement, you'd all be ecstatic.

[PJD_]

A few years ago I bought a Presage SARW025 JDM which was inspired by the very first Seiko wrist watch, the Laurel. The face is stunning with a herringbone pattern, blued hands sapphire crystal and exhibition case back. I have a few ‘luxury’ Swiss watches but the Presage is my go to daily.

[kelechinobi]

With the Presage cocktail watches Seiko wanted to evoke visions of a classy vintage bar at a relatively low cost. A lot of the money goes into the dial. The movement is quite basic and personally I think they are better on straps than bracelets.

The key issue with this video seems to be the choice of crystal though, and Seiko wanted a highly curved, almost box, crystal. There is no cheap way to do that (certainly not less than £1k) so they went with a curved hardlex. I actually don’t mind hardlex. It is better in some applications and the difference in hardness from sapphire is not really significant.

A lot of the cheaper brands that have been mentioned as using sapphire only offer flat crystals which is cheap enough to cut from a single sheet of crystal. This applies to watches costing up to £1k and above. By contrast a similarly priced Seiko will give you a curved sapphire. And... for a box sapphire crystal I cannot think of a brand that offers one cheaper than Grand Seiko’s SBGW.

[אלכסס-חג]

I have the blue "original" cocktail time, bought it for the dial have it for two years not a single scratch on it (hardlex is just fine).
The 4r is running at about +8 sec which is more than fine in my book, also i prefer it over the 6r because its thinner.
I think this is the best dress watch you can have but it's very subjective.

[KaiserSoze]

Hey Ben, a couple things...

1. Don't sleep on that other line of Presages. They're GORGEOUS in person (or even in video - I recommend the Just One More Watch review of the Negroni, which is the red one. That video made me buy one, even though I strained to afford it, and I haven't regretted it for a second.)

2. The dial on those isn't floral. It's based on the geometric textured glasses you get drinks like a Manhattan in. The style of this whole line are based on drinks - like I see someone explained the name of this one. It's also why the second hand on them is shaped the way it is: it's a stir stick.)

Keep up the great work... but seriously, take a closer look at that other line of cocktail times. You won't regret it.

[luddsar]

I feel like seiko is the best when it comes to dials in all kinds of price ranges, which might be the most important aspect of a watch depending on who you ask, but for almost all other qualities and specifications there are other brands that offer better value.

[ccooper]

How do manufacturers keep getting away with only offering overly large watches?
I am old enough to remember when a gents watch was 32 to 35mm.
Even 28mm was called a "small gents".
The sooner the fad for wearing a clock on your wrist ends the better.
A company the size of Seiko should be offering most of their watches in the widest range of dial sizes AND with the choice of automatic or mecaquartz movements....

[Jamesnebula]

I don't call myself a watch expert but I saw this Seiko watch with the little mechanism viewing window hole in the front dial. And I thought it was one of the most beautiful watches I've ever seen. It wasn't just the viewing window, it was just so beautiful the second hand sweep they had fractions of a second marked it was just mesmerising. You just seem to amp up all the joy of the whole automatic experience. It absolutely blew out some other more expensive watches in the shop window that looked almost tacky in comparison. In my view if you want to get compliments, either get a Rolex or something that looks absolutely beautiful like this. Yes I don't work for Seiko, I'm only searching YouTube because I saw it in a shop.

[trafalgarlaw]

I bought a Seiko snk809 as my first watch back in 2017. Considering what Seiko is offering in 2022 I don't think that I will add another one in the near future