Photo: James Porter
Seiko Prospex King Turtle SRPE03K1 Review & Complete Guide
Seiko is known to make some of the best affordable automatic watches in the world. If you factor in the price, it is one of the best automatic watches you can get for the money. It is sporty, stylish, robust, and powered by a long-lasting and durable automatic movement.
In this article, we are going to look closer at the Seiko Prosper King Turtle reference SRPE03K1.
Seiko Prospex SRPE03K1 review
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If you are looking for an automatic, high-quality, and affordable dive watch the Seiko Prospex King Turtle reference SRPE03K1 is one of the best choices there is. In this article, we are reviewing the Seiko Prospex King Turtle SRPE03K1 and going into detail with this immensely popular timepiece. As part of the Prospex collection, it means that it is premium with great quality and specifications.
Seiko SRPE03K1 case
At first impression, it’s hard to miss the iconic ”turtle” case which has a very distinct shape. It has a diameter of 45mm and a lug-to-lug
Lent of 47.7mm. The watch has a thickness of 13.2mm.
The Seiko ”Turtle” is an iconic and appreciated watch design. It has a long and interesting history that has contributed to making it so immensely popular.
Being a dive watch, it features a unidirectional rotating bezel. The bezel is easy to operate and allows for an easy grip. The bezel has a black ceramic insert with painted markers and numerals. The ceramic insert adds to the premium look and feels of this timepiece, but most importantly, it increases its life length.
The iconic shape of the Turtle Seiko has a circular-brushed case finish, contrasted by polished sides. In true fashion, the watch has a screw-down crown at 4 o’clock. The positioning of the crown is a great feature as it prevents the crown from digging into the wrist, which thus improves comfort.
Considering its shape, the watch is bulky and rather large, but this naturally goes very well together with the personality and ethos of this timepiece.
Since the watch is a dive watch, it offers a water resistance of 200 meters/640fth. This means that it is good both for swimming and diving. The watch is fitted with a sapphire crystal. On top of the crystal is a cyclops for improved legibility of the date and date. The crystal has an anti-reflective coating on the inner surface. To ensure its water resistance, it has a screw-down case back.
Seiko SRPE03K1 Movement
The Seiko SRPE03K1 is powered by the automatic mechanical Seiko caliber 4R36.
According to specification, it has an accuracy of – + 45 /-35 seconds a day. The movement has a power reserve of approximately 41 hours.
The movement has a stop second-hand function, unlike Seiko’s more affordable dive watches which do not have this function. The movement also has a manual winding capacity.
The movement is equipped with 24 jewels.
Being a sports watch, the movement is built to be robust, sturdy, and durable.
Seiko SRPE03K1 bracelet
The watch comes fitted on a sporty and robust stainless steel bracelet.
The bracelet has a three-fold clasp with a secure lock to keep it locked in place. The bracelet is generally the part that is compromised when it comes to an affordable timepiece, and this is also the case with this timepiece. It is not the highest quality or most robust bracelet, but it is still sporty and quite good-looking, with three links.
The good news is that if you want, you can easily and effortlessly change the bracelet to a strap. This watch looks just as great with a rubber strap as with a NATO strap. There are more comfortable alternatives out there, so changing the strap can be a good idea.
Photo: James Porter
Seiko SRPE03K1 dial
The most notable part of the Seiko Prospex SRPE03K1 is the fact that it has a black waffle pattern.
Overall, the dial of the Seiko SRPE03K1 is clean and legible. It has a day and a date window positioned at 3 o’clock. Furthermore, it has applied hour markers. The hour markers have applied Seiko’s Lumibrite luminous material for improved legibility in the dark. The hour hand is shaped like a triangle which makes it easy to read. The minute hand is broad and has a triangle-shaped tip. The watch is also equipped with a secondhand with a brown tip.
At 12 o’clock, we have a Seiko logo. Right below the center of the hands, there is the Prospex logo, and right beneath it, an automatic print, and then the depth rating.
Seiko SRPE03K1 Specifications
- Thickness: 13.2mm
- Diameter: 45mm
- Lug-to-lug: 47.7mm
- Movement: 4R36
- Jewels: 24
Conclusion
The Seiko Prospex King Turtle SRPE03K1 is a robust and durable sports watch. It has great legibility and offers incredible great value for money. It is one of the best-value automatic watches on the market, and it also looks great. For the money, there are not many better alternatives.
The Seiko Prospex King Turtle SRPE03K1 is available to order on Amazon.
