Seiko ssb315p1 Chronograph Review & Complete Guide

Seiko ssb315p1 Chronograph Review & Complete Guide

If you are looking for a cool and masculine chronograph with a great deal of personality, the Seiko SSB315P1 chronograph is a great candidate.

Seiko makes some great watches at really attractive prices. Seiko is known and appreciated all around the world for making watches that offer great value for money. In fact, few brands offer as great value for money as Seiko. 

Seiko ssb315p1 Chronograph review

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The ssb315p1 is an interpretation of a modern, sporty, and contemporary chronograph. It’s certainly not. Watch for everyone, but having in mind the racing history of chronographs, it seems like a perfect combination, still. But with this watch, it’s not only the design that makes it appealing. In true Seiko fashion, it gives you great quality and finishes for less than 200 USD. Very impressive.

In this article, we are going to review and look closer at the Seiko ssb315p1.

Seiko ssb315p1 Chronograph case

The first thing you’ll notice about the ssb315p1 is the fact that its case is all black. But this also hides the fact that it is made of titanium – until you pick it up, that is.

It becomes very obvious that Seiko has been extremely thoughtful in the development of this watch. The all-black case adds to its sporty and bold look, the titanium case works as a connection to lightweight in motorsport, including its use of carbon fiber, and so on…

Since the case is made of titanium, it means that it is extremely light. The watch has a screw-down case back and on top sits a Hardlex crystal.

The actual case design is similar to what you may have in mind when you think of a classic chronograph. Large face, thin lugs, big dial. It personally reminds me of a vintage Tag Heuer Carrera. What is interesting about the watch, however, is that the bezel does not have the tachymeter scale, which is common for chronographs. More about this further on.

The case has a diameter of 42 millimeters and a thickness of 14mm. Due to the titanium case and quartz movement, it only wears a mere 83 Grams. Very impressive to say the least. At only 83 grams, you will barely notice it is on your wrist and may risk forgetting that you are even wearing it at times. With its case dimensions, it works for both large and medium-sized men’s wrists. In fact, it may even work for small men’s wrists if you have a preference for large watches, but naturally, it depends. The watch has drilled lugs which makes it easy to change straps. The case has a lug width of 22mm.

The case has a knurled crown at 3 o’clock and chronograph pushers on each side. The crown is a push-pull and not a screw-down, which of course has an effect on its water resistance.

 Impressively enough, this watch has a water resistance of 330 feet/100 meters/10ATM. This makes this watch suitable for swimming, snorkeling, etc. but not diving. Make sure you do not operate the chronograph pushers when in contact with water.

Seiko ssb315p1 dial

Just like the case itself, Seiko has followed through on the theme of an all-black look for the dial, except for a few exceptions necessary for good and proper legibility.

In the center, the watch has a carbon fiber base, which is obviously a great use of material for a sporty chronograph. The sub-dials are positioned at 6, 9, and 12. Around the outer edge of the dial, we finally have the tachymeter scale. The chronograph seconds hand ”communicates” with the tachymeter scale to calculate the speed at which something has traveled.

Between 4 and 5 o’clock, Seiko has placed a date window. The window is quite discreet so doesn’t affect the look of the dial much.

In true sporty fashion, the watch has some red accents. This includes the text ”tachymeter”, the chronograph hand, and two of the sub-dial hands. The chronograph sub-dials display 60 seconds, 60 minutes, and 12 hours.

Interestingly enough, the minute and hour hands are made of steel and not all black in order to provide good contrast and proper legibility. The hands have applied Lumibrite which allows them to glow in the dark.

Movement

The Seiko ssb315p1 is powered by a Seiko Caliber 8T67, Japan quartz movement. This movement has the following functions:

• chronograph
• date
• hour
• minute
• second functions

Many watch enthusiasts will shy away from quartz movements, but as you know, there are a few practical benefits. Some of the key benefits are accuracy, reliability, durability, and limited needs for servicing and maintenance.

Strap

The watch is presented on a sporty black nylon strap with a buckle. The strap matches the design of the watch well and perfectly complements the all-black look. As a final touch, the strap has small red accents in the form of thread at the ends.

The strap looks great but in terms of comfort, there are better alternatives out there. Good thing changing straps is so easy.

Specifications

• Lug width: 22mm
• Water-resistance: 100m/330feet/10ATM
• Movement: Japanese Seiko Caliber 8T67
• Diameter: 42mm
• Weight: 83 grams
• Thickness: 14mm
• Crystal: Hardlex crystal

Conclusion

All in all, the Seiko ssb315p1 chronograph is a great watch at a great price. In terms of quality and reliability, it is much better than many other chronographs in the same price range.

In terms of design, it is not for everyone, but its lightweight titanium case together with the quartz movements makes it truly something special due to its highly sporty appeal and extremely lightweight.

The Seiko Prospex srp637k1 “Baby Tuna” is available to order on Amazon.

Photo credit: https://www.tutuora.hu/seiko/ssb315p1.html