Seiko Prospex Monster SBDY037 Review & Complete Guide
If you are looking for a seriously tough and robust diver’s watch with great performance, the Seiko Prospex Monster SBDY037 may be the watch for you.
This is a watch that looks just as tough as it is and is a great choice if you want something to go with your sporty style or want a durable and robust timepiece for actual diving.
The name ”Monster” gives this watch away from what this watch is all about. The name ”Double black vintage” also tells us something about what you can expect in terms of its design. Because of its very sporty design, it is not a watch for everyone, but those who like it love it.
This watch is part of Seiko’s Monster collection, which consists of tough and sporty timepieces, and it is also part of the Seiko Prospex collection, meaning its performance as a dive watch also backs up its design.
Without further ado, let’s look closer at the Seiko Prospex Monster SBDY037 and what it has to offer.
As an Amazon Associate, we may earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
Case
The watch is presented with a sporty and funky design with sharp, aggressive lines. It has a DLC-coated stainless steel case with a diameter of 42mm and a thickness of 13mm. The lug width is 20mm.
To go with the sporty theme, the case has, of course, a satin brush finish. Seiko has also added grooves on the sides of the case for a sportier appearance.
The lugs have been made relatively short, so whilst the watch is relatively large and bulky, it wears considerably well. The lugs are also curved downwards which helps it wear better and sit more planted on the wrist. Seiko has designed it in a way that the lugs also work as shrouds to protect the bezel. On the 6 o’clock side, the shroud extends all the way to the crown and works as a crown guard, which is a great thing seeing that the watch does not have any standard crown guards. This is a wise design choice by Seiko since crown guards would likely make the watch too bulky to wear comfortably.
Speaking of the bezel, it is tall, slightly concave, and takes up quite a bit of property on the watch. Being a dive watch, it is of course unidirectional. The markers are big and ensure perfect legibility. This is complemented with a luminous pip at 12 o’clock. Unlike many other dive watches, it does not have a bezel insert.
Instead, the bezel is constructed from one piece of steel which makes it more durable. It also has large teeth which help improve the grip and make it easier to operate, even with gloves. The bezel rotates with 120 clicks and operates very smoothly with no free play.
Seiko placed the crown at 4 o’clock. This helps improve comfort when wearing the watch since you don’t have the crown digging into the back of the hand, and it also helps protect it as it does not sit as exposited. To ensure perfect water resistance, the crown screw-down. This ensures a water resistance of 200m/660 feet. The case back is also screw-down. It is decorated with the iconic tsunami emblem.
A nice touch that Seiko has added is lug holes for the lugs, which makes it considerably easier to change straps, shall you wish to do so.
On top of the case, it uses the signature Hardlex crystal. An additional detail about this is that Seiko has added a magnifying cyclops at 3 o’clock above the day and date window to make them easier to read.
Dial
Moving on to the dial, Seiko has really thought about every single aspect when designing this. The dial is of course black to go with the all-black theme of this watch. To eliminate glare and reflections, it has a slightly matte finish to it. The dial has large applied hour markers with metal frames around them. The hour markers have a generous amount of Lumibrite applied to them which ensures excellent legibility even in low-lit conditions. To reflect the watch’s slight vintage theme, Seiko has made the luminescent material in a cream color, but not to the point where it can be classified as a ”faux patina”.
Around the outer edge of the dial, it has an angled, ”ramp design” rehaut on which the seconds markers are printed. As discussed earlier, it has a day and date window function at 3 o’clock which can come in handy.
To ensure great legibility, the hands are large. The hour hand is short and has an arrow tip, and the minutes hand is long and has a sword shape. Both of course feature Lumibrite and polished metal frames around them.
Because of the large bezel, the dial isn’t perceived as huge, but it still does everything we expect a dive watch to do, meaning providing excellent legibility at just a glance, both in light and in low-lit conditions.
Movement
The watch is powered by the in-house Automatic Seiko caliber 4R36. This movement has both hacking and manual winding functions, two functions that are not found in the most basic automatic movements. The caliber operates with a frequency of 21600 BPH and has 24 jewels with a power reserve of 41 hours.
The movement also gives you the ability to set the day and date displays individually.
All in all, this is a robust and sturdy movement that has proven to be a true workhorse. In other words, it is a very appropriate choice for the Seiko Prospex Monster SBDY037.
Bracelet
The SBDY037 is presented on a stainless steel bracelet with a DLC coating. The bracelet design stays true to all of the previous Monster Seikos, and will therefore be familiar to those who are into Seiko watches.
The bracelet is robust and sporty, with an aggressive design, just like the case. It is mostly satin-finished but has polished ”middle links” (actually integrated not the actual link design). The bracelet contributes greatly to the sporty style of the watch, but as mentioned, with the lug holes, you can easily swap it for something else, shall you wish to do so.
Specifications
- Diameter: 42mm
- Lug-to-lug: 49mm
- Thickness: 13.4mm
- Water resistance: 200m/660 feet
- Crystal: Hardlex with date magnifier
- Movement: Seiko Automatic Caliber 4R36
- Accuracy: +45 to -35 sec per day
- Crown: screw-down
- Lug width: 20mm
Conclusion
All in all, the Seiko Prospex Monster SBDY037 is a tough, sporty, and durable dive watch that is just as tough as its design sets it out to be. The watch is a true sport watch built to last and handle all kinds of harsh conditions. Due to its large and sporty design, it is not for everyone, but if you enjoy these types of watches, the Seiko Prospex Monster SBDY037 certainly won’t disappoint.
It has great attention to detail, a reassuring feeling of quality, and a durable and long-lasting workhorse automatic movement. Its all-black look contributes to giving it a look that is out of the ordinary. And at its price point, there are few watches on the market that can actually compete if you factor in all of these things. Its look is unmistakable and instantly recognizable, and sure to make you stand out.
The Seiko Prospex Monster SBDY037 is available to order on Amazon.
