Seiko Recraft SNKP25 Review & Complete Guide
If you are looking for a stylish, affordable, and qualitative watch with a unique and quirky design for dressed-up everyday wear, the Seiko Recraft SNKP25 may be the watch for you.
There’s a difference between cheap and affordable watches, and the Seiko watches that are affordable are definitely not ”cheap”. In fact, Seiko’s affordable watches offer exceptional value for money and punch well about their weight in terms of quality and finish.
Seiko Recraft SNKP25 Review
As an Amazon Associate, we may earn from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you.
The Seiko Recraft SNKP25 is, as the name suggests, part of the brand’s ”Recraft” series. What does this mean?
Seiko’s Recraft watches are inspired by Seiko’s vintage watches. For these timepieces, Seiko takes what already exists in their history and recrafts this into a modern timepiece with modern build quality and design touches. The result is a vintage-inspired timepiece with a modern build quality.
In recent decades, it has become more common for brands to seek inspiration for new timepieces from their historical watches. It is common to see direct ”reissues” of a specific timepiece, but Seiko instead picks and chooses from their favorite design elements and features, and combines that into a completely new watch with vintage-inspired design elements.
The SNKP25 is one of the watches in the Recraft collection, and this timepiece is made as a casual dress watch that is elegant enough to wear with a jacket, but also casual enough to wear with more casual clothes as well.
In this article, we are reviewing and looking closer at the Seiko Recraft SNKP25.
Seiko Recraft SNKP25 case
The first thing you will notice about this watch is its unique and quirky case design. The watch has a rectangular/cushion-shaped case with uniquely integrated lugs.
The watch has a stainless steel case with a specified diameter of 40mm, but as you know, rectangular watches do not really wear the same way that round watches do, so if you are only looking at the dimensions on paper, they do not really reveal how the watch actually wears. The case has a lug-to-lug measurement of 45.5mm and a thickness of 13mm. The case has a lug width of 22mm.
It has a really well-executed combination of polished and brushed elements which really enhance the watch’s impression of quality and makes it look substantially more premium than what the price actually reflects.
The bezel/top of the watch has a nice brushed finish, and the slightly angled lugs and sides have a polished finish. Due to the angled lugs and sides of the case, it gets a very seamless case design.
The case has a durable Hardlex crystal which is Seiko’s proprietary hardened mineral glass. This crystal is not as hard as sapphire crystal, but for a watch that is to be worn as an everyday piece, the risk of getting scratched is not as high as for a tough sports watch.
Positioned at 3 o’clock, it has a push-pull crown. Since it does not have a screw-down crown, it does not offer exceptional water resistance, but this is not a watch you’d go swimming with, anyways. The watch offers a water resistance of 50m/5ATM. It can handle water splashes, but that’s about the most you want to subject this watch to.
The crown is recessed in the case and is halfway protected by the actual case thanks to this. The recessed crown also prevents it from sticking out from the case too much and therefore digging into the wrist when wearing it.
The case, just like the dial is quirky and unique which makes it a watch that is suitable if you want something different and unique.
If you turn the case around, we have a see-through case back with a Hardlex crystal. This allows you to see the movement beating inside, which of course is an appreciated feature amongst watch enthusiasts.
Seiko Recraft SNKP25 movement
The watch is equipped with the Seiko caliber 7S26C. This is an automatic movement that is known to be a workhorse. This movement will continue to tick for years without needing a service.
The downside of this movement, however, is it does not have a manual winding or hacking functions, which can be found in Seiko’s 4R36 which is reserved for Seiko’s slightly more expensive watches.
As will be revealed through the case back, the movement is not decorated or finished. It would of course be nice to have a bit of decoration on the movement, but Seiko’s goal of 7S26C is long-lasting durability.
The movement has 21 jewels and beats with a frequency of 21600 BPH. The movement offers a power reserve of 41 hours. The movement has an accuracy of -15 to 25 seconds per day. This is not COSC standard by any means, but the goal of this movement, as mentioned is to be durable and long-lasting. Plus, it is also possible to have it regulated by a watchmaker for improved accuracy.
Seiko Recraft SNKP25 dial
The dial is definitely the star of this watch and what makes it especially unique.
The dial has a dark brown ”faded” color” with red hues which is brighter at the center and darker towards the edges. This ”fume” dial style is really appealing, and its sunburst effect enhances this feature when the sunlight hits it. The most interesting detail about this dial is that it is divided into two sections. The center of the dial is circular, but the outer, ”chapter ring” dial is rectangular and stretches to the very edge of the case. The outer part of the dial does not have this sunburst effect but instead has a polished finish.
The applied hour markers are rectangular and made in gold color. The markers go from the edge of the circular dial out to the edge of the case. This outer dial is raised, and together with the hour markers gives the dial an appealing depth.
The dial as a whole has a clear vintage look and design. The funky color choice, gold accents, cushion shape, and circular inner shape. All of these elements go together to create a very unique dial.
Below each hour marker, the watch has white dots. Unlike what some tend to believe, these are not lume dots, but they are in fact only paint. The only part of the dial that has lume is the hands. This of course compromises the legibility in the dark, but for this type of everyday preppy watch, it’s not a huge issue.
At 3 o’clock, we have a day and date window. The day and date window has a gold-plated metal frame with a curvy design around it which goes well with the hour markers and also enhances the perception of quality.
Seiko Recraft SNKP25 strap
The watch is presented on a black textured calf leather strap with a brown buckle. The strap is nice and makes it more formal than when presented on a steel bracelet (which can also be found in the Recraft range).
The leather strap helps the watch become more formal and less sporty, which may be exactly what you are looking for in this type of watch.
Specifications
- Lug width: 22mm
- Diameter: 40mm
- Thickness: 13mm
- Lug-lug-lug: 45.5mm
- Jewels: 21
- Frequency: 21600 BPH
- Frequency: -15 to 25 seconds
- Power reserve: 41 hours
Conclusion
All in all, the Seiko Recraft SNKP25 is a different and unique watch in many aspects. Retro designs like these are rare to find from manufacturers today, so it is refreshing that Seiko dares to do something unique for everyone who is looking for a watch that isn’t like most others on the watch market today.
It is also safe to say that in terms of build quality and finish, it offers exceptional value. With a price of less than 200 USD, and being equipped with an automatic movement, it’s definitely a watch that you won’t be disappointed with.
The Seiko Recraft SNKP25 is available to order on Amazon.
