Besides Spring Drive, solar and mechanical watches, kinetic watches are also one of Seiko’s clean energy watches. In a Kinetic watch, electricity is stored in a self-recharging battery that does not need frequent replacement like the conventional battery in quartz watches.
This time round, I had the opportunity to handle a Seiko military style watch, SMY143P that is powered by the newer 5M83 Kinetic movement. Seiko releases military style watches with their Kinetic movement from time to time and this model is one of their latest.
Here is a quick photo review.
Dial:
This is the type of dial colour I like on a military style watch. The hour markers here reminds me of the discontinued Riki Watanabe watch (AAAA101). The dial is very legible but note that the numerals 6, 9 and 12 are not lumed.
Side profile:
The watch has a nice satin appearance and comes with drilled lugs. Pusher on the side is used to check the remaining power reserve of the watch.
Caseback:
The watch comes with a display back that shows the rotor and part of the movement. The display area is smaller compared to Seiko’s automatic watches.
Strap:
This model comes with a black nylon strap with steel hardware. Below are some pictures of the strap.
Watch has a water resistance of 100m and comes with flat hardlex crystal. Here are a few more shots of the watch.
Here is a picture of the green dial variant, SMY141P.
Diameter: 41mm (excluding crown), 45mm (including crown)
Lug width: 20mm
Water resistance: 100m
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Seiko SMY143P1 featured in this post is provided by:
K2 Watch Company
845 Geylang Road, Tanjong Katong Complex, #03-K1
Singapore 400845
Tel: 6746 0270
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Yeoman's Watch Review 
What are the prices on these? Thanks
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This piece didn’t have the price tag attached but I believe should be around under USD200.
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Is there a way to ensure I´m not bying a replica in this kind of watches?
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Buy from a Seiko authorized dealer or at least a reputable seller. If possible, inspect the watch.
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Thanks for posting this, Thomas! I stumbled upon this review by chance after reading your Orient Bambino preview. Seiko has not been updating their SMY series (5M63) for quite some time and you can see from the reference number that they made fewer 5M63 models than their date only, 5M62 counterparts.
I’m not sure whether it was Seiko or their customers decided that the 5M62 Kinetics were more desirable (it’s kind of the chicken-or-the-egg conundrum) but it’s good to see a fresh face from the 5M63 family.
What puzzles me is that Seiko has been going “cheap” with their double layered dials since 2007 or 2008. I’ve seen many models of late that have the lumed portion on the outer dial, while the inner dial has no lumed markers at all. Their diver’s lineup are not affected by this practice, but their non diver’s watches seem to be. If this watch were made by Citizen, the 12, 6 and 9 o’clock numerals would certainly have been lumed generously, e. g the Promaster Nighthawk Eco Drive. 🙂
I gave up on Kinetics after owning three models. Although I have the YT02A Kinetic charger, it became a real drag to recharge them monthly. I also found out that it’s impossible to know whether the replacement rechargeable lithium ion cell is fresh from the factory. Two of my Kinetics (a 5M62 & 5M63) lose their charge a lot sooner than the third one (a 7L22) despite both watches having their original batteries replaced some years ago. On a related note, my Citizen Promaster 4×4 Tough went dead on me after 12 years and the replacement capacitor I ordered from the Battery Bob online seller was a dud when it arrived. I haven’t dealt with the Citizen Malaysia service center and I hope they won’t charge me a small fortune to bring my 4×4 Tough back to life! 😦
Anyway, this is a great post. I’ve been out of the watch scene for sometime and I enjoy reading reviews of watches that you come across in Singapore. 🙂
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This model is powered by the new 5M83 kinetic movement. New Kinetic watches are using this movement including the diver in the link below. Not sure what will happen to the 5M62/63. I believe they are likely to be discontinued.
https://yeomanseiko.com/2014/01/18/seiko-kinetic-diver-ska579p2/
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I missed the part which you mentioned “5M83” as I was casually browsing the article with my Nexus 7 tablet and reading small text is hard on the eyes. 😉
In a somewhat unorthodox manner, Seiko decided to re-use their “SKA” and “SMY” prefixes for the replacement calibers 5M82/5M83 respectively. Historically the company would use a new prefix for a different caliber, e.g. the 5M43 models were named “SKJ”. I learned of their newest 5M8x Kinetic movements just recently but haven’t investigated the internal differences between the 5M62 and the 5M82. I don’t think the 5M8x series have the Auto Relay feature, which as you know has the power saving function by stopping the hands when the watch isn’t charged for more than 72 hours. You are correct in saying that the older 5M6x series have been superseded by the 5M8x family.
I read your post about the latest SKA579P, thanks. I’m disappointed that it’s a re-hash of the old BFK divers with just minor bezel color variations.
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Perhaps the 5M82/83 is a minor upgrade of the 5M62/63 that’s why they didn’t use a different prefix for the model numbers.
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Beautiful photos. Thanks.
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Overall is this a good watch for the price?
Would a replacement leather strap work and look good on this watch and if so how thick of a strap would be appropriate?
Thanks
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If you like Kinetic watches, this watch is definitely value for money. The stock nylon strap is not very thick. I think a leather strap with medium padding (3.5mm to 4mm) would work.
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Where can we purchase this watch , please advise thank
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Most likely discontinued.
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Discontinued doesn’t always mean that this model cannot be found. If searching eBay or Amazon draws a blank, you’ll have to literally hop from one watch store to another.
The last time I was in Singapore it was the year 2011. I spotted the extremely rare Seiko Prospex Sky Professional (SBDR005) at one of the watch stores along Orchard Road and almost bought it.
Actually I have one just like it since 2004 (the Sky Professional series was produced between 2001 and 2003) and thought of buying a backup watch.
Anyway it goes to show that if you’re willing to literally go the distance, you may still find this same Seiko Kinetic 5M83 watch sitting in a shelf in some watch store, just waiting for you! 😉
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Does anyone know where I can purchase this watch
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