The Seiko 5 SNK809 is everything you could possibly want in a watch, and more. With a svelte 37mm/11mm stainless steel case, the three-hander is set on a sector-like dial with painted hour and minute Arabic numerals, along with a classic field-watch style triangular marking at the 12 o’clock. It comes with a day-date complication at the 3 o’clock that is color-matched in the black and white variants. The hands and complications are manipulated through a recessed, unsigned, push-pull crown at the 4 o’clock – a hallmark of the Seiko 5 range.

The sword-shaped hour and minute hands, as well as the red-tipped second hand with a lumed lollipop counterbalance – quintessential military-style icons – are set against a glossy (and, in my example, black) dial that’s reflective yet legible. The case is decently finished with brushed surfaces all around, while the edges around the display caseback and the spaces between the 18mm lugs are (surprisingly well-) polished.

Powering the watch is an in-house automatic caliber 7S26 delivering a 40-hour reserve with a factory accuracy of -20/+49 seconds/day. The movement, which beats at 21,600 vibrations/hour, is visible through a Hardlex caseback.

The lines between a factual description of the watch and a subjective review of my experience are so blurred precisely because the SNK809 speaks for itself. Its diminutive case dimensions and curved lugs mean that the watch wears extremely comfortably on the wrist.

Perhaps the only gripe I have is that the absence of a hand-winding function means that you have to shake the watch every day to keep it alive, or risk having to reset the minute, hour, day, and date each time you wear it. The sheer number of functions to manually adjust actually creates a deterrent and dichotomous effect: the Seiko 5 SNK809 is either an everyday watch or not at all.