Monster, Turtle, Tuna, Sumo, Samurai, Shogun, Arnie…there’s no end to the list of nicknames watch collectors give Seiko watches. Add to this the Seiko Bottlecap, a watch series launched in 2018 in various executions. The nickname derives from the watch’s obvious physical similarities with a bottlecap, such as its chunky case and notched bezel. The one I’ve got is the SRPC65K1. This has a black PVD case and bracelet and a brilliant blue-green (perhaps teal) gradient dial. I’ve had mine about a year and although I’ve bought many other watches since then, the SRPC65K still gets plenty of wrist time.

I find myself drawn again and again to that beautiful dial and the general uniqueness of the piece. The case measures 44.5mm, which would normally make it problematic for smallish wrists like my 6 ½ inch one. But the lugs are short and angled down beneath the case, making for a lug-to-lug length of 47mm. So, although it has a large case and dial, it’s wearable for a wide variety of wrist sizes.

The Seiko Bottlecap has some value-adds as well. It has a day-date, with the days in English and Kanji. The lume is as bright as my SKX and the unidirectional bezel is buttery smooth. If it had a screw down crown instead of a push crown and if it had better water resistance than the stated 100m, it could function as a dive watch, especially with its large, legible dial.

The let-down is the bracelet. It’s rattly and feels cheap, although it doesn’t pull hairs. I intend to replace the stock bracelet with a black mesh one eventually. It’s a good thing the watch comes with drilled lugs, another pleasant surprise. The PVD coating has stood up well with no exposure of base metal. The stealth look of PVD does make this more of a weekend casual watch though. If you want a version of the Seiko Bottlecap that might be more wearable for work, you should consider the stainless steel SRPC61K1.

The watch is powered by Seiko’s workhorse 4R36, which hacks and handwinds. I think that mine is pretty accurate, maybe gaining 15-20 seconds a day (I don’t timegraph or regulate my watches). You can see the movement through an exhibition caseback. The SRPC65K1 is still in plentiful supply online for about USD 200 and there’s a JDM version as well, which I’ve often found for around the same price as the K version. I would highly recommend it as a distinctive casual watch with lots of value packed in.