SEIKO 5 Sports SRPC68J Bottlecap Japan Red

The SEIKO 5 Sports SRPC68J is part of the Seiko 5 Sports line which is the more sporty version of the generic Seiko 5 models. Made out of stainless steel, it comes with a Nato bracelet, a unidirectional divers’ bezel and a day-date complication. It measures 45 mm across (excluding the crown) with a lug-to-lug width of 47 mm. Thickness of the watch is 13 mm. Meanwhile, lug width is 20 mm.

The watch has 3-hands, date and day complications. The dial is brown. It also comes with a unidirectional bezel. The whole construction is made out of stainless steel with brushed surfaces.

The SRPC68J is water rated to 100 meters, this watch will go well with a leisurely swim.

Given the nickname “Bottlecap” to this watch for good reason. The cone-base shaped casing plus the notching surface on the bezel creates a familiar shape to a bottle cap.

The chapter rings is vertical and polished. The edge of the dial is printed the minute and sub-minute line markers in white. Every fifth minutes which corresponds to the hour markers is larger than the rest; Seiko uses Lumibrite paint on these to provide illumination in the dark.

The next set of scale is the applied hour markers. Despite have a larger aperture to fit in the day and date complications at 3 o’clock, every hour consists of an illuminated hour marker with various designs. The 6 o’clock and 9 o’clock positions have rectangle markers. The 12 o’clock has an upside down triangle. The 3 o’clock has a square marker while the rest have round markers. All hour markers are framed with polished metal.

On the dial there are 7 rows of texts and logo. The upper half of the dial consists of the applied brand and logo as well as the words “SPORTS” printed in red. On the bottom half of the dial, the words “AUTOMATIC”, “24 JEWELS” and “100M” can be clearly seen. The seventh row of text is very small and located at the bottom edge of the dial. It consists of production codes for the watch.

Seiko uses a sword design for the hours and minutes hands. Both are painted with Lumibrite with polished steel frame surrounding the painted portion. Meanwhile, the seconds hand has an epee style design and polished. The dial is protected by Seiko’s in-house proprietary crystal; Hardlex. The flat crystal is flushed with the bezel.

Specifications

Material: Stainless Steel
Glass: Hardlex
Strap: Nato Bracelet
Dial: Brown
Movement: Automatic
Complications: Analog hands, day & date
Caliber: 4R36A
Jewels: 24
Water Resist: 100 m
Bezel: Unidirectional
Case Diameter: 45 mm
Thickness: 13 mm
Lugs: 20 mm
Lug-to-Lug: 47 mm