Seiko Monster Black SKX779K Dive Watch Review.

It’s a cracker!

The Seiko Black Monster SKX 779K Divers Watch and the Seiko Orange Monster SKX781K have been around for quite a few years now and over this time has built a large following due to its superb engineering, fantastic good looks and exceptional value for money.

This revue will not go into great detail as there are plenty of other reviews around which do and are easily available. Rather, a simple informative look at this wonderful timepiece for the person who recognises quality and value but doesn’t necessarily want or need to know every detail.

The Seiko Monster Black is a large chunky watch made from a combination of brushed and polished stainless steel. The watch case is 42mm diameter excluding the crown and 13mm thick. It is a full 200m /20 Bar Water Resistant and has a screw-down case back and a screw-down crown.

The Divers bezel is of the proper uni-directional type and is engineered to a very high standard. It’s one of the first things that you notice when handling the watch, the bezel turns smoothly on its ratcheted mechanism and is very definite with each click but continues to rotate in a friendly manner. The screw down crown is at the 4 o’clock position which is quite common for Seiko automatic watches and has two positions when unscrewed and pulled out. The first position is to change the Day and Date and the second to set the time

The 7S26 Calibre automatic 21 jewel movement has a reputation for robust build quality and longevity. . The automatic movement cannot be wound using the crown which, if you are wearing the watch every day does not matter. If the watch is not worn beyond the approx 42 hour power reserve then it will need to be shaken gently to produce some power to the mechanism or the use of an automatic watch winder would make things much easier. As all mechanical movements it will never be as accurate as a quartz watch but many people prefer wearing a watch that has the heart and soul of a living breathing timepiece. On the basis of observation and customer feedback accuracy is usually within +/- 20 seconds a day. So a good reliable automatic watch.

The dial is black and includes both a quick-set day and date window. The most common colours of the model are Black or Orange with limited editions of yellow or blue variants. The dial itself is sunk in the watch case giving an overall feeling of depth and solidness. One of the Monster Blacks many strong points is the large luminous hands and hour markers The lume takes a bit of charging but once lit up the light given off is outstanding.

The watch cover is Seiko’s Hardlex material being extra strong and scratch resistant. Not quite “Sapphire” standard but still good and much safer to use under water than Sapphire!

The SKX779k comes with either a stainless steel or rubber bracelet / strap. For this short review we will look at the bracelet option. Again, being all stainless steel it has solid links (not pressed) and gives a feel of quality and strength. Being heavy it makes the whole timepiece well balanced and really comfortable to wear. The clasp has a double safety mechanism which incorporates a Divers Expansion for use over wet suits etc. The expansion is hidden from view when not in use under the clasp and has proven to be easy to use.

Overall, the Seiko Monster Black with its competitive price tag and superb build quality and functionality is nothing less than fantastic. Not everyone’s choice either you’ll love it or loathe it. Certainly, there’s a huge following of the model in its various guises and a live collectors market for its rarer variants which can command really high prices.

MyWatchShop.co.uk believe that the Monster Black well deserves our recommendation.