Seiko 5 Sports SRPD65 Review: All Black PVD Case & Bracelet Watch

The Seiko SRPD65’s Case

The case dimensions of the SRPD65 as measured by my personal set of calipers are as follows:

• Case diameter: 42.5mm
• Case thickness: 13.4mm
• Lug-to-lug: 46mm
• Strap size: 22mm

Looking carefully at the case, and in spite of the black finish on the watch, it’s easy to see that the top of the lugs possesses a brushed finish. This contrasts with the flanks of the case, the crown guards, and the top of the crown, which themselves boast a shiny high-polish finish.

Bezel Details

The unidirectional diver’s bezel on this SRPD65 also matches the case’s finish while being marked by what appears to be an aluminum bezel insert. The insert itself has silver minute markings and clicks a total of 120 times when making a full revolution.

The same silver-on-black theme seen with the bezel scale matches the minute track encountered on the dial.

5 Sports SRPD65 Dial Details

The SRPD65’s dial is flat black with applied hour indices. The indices themselves are polished so as to contrast with the dark background while also adding an element of refinement to the face of the watch. Similarly, the hands at the center axis are also polished and filled with a significant amount of lume.

If there’s one thing that’s not lacking on a Seiko 5 Sports watch is the lume. There are “globs” of luminous at each hour marker, especially at the 12 index. The hands, too, are oversized and lumed generously. As mentioned earlier, surrounding the entire dial is a silver minute track that adequately recalls the color scheme on the bezel.

A final aspect of the dial worth mentioning is the calendar window. It displays both day and date as black text on a bright white background, once more ensuring legibility in most conditions.

Black Hard Coating Bracelet

The bracelet securing the SRPD65 to the wrist is a matching black-coated three-link bracelet. The finishes encountered earlier on the case – brushed tops and polished sides – are also encountered down the length of the tapering bracelet and onto the clasp.

The clasp is a folding style with a dual-button release and a final flip-lock mechanism. In my trials, even with this latter flip-lock function open, the clasp still did not come undone. Both buttons had to be depressed to be able to open the clasp, at least without breaking it. This is, without a question, a confidence-inspiring feature that cannot be attributed to every bracelet watch on the market especially at this price point.

If for some reason you were so inclined to remove the bracelet, the case has some very helpful lug holes. These will allow you not only to remove the bracelet with a paperclip but also to protect the finish on the bottom of the lugs.

SRPD65 Movement

The SRPD65 is powered by a self-winding Seiko 4R36 movement that can be viewed through the watch’s see-through caseback. It boasts a 41-hour power reserve, a stop-seconds/hacking function, and the ability to wind the watch through the crown.

While seemingly an unimportant feature, being able to wind a timepiece via the crown is incredibly convenient. The 41-hour power bank means that the watch won’t make it through a weekend if you take it off on Friday and pick it up on Monday. Meanwhile, the crown-winding function means you can have the watch wound and set in less than a minute.

The fact that the crown isn’t a screw-down crown, however, entails that the water resistance is only 100 meters or 330 feet.

Seiko 5 SRPD65 On-The-Wrist

After sporting the Seiko SRPD65 for some time, I found it to be very easy to wear, especially for a watch that is nearly 43mm. Generally, my preferred watch size is right around 40mm, yet the presence of the bracelet and the tried-and-true case shape (inherited from the Seiko SKX) made for very comfortable proportions.

As far as functionality, I find it hard to think of a more convenient complication than a day-date, so that’s yet another point that made this piece an easy choice when selecting a wrist companion at the beginning of the day.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, the looks. I genuinely think Seiko has knocked it out of the park with the endless combinations of Seiko 5 Sports watches and this SRPD65 is no different. The all-black case and bracelet match perfectly with the dial and bezel while the luminous elements on the face make for easy time-telling. And while a black watch generally doesn’t stray too far into the realm of formal wear, I had no issue wearing this piece with a long sleeve, seeing as how modern watch trends have all but completely replaced the alligator straps with steel bracelets.

Further Reading

If you enjoyed this in-depth look at the Seiko SRPD65, make sure to check out some of our other popular reviews and wristwatch guides:

• What Is A PVD Watch? (And Our Favorite Ones)
• Who Made The First Steel Sports Watch?
• The Top Italian Watch Manufacturers
• All Of Our Seiko Watch Reviews
• Watches Homepage