There’s one timepiece known to aficionados, collectors, and newbies alike that constitutes the ultimate ‘starter watch’ — and that watch is the Seiko 5.

Launched in 1963, the Seiko Sportsmatic 5 collection was meant to be shock resistant, water resistant, durable, automatic, and more — all at affordable prices, available all around the world. Available in myriad iterations, ‘5’ watches were frequently available on places like Amazon for well under $100.

In 2019, Seiko relaunched the Seiko 5 Sports sub-collection to much acclaim: Upsized for modern tastes but still featuring automatic day-date movements, these new timepieces took up the mantle of the discontinued SKX dive watch series and ushered in a new era of affordable, robust tool watches.

This particular Seiko 5 Sports watch is a collaboration with Rowing Blazers, the apparel company founded by author, archaeologist, and athlete Jack Carlson.

Housed in a 40mm stainless steel case with a signed crown at 4 o’clock, a smooth polished bezel, and a Hardlex crystal, it features a luminous glossy black dial with colorful, vintage-inspired applied indices with a matching handset, and a day-date display in English and Japanese at 3 o’clock.

Limited to just 888 units, this piece is powered by the automatic Caliber 4R36 from Seiko with 24 jewels and a 41-hour power reserve and comes paired to a stainless steel 'Oyster'-style bracelet with a signed fliplock clasp.

It’s tough to argue with such a cool, affordable — yet robust and useful — automatic watch at this price point…

Especially one that looks this good!