Seiko mechanical watch
Shares rank 3 of 4 mechanical watches by recommenders
Recommended as self-winding watches that need no battery, and whose common movements can be replaced if something fails. Critics note costly servicing and timekeeping less accurate than quartz.
Recommended as self-winding watches that need no battery, and whose common movements can be replaced if something fails. Critics note costly servicing and timekeeping less accurate than quartz.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 63%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Poor timekeeping, less accurate than quartz
“their swiss masterpiece wasn't nearly as accurate as my cheap quartz watch”
Comment from 31 Aug 2026 in “Hacking IKEA Furniture” “I have a $250 mechanical Seiko and its time keeping is junk.”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years” Servicing costs can be high
“I reached the point where it needed to be serviced and was chagrined to discover the service costs $130.”
Comment from 8 Jul 2026 in “Canada's only watchmaking school still ticking after 80 years”
Other mechanical watches people recommend
The three most recommended other mechanical watches, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seiko 5 | 9 | 1 | 90% | 3 | — | — |
| Grand Seiko | 7 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Seiko mechanical watchThis page | 5 | 3 | 63% | 5 | — | — |
| Rolex Submariner | 5 | 3 | 63% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
7 of the 8 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“there's always Seiko, Citizen, Rotary and hundreds more”
“their swiss masterpiece wasn't nearly as accurate as my cheap quartz watch”
“my Seiko automatic ($150), both of which don't need recharging”
“I reached the point where it needed to be serviced and was chagrined to discover the service costs $130.”
“I have a $250 mechanical Seiko and its time keeping is junk.”
“if you get a Seiko or Citizen with a common movement, you can just have the movement replaced if something goes wrong”
“Seiko watch and wired earbuds”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.