Seiko & Citizen Watch Forum Message Archive

I received an SKX007J (serial 180012) a couple days ago and have compared it to my SKX173 (serial 190052) out of general curiosity.

The 173 is of course is marked "mov't Singapore" and the 007J is marked "made in Japan".

The cases of the two watches appear to be identical. I cannot discern even the slightest difference in workmanship or finish.

The dials of the watches are quite different as shown in the side by side photograph below.

I appologize for the 007J focus. For some reason it's not as sharp as that of the 173. Possibly a slight camera-to-lens distance difference shown up by macro mode or more likely in camera tilt relative to the plane of the watch faces.

The luminous paint on the 007J is "whiter" than that on the 173, which has a slight greenish tint, especially on the hands. This may or may not be obvious from the photo but it is not a particularly subtle difference when both watches are viewed in sunlight. The luminosity of the dials appear to be identical in the dark except that the round dial markers on the oo7J make it slightly easier to view than the rectangular ones on the 173.

The general dial finish on the two watches appears to be similar.

Other differences are that the words Seiko and automatic at the top of the dials are different in color. The 173 markings are white and the 007J are a soft grey color.

The words divers 200M on the 173 is in red and the similar markings on the 007J are a distinct orange color.

The 007J also has markings on the dial saying 21 Jewels and there is no similar marking on the 173.

The second hands on the two watches are quite different also as shown in the photograph.

These are the only cosmetic differences that I can see upon initial inspection.

The crowns of the two watches feel identical to me when they are being screwed down or during setting of the watches.

Differences in time keeping for the two watches in the first day or two after receiving them are not all that significant. The 173 gained 23 seconds in it's first 24 hours with me and the 007J has gained 19 seconds.

I should mention that over 2 1/2 months with no fiddling of any kind the 173 has settled down to an average daily gain of 1-3 seconds. This has been fairly consistent over the last month.

I hope the 007J does as well.

One other major difference between my two watches is that the 007J shows the typical (I'm told) pause of the second hand when slight back pressure is placed on the crown. The 173 that I have will NOT do this at all. I have found no way to stop or reverse the second hand on this watch while it's being set.

That's the summary of the differences I see in a Singapore diver and a Japan diver. Nothing really significant I think although I do prefer the round dial markers on the 007J as a matter of taste. If the 007J settles down to run as well as the 173 it'll definitely get more on-wrist time!

SKX173 Left, SKX007J Right