Seiko 5 Sports X Worn & Wound 10th Anniversary Limited Edition

Entering the world of watches is often a solitary pursuit. Watches aren’t cars or toasters or running shoes; most people just getting into the hobby cannot simply ask their group of friends about which watches are best, what to look for, the difference between quartz and mechanical, why a Grand Seiko is so much more than a regular Seiko, and how do you even pronounce “Presage” anyway? A neophyte enthusiast seeking to whet their horological appetite, unable to rely on friends and family, often ends up in one of a few places that have come to form the foundation of the watch community. One such place is Worn & Wound, which, since its inception in 2011, has been a mainstay for the entire community, offering exceptional reviews and coverage, with a focusing on the more “affordable” side of the hobby.

Worn & Wound, though, has never been content to simply cover the industry. In addition to the Windup Watch Shop and Windup Watch Fair (both wildly successful endeavors), Worn & Wound has worked with many of its favorite brands to create limited edition watches. Starting in 2015 with the WANDW1 completed with AVI-8, and including projects with Vero, Timex, Stowa, and others, in some cases the results make real a long-desired design, in others they create what Worn & Wound feel is the perfect version of the base model.

To celebrate its 10th anniversary, Worn & Wound has released the Seiko 5 Sports X Worn & Wound 10th Anniversary Limited Edition. Some may be surprised that they chose Seiko to commemorate such an occasion, having previously focused on decidedly less-mainstream brands, but to me it is the most logical of partners. Seiko operates at every price point, and much like Worn & Wound, has a little something for everyone. Just like Worn & Wound is the first place most people new to watches end up, those same people often choose a Seiko as their first “real” watch. To boot, a Seiko SNK803 was the second watch ever reviewed on the site, and as you’ll see, that watch was on the mind when designing the 10th anniversary piece.

The 10th Anniversary LE didn’t seem like much from the marketing photos—I was neither offended nor immediately smitten. In fact, the only reason I got a chance to see it was because I acted as a proxy to a Canadian friend who was unable to purchase the watch. As a thank you, he told me I could hang on to it for a bit, and when the watch arrived, I was thoroughly impressed. What stood out for me when I opened the box was the contrasting textures of the dial, the big red triangle at 12 o’clock, the date window alignment, and the perfectly paired ADPT strap.

There’s brushing everywhere but the sides of the case, which feature a fully polished surface that adds a nice reflective accent to the otherwise very rugged-looking watch. The dome of the hardlex crystal is noticeable but never causes distortion. One qualm I have with the watch—and by extension, the entirety of the Seiko 5 pilot style watch line—is the diminutive push-pull crown. Its decent width is undermined by its shorter length, forcing the use of one’s fingernails to pop it out. Perhaps not a dealbreaker, but also not ideal (though as you’ll soon see, Seiko has tried to mitigate this issue). To give credit where credit is due, I do like the circular brushing of the crown, and the ridges are deep and would be easy to grip if the size was corrected.

At 13.2mm, the Seiko X Worn & Wound LE is not as thin as I would like but sat surprisingly well on my 7-inch wrist. Even on the ADPT strap, it managed not to stand up too much. As with most Seikos, the drilled lugs are key in removing straps that use the brand’s shoulderless spring bars, which these do. (I cannot for the life of me figure out why Seiko insists on using their shoulderless bars.)

The gentle downturn of the lugs combined with the manageable lug-to-lug make the top-down view on the wrist easy to digest. See how the crown’s ridging stops before the case? That goes back to it being too short; to balance form (a crown proportionate to the case) and function (a crown that can be easily operated), this inner notch is required. But back to the dial, because there’s a lot to love.

Here’s where we start to see the inspiration from that oldie goldie, the SNK803. The sand-colored dial of the SNK is reimagined here with the outer ring rendered with a splendid waffle pattern, while the center portion offers a contrasting grey with a radial pattern. Also pulled from the SNK is the use of the interior dial for the hours and exterior for the minutes; this is a classic pilot layout, derived from the WWI Type B Fliegers. Finally, the Worn & Wound LE replaces the black 12 o’clock triangle from the SNK with a bright pop of red.

Here’s a slightly better look at how the waffle pattern plays with light. But it also shows the bold “Roman” pilot handset and the natural proportions of the dial. Look at the thin gray separator separating the inner and outer dial. The hour hand extends precisely to the line and the red end of the seconds hand starts at it. The line itself aligns perfectly with the edge of the date (not the wheel, the left edge of the numerals). I’m still torn about the lack of framing or beveling to the date window, but I think I’m leaning towards giving it a pass as is.

The black-on-sand and silver-on-gray numbering creates high legibility, minute hashes are another element pulled from the original SNK.

Lume! Presumably some of Seiko’s Lumibrite. The hands, by dint of their larger size, shine brighter than the small hour plots around the edge, but everything charges quickly and shines brightly enough. Certainly, they shine brighter than most other $325 watches (and, frankly, brighter than many much more expensive watches).

Let’s roll it over and check out the decorative caseback. The crystal is emblazoned with a gilt 10th anniversary Worn & Wound logo, with text further commemorating the occasion. It partially obscures the Seiko 4R36 movement (if you don’t know it, google it). The 4R36’s reliability is perhaps only exceeded by its serviceability. Speaking of display casebacks, there was a recent point-counterpoint on the matter posted elsewhere, and here’s where I’ll put my two cents in. As a bit of a snob, I think it’s silly to put an undecorated, run-of-the-mill movement on display. As a lover of watches and the watch community, I understand the appeal of “seeing the little thing spin around,” as one of my non-watch friends put it. A display caseback can act as a gateway to the exciting world of watches, roping people in with mechanical wonder. I’m all for that.

The Seiko 5 Sports X Worn & Wound 10th Anniversary Limited Edition comes with two strap options. The first is a rather stiff army green nylon strap with a leather backing. It looks great with the watch, but I took it off immediately due to my aversion to wasting my time breaking in straps. ON the other hand, the ADPT Mil-Strap is what all NATO straps should be. I’m tired of the high-shine, slippery fabric of seatbelt straps, and the flimsy, fraying material of cheaper options. The ADPT offering immediately conveys durability while remaining just pliable enough to be comfortable on the wrist, and that’s to say nothing of the colors. Thanks to the standard lug holes, I was easily able to wear the watch with a variety of 20mm straps, including leather to rubber.

Especially at this price point, Seiko on its own seems to have two gears with dials: dreadfully boring or offensively gaudy. Worn & Wound brought their touch to this watch and created a watch that Seiko never would have and perhaps never could have. You could argue that the Seiko 5 Sports X Worn & Wound 10th Anniversary Limited Edition is just a Seiko 5 Sports with a fancy dial and flashy caseback. You wouldn’t be wrong, but you’d be underselling the watch (and almost every other collab watch ever made) and extricating the inextricable: the story from the watch. This watch is a marker of Worn & Wound’s place in the larger watch world.

As is usually the case with Seiko, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better watch at the same price point. Add to that the extra flair that Worn & Wound has brought, and it’s damn near impossible to do better. You can read more about the watch at Worn & Wound, and while it’s sold out there, they can be found on the secondary markup for around $450.

Finally, big thanks to my buddy Blaise for letting me hang on to this for review. He’s an airline pilot, which makes him cooler than you.