There are many vintage Seiko divers popular with collectors, and the legendary 7S26 – like this full-serviced 2014 Seiko SKX013 here, with box & papers – is one of these.
With good reason, the SKX continues to have a tremendous cult following, despite Seiko's odd decision to discontinue these legendary divers in 2019 - the design is robust with strong evidence of Seiko divers that came before it, namely the instantly recognizable Seiko 7002 automatic, 7548 quartz, and even the famous 6309 diver.
Per Hodinkee, "I’ve always loved the SKX007, I really have. But, I’ve never been able to wear one. At 42mm across, it’s just too damn big for my Lilliputian wrist, both looking and feeling out of place. Until recently, I thought it was a lost cause, assuming that I would have to wander the Earth without a bang-for-your-buck Seiko diver at my side. Luckily, thanks to a tip from my colleague James Stacey, my prayers were answered and a solution was found: Meet the Seiko SKX013, the mini badass Seiko diver."
Even Hollywood has taken note - the SKX has appeared in multiple films, to include on the wrist of Robert Redford in his action drama sailing film, "All is Lost."
Before Tinsel Town, military forces the world over long took note of the SKX line, with its reliable automatic movement – during its heyday, it was also popular with various armed forces for this same reason, despite the widely held (false) assumption that military personnel only wear military watches issued to them.
USMIL General Norman "Stormin' Norman" Schwarzkopf wore the quartz variant, the Seiko 7548, nearly identical to the SKX, when he routed and then evicted Iraqi forces from Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm, aka the 1991 Gulf War. He would later write, “I always wore two watches during the [Gulf] war. The one on my left arm was set on Saudi Arabian time and the Seiko on my right arm was set on Eastern Standard Time. That way I could quickly glance at my watches and instantly know the time in both Saudi Arabia and Washington, D.C."
Seiko’s 7S26 was a logical step in its mechanical movement line, which debuted in 1996 to replace the 7002 in Seiko’s popular dive watch line, and incorporates quickset day and date displays, and automatic bi-directional winding via Seiko’s patented Magic Lever system.
This Seiko diver comes with an stainless-steel bracelet, inner/outer boxes, instructions manual, nylon strap, warranty paperwork, rugged travel case, and springbar tool.
2014 Seiko SKX013 Mid-Size Automatic Diver, w/Box & Papers
DIAL: Brilliant black Seiko-signed dial, Spanish/English variant day and date, and matching hands. Lume remains bright, following exposure to strong light.
BEZEL: Aftermarket bezel insert in good condition, bezel ratchets counterclockwise as designed with a solid click.
CASE: Stainless-steel case measures 37mm (w/crown 40.5mm) x 45mm; matching signed caseback. Separate from the size aspect, and at first glance without a wrist for scale, the SLX013 is a dead-ringer for its big brother, the SKX007 (see last picture for a side-by-side comparison between the two).
CRYSTAL: Hardlex crystal, scratch-free.
BAND: This SKX013 comes on an aftermarket Seiko-signed stainless-steel bracelet, which will fit up to an approx. 8.50 inch wrist; it also comes with a black nylon strap.
MOVEMENT: 21-jewel Seiko 7S26 mechanical automatic movement, manufactured in April 2014. We have performed a full service on this watch.
CROWN: Unsigned stainless-steel screw-down crown.
Of note, this SKX013 comes with Seiko inner/outer boxes, instructions manual, and warranty paperwork.