Seiko SARB033 Review: Why This Unassuming JDM Dress Watch Has A Cult Following

The Seiko SARB033 has joined the ranks of Seiko watches that are more popular and coveted than ever — despite never having been sold outside Seiko's home country of Japan and also despite exiting the market entirely back in 2018. In this article, we explore the SARB033 and its closest siblings from the elegant collection and try to uncover what makes these hard-to-find timepieces so appealing. 

Seiko SARB Collection History:

Seiko introduced its SARB collection exclusively to the Japanese market in 2006, positioning it as a more upscale alternative to the sportier 5 Sport line, which also offered watches with the brand’s own automatic movements at very approachable prices. The SARB series (no, the letters don’t stand for anything, we checked) was built around the Seiko Caliber 6R15 movement, more on which below, introduced by Seiko one year prior. 

The first generation of SARB watches (SARB001, SARB002, and SARB005) appears to take inspiration from the King Seiko “Vanac” editions that made a brief but impactful splash on the market in the 1970s, with their angular cases, funky dial colors and textures, and faceted crystals. The next wave (SARB007, 009, 011) goes for more of a rounded, “Retro Modern” character, with vintage designs influencing the three-hand-date dials. On the heels of that trio came the first models in the series to really break through to widespread enthusiast acclaim outside their native Japan, the mountaineering-inspired “Alpinist” models, with distinctive Arabic numerals and classical cathedral hands. The most popular of these proved to be the SARB017, with its mossy green dial and gilt details, whose direct descendant is the Ref. SPB121 in the modern Prospex series (below).

Launched in early 2007, the SARB021, SARB023, SARB025, and SARB026 brought a new look to the series, one familiar to fans of the watch we’re examining here, the SARB033. The SARB021 is, in fact, very similar to the SARB033, albeit with a more angular case, thicker beveled hands, and wider hour markers in a bisected style that enthusiasts refer to as “Kit Kat.” In 2008, several of the acknowledged classics of this JDM series emerged: the SARB033 (with black dial), SARB035 (with ivory-colored dial), SARB037 (with salmon-colored dial) and SARB038 (with gold tones on the dial, case and bracelet). All of these more or less established where the SARB line was headed aesthetically in the following years, at least from a “dress watch” perspective.

Seiko diversified the line in 2009, however, adding a series of rugged, sporty “adventure watches” that included the so-called “Land Monster” or “Trek Monster” models like the SARB047, 048, and 049, with 40mm PVD-coated cases, Hardlex crystals, and utilitarian, bidirectional rotating bezels. Also following this “adventure” theme were additional Alpinist models, including the now-very-collectible SARB061, which introduced an internal rotating compass bezel to the watch, further driving home the outdoorsy theme; the utilitarian feature lives on in the modern Prospex version of the Alpinist, which we explore in more detail here.

As JDM (Japan Domestic Market) product, the SARB watches were never really intended for an international audience, but the popularity of several of the key models  might well be attributed to the fact that the series was in many respects an inspiration for the Seiko Presage line of automatic (and now also Spring Drive) dress watches, which made their debut in the U.S. market in 2016. Most famously, it was the SARB065, and its siblings the SARB066 and SARB068, all of which launched as JDM models in 2010, that provided the template for the first Presage “Cocktail Time” watches in 2017 (example above). The “Cocktail Time” subfamily has since found a large and growing audience in the U.S. and elsewhere; you can read more about it here. 

However it made its way onto the worldwide radar of Seiko enthusiasts, the SARB033 — and to a similar extent, the ivory-dialed SARB035 and salmon-dialed SARB037 — continue to garner lots of attention on the secondary market, which is the only place these days where one can purchase them. Here is a closer look at the flagship model.

Seiko SARB033: Case and Bracelet

A wristshot of the SARB037

The case of the SARB003 measures 38mm in diameter and 11.2mm thick, with a lug-to-lug span of 44mm. Its finishing, one of the factors in this model’s highly desirable price-to-value ratio, ranges from a gleaming high polish on the bezel to a more austere brushed treatment on the sides and the gently curving lugs. Another factor is the use of sapphire, rather than Seiko’s proprietary Hardlex mineral glass, for the flat crystal that protects the dial. While the latter is less expensive and more shatterproof, the former is more appropriate for a dress watch like this one as well as being more resistant to scratching. The fluted crown is of the push-pull variety — as opposed to the screw-down version that you’d encounter in a more tool-centric Seiko watch at this price point — but the case still has a respectable water resistance rating of 100 meters. The caseback, however, does screw down and it features yet another element that elevates this watch’s appeal beyond its accessible price tag, an exhibition window made of sapphire that allows a view of the self-winding movement. 

The space between the lugs measures 20mm to accommodate the three-link steel bracelet, which seamlessly continues the alternating finishes of the case. The bracelet fastens to the wrist with a milled folding clasp, which features an engraved Seiko logo on its outer surface. The clasp itself is designed for two micro-adjustments, fewer than other Seiko clasps that followed it, but perhaps useful for many wearers looking to slightly loosen or tighten the bracelet’s fit on the wrist. The polishing on the edges of the endlinks is another subtle but pleasing detail that enthusiasts assessing this watch’s value will notice. 

Seiko SARB033: Dial and Hands

The deep black dial of the SARB033 provides an eye-catching contrast with the sleek, shiny character of the case and bracelet, and sets a stylish stage for the hands, applied indexes, and other details that convey the time and date to the wearer. If you’re a fan of the high-end timepieces from Seiko’s luxury-level sibling, Grand Seiko, some of these details may well look a bit familiar; there’s a reason that many enthusiasts have dubbed this model the “Baby Grand Seiko.” 

The hands are very similar in look and spirit to traditional Dauphine hands, but sharply angled and faceted in a manner that Seiko tends to refer to as “razor”-style. Like the hands, the hour markers are highly polished, with subtle chamfering on the edges that catches light at various angles. The 12 o’clock index is doubled for emphasis, and the thin, needle-like central seconds hand ends in a diamond-shaped counterweight that echoes the sharp silhouettes of the larger hands. The date window at 3 o’clock is bordered by a faceted, polished frame, yet another of those understated yet appreciated details that help to give the SARB033 the look of a much more expensive timepiece. The centers of the hands have an application of LumiBrite, Seiko’s proprietary luminous substance, which soaks up light during daylight hours to emit a bright green glow in the dark. 

Seiko SARB033: Caliber 6R15 Movement:

Seiko Caliber 6R15 made its debut in 2005 as the successor to the earlier Caliber 7S26, which was regarded as a rugged, reliable automatic movement during its many years of service but lacked user-friendly features like hacking seconds and hand winding. Caliber 6R15, which is used throughout the SARB series as well as many other “midrange” Seiko watches in the Prospex and Presage collections, adds both of these functionalities along with several other details in the plus column. Among these are a “weekend-proof” 50-hour power reserve, expanded from the 40 hours offered by the 7S26; 23 jewels to its predecessor’s 21; a newer mainspring made from Seiko’s proprietary, antimagnetic Spron 510 alloy; and better accuracy, with a daily loss rate between +/- 25 to 15 seconds as opposed to the earlier Caliber’s range of +/-20 to 40 seconds. As noted above, the movement, along with its Seiko-signed rotor with elegant striping, is visible through the caseback. 

Pricing:

Obviously, pinning down what one can expect to pay for a watch that was technically never made available at traditional retail channels in the United States is rather tricky. A quick scan through online secondary market sellers revealed asking prices starting above $500 and topping out a little over $700, with some outliers nearing the $1,000 threshold. According to WatchCharts, which tracks trending prices for various pre-owned watch models, the average market price at the time of this posting is $564 for the black-dialed Seiko SARB033, $602 for the ivory-dialed SARB035, and $867 for the hot-trending, salmon-dialed SARB037— certainly higher than their MSRP at release, and higher than many contemporary Presage and Prospex watches with the same or similar movements, but probably not out of reach for those to whom these watches represent a JDM Holy Grail. You can learn more about the brand at seikowatches.com