The Seiko SKX009 Automatic Diver's watch christened as such by me due to its bezel & Manufacturer. All rights reserved. Note, SKX007 is the same model but comes with an all black bezel as opposed to the more popular blue & red "Pepsi".
What's to like? Well, there's the obvious "Pepsi" bezel, the "jubilee" strap (which I much prefer than the "manly" looking rubber strap), day & date complication, well made from solid stainless steel construction, and most importantly, it's cheap & looks good to boot. Looks smart in office attire, suits casual togs too & you can dive/swim with it. Shock horror! What will they think of next?!
Looking beyond the obvious traits, you can only truly tell how well made a watch is by comparing it with other makers. Not a fair comparison in this case but my only significant other (no pun intended) is the TAG F1 which is a quartz movement & has a rubber strap.
The Pepseikola appears to have a smaller dial even though on paper specification states it having 42mm as opposed to the Coke's smaller 40mm. Even its "fat lady" moniker still doesn't fit in my opinion unless you're judging it purely on the overall diameter alone.
Other points worth nothing: I like the quirky SKX edition trademark position of the crown, complete with guards. It doesn't feel as precision made in operation compared to a Rolex but it does the job with no problems; The Lume looks massive and indeed bright in the dark; The day markers are in black font color but on "Sat" it's blue & "Sun" it's red, which is a nice touch; The strap jingles but I've come to terms with that on the Coke & I find it quite endearing. I do feel like a cat though when my hand is moving about or when I need to adjust it on my hand. Good way of attracting attention to yourself if you're into that sort of thing. Poor cats, stealthy animals shouldn't have a bell put on them as they need to "hunt" prey. Us humans just do it for our convenience so we know where they are. I digress... And if you must really know, the movement is 7S26-0020 with 21 Jewels movement.
Pepseikola has a surprising amount of heft. Most of it top heavy due to the thicker chassis & makes it feel just as heavy. Certainly the finish quality is not in the league of a Rolex but for the price, it's pretty damn good in my humble opinion. At a glance I'm sure there will be many uninitiated that will mistaken it for a Rolex from the bezel & strap alone. That certainly happened on the 1st day I wore it to work. There's no denying though the substance of the Coke. It's akin to comparing a Lexus with a Merc. A Merc will always feel more substantial from the "bank vault" feel of the doors opening & closing, and the sheer "hewn from solid" feel while traveling on the road. It's not that the Pepseikola (or even the Lexus) is not well made, which it undeniably is, a Rolex (& Merc) is the pinnacle from which everything else is judged against.
In this case, I'd have me a Lexus, for different reasons from the above. But for the timepiece, I'd take both because the Seiko costs next to nothing compared with a Rolex, and we all know we want one too! The Pepseikola makes a welcome addition to my "small" collection (of three!), since acquiring a Submariner no-date variant is not in the cards for me any time soon, unless an older model comes along at an "accessible" purchase price, which probably would suit my wrist better. That list also includes a BLNR, older stainless steel Day-Date or Date-Just with fluted bezel & jubilee strap. Not an exhaustive list I might add but I digress... again! Maybe I should get a matching set with the other SKX007 😜 but with the "president" strap. Until next time. Toodles.
