Seiko Embrace Skateboarding Street Style with Seiko 5 Sports SKX ‘Camouflage’ SRPJ37K1 and ‘Yuto Horigome’ SRPJ39K1

Japan has one of the most virile and thriving streetwear scenes in the entire world and Seiko play their part in it. Their collections are full of cool streetwear designs like the Seiko Boutique. For their latest street style timepieces Seiko have been inspired by another area that Japan are world leaders in, skateboarding. These are the Seiko 5 Sports SKX ‘Camouflage’ SRPJ37K1 and Seiko 5 Sports SKX x Yuto Horigome SRPJ39K1 Limited Edition.

At their core both watches are very similar, featuring 42.5mm cases in stainless steel with a hard coating in black. The case design is based on the SKX series from the 1990s, a major revamp of the Seiko 5 Sports collection with improved reliability and durability.

Both watches feature camouflage pattern dials with the non-limited ‘Camouflage’ SRPJ37K1 edition in traditional greens and the Yuto Horigome SRPJ39K1 limited edition in shades of grey with additional textures. Yuto Horigome is a name you might not be familiar with as he only recently hit the world stage. Specifically, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics he won gold in the inaugural Men’s Street Skateboarding event.

Housed inside both watches is the 4R36 automatic calibre. It’s a solid movement with a 41-hour power reserve but the accuracy of -35/+45 seconds per day is nothing to write home about. However, what the movement really adds to this watch is value for money.

The standard Seiko 5 Sports SKX ‘Camouflage’ SRPJ37K1 is £280 and the limited edition Yuto Horigome SRPJ39K1 is only fractionally more at £290. Which makes sense since they are virtually identical except for the different dials and the fact the limited edition bears Yuto’s signature on the caseback. Additionally, with 6000 pieces available, the limited edition isn’t exactly the most exclusive watch out there.

Seiko have shown their Japanese streetwear pedigree with these two watches. Streetwear doesn’t have to be the most technical, the most advanced, the prettiest. It needs to be accessible, functional and cool, all of which describes the Seiko 5 Sport SKX ‘Camouflage’ SRPJ37K1 and Seiko 5 Sports SKX x Yuto Horigome SRPJ39K1 down to a T.