Say what you will, but there are few cooler mods you can make to a stainless steel sports watch than removing its bezel … just ask Marlon Brando. It’s obviously a sentiment that Seiko agrees with, as 2020 has seen them release no fewer than 11 new iterations of its iconic 5 Sports model without the uni-directional, ratcheting diver’s bezel. And the response? Rescapement calls them “The most important [watch] of 2020.” Seiko has replaced the functional feature with a brushed, fixed bezel with a highly polished outer lip. To our eyes, this seemingly innocuous move has completely changed the overall character of the watch – it now looks much more akin to something like a field/daily timepiece, rather than a watch geared towards marine activity. However, it isn’t the only change that these new 5 Sports bring. They’ve also shrunk from 42.5mm to just 40mm. Hallelujah. That means even more bandwidth, and for smaller-wristed fellows like myself, a much more attractive proposition. The bezel-less beauties will be made available in a number of distinct finishes, including brushed stainless steel, two-tone steel and yellow gold or pink gold or a fully blacked-out variant with a hardened coating (which looks seriously tough).…
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