Seiko Spork Review

[dasher]

I've been thinking about doing a review of the Seiko Spork for some time now.  There seem to be quite a few reviews on the internet, but I thought one more review wouldn't hurt, so here goes!

The Seiko "Spork" is also known as the SRP043, the SRP043K, the SRP043K1, and the SRP043K2.  At least that's how many versions I have seen in various selling listings.  The nickname "Spork" has a few origins I am aware of:  one is that it is a combination of a Diver watch case and a Pilot watch dial, making it similar to a combination Spoon and Fork Spork that one uses when camping.  The other origin of the nickname is through a rearranging of the letters "SRP043K" to come up with Spork.

The Seiko Spork was in production to the best of my knowledge from 2009 into 2011.  I have been making an effort to track serial numbers of Sporks and the earliest one I have is May 2009 (95xxxx) and the latest one I have is February 2011 (12xxxx).  Unless additional information is provided, I will say the Spork was made for 22 months - a very short run!

One of, if not the most appealing aspect of the Spork, is the wonderfully easy to read dial.  As I get older, my eyesight has begun to fail me.  The Seiko Spork dial is very easy to read - the absence of subdials, inner rotating rings, and dial text make focusing on the time a simpler task.  Just take a look at the dial:

 

The nice large Arabic numbers surrounded by the decent-sized minute track make reading the time very quick work.  The 120-click unidirectional bezel clicks with the confident sound made similarly in Craftsman and Snap-On socket wrenches.  You just know this is good quality work!

In addition to being one of the easiest to read watches, the Seiko Spork is built very tough!  The case measures a whopping 43 - 44 mm across and a comfortable 12 - 13 mm thick.  Here is a nice side view of the Spork:

 

As you can see, the back of the watch is recessed a bit, making for a more snug fit on the wrist and under the shirt sleeve cuff.

The clasp of the metal bracelet is a thing of pure comfort and security.  The 20 mm drilled lugs make sure that whatever solid spring bars you have in place, your strap or bracelet (or even band!) will be secure.  Once properly fitted, the only way you will know the Spork is on your wrist is by its formidable mass of 6.9 ounces and the realization that you keep checking the time only to look at that beautiful dial.  Let's take a look at that excellent clasp on the bracelet:

 

All physical attributes aside, one of the best features of the Seiko Spork is the 4R15 movement with the wonderful 50 HOUR Power Reserve.  Yes, you can take this watch off on Friday evening after work and pick it up Monday morning and it will be keeping perfect time (if not, get it serviced!).

I had a hard time warming up to the Seiko Spork.  I truly thought it was a fad watch that only a select few were prone to appreciate.  Good luck came my way and I was able to purchase a Spork.  I have nearly decided that this will be one of my "permanent" watches.  That is, my heirs and/or my wife will be selling it, not me.

I close this review with one last photo of the Seiko Spork:

 

If you find yourself in a position to purchase a Spork, do so.  You won't regret it.

Thanks for reading!

Dan

edit:  one last picture with some of the finer details of this beautiful watch:

[Groundhog66]

Very nice review, thank you!

Mine is from Feb '11, as well.

[zeeman]

Nice watch and an even better review :thumbup:

[trandy]

I love mine....swapped the crystal for a sapphire...one of my favorite watches:

[carlows]

Very  nice watch and picture, thank you for sharing.

[msllaubo]

Hard to find but worth the searching.

One of the nicest Seikos ever.

Martin

[Deleted]

My memory is getting worse...is this the watch that has the 4r15 movement? If so, it is special because this is the calibre that the current 4r36, 6r15 and 7s26 are based on. It also has a special Spron mainspring for a full 50+ hour reserve.

It is a large watch so I doubt I would wear it even though I love the look.

[dasher]

Feb 5, 2018 9:04:11 GMT -8 @penguinbce said:

My memory is getting worse...is this the watch that has the 4r15 movement? If so, it is special because this is the calibre that the current 4r36, 6r15 and 7s26 are based on. It also has a special Spron mainspring for a full 50+ hour reserve.

It is a large watch so I doubt I would wear it even though I love the look.

Pardon the tardy reply...

Yes indeed, it has the 4R15 movement. Here is a snip from the page of Watch Sleuth:

Left that info out in my review - what a lazy review!

D.

[Deleted]

Thanks for the update Dan.
Even though I probably wouldn't get much wear out of it, this would be a keeper in my collection 7dfe79adc2f0

[ast236]

I just picked up a nice, lightly used Spork from a member on my motorcycle forum.

I bought it for what I believe is the low end of the current market, so I think I did ok.

I think it'll be a keeper!

[mikesunwest]

This review is great for newbies like myself.  Thanks!

[siralan]

I'm the very happy owner of a Spork.




I'm the third owner. The first owner clearly wore it a lot because it was very cosmetically dirty (bezel was seized and the bracelet was full of that black crud).

It was running with an amplitude in the 240's and had a tendancy to run erratically for a period, and then settle back down to a stable trace (on the timgrapher).

I thought that rather than fiddle around, I'd treat it to a new movement (4R15) as these are available (crown @ 3pm, date @ 4pm).  I assumed that I could swap the date disks over to achieve the positioning that the dial requires (crown @ 4pm, date @ 4:15pm).

But ...... when I removed the hands and dial from the original movement (4R15A) I discovered that the part and positioning of the finger jumper on the movement I'd bought (4R15B) was different and not interchangeable.
  
Hmmmmmm. That's a b$gger. I can't use the new movement as-is. But maybe I can use some parts?

So, I stripped the original movement down. Here's what I found




some wear on the barrel bridge from the ratchet wheel.

The underside of the barrel.




and the mainplate




a very familiar sight for a 'vintage' SEIKO, but rather surprising to see in a watch only 10 years old.

The ratchet wheel is rubbing the barrel bridge because the mainspring barrel arbor is leaning to one side due to a worn mainplate arbor bush.

Looking at the 4R15B movement reveals that the mainplate bush is jewelled  (which explains the extra jewel count - 22J in the B movement vs 21J in the A movement).

SEIKO obviously realised this was an issue that needed to be addressed.

So, I pressed the jewel out of the (now) stripped 4R15B mainplate, broached and fitted it to the 4R15A mainplate. I also fitted the barrel bridge from the new movement and fitted the new mainspring/barrel complete (which btw has a smaller diameter lower arbor than the arbor on the 4R15A movement - so can't be swapped in without jewelling the mainplate).

Then I rebuilt the movement. Its now running with a much more stable trace in the 270's and has an extra jewel to boot.

[russtmurray]

Jun 13, 2019 4:38:42 GMT -8 siralan said:

I'm the very happy owner of a Spork.

You had me at "I'm the very happy owner of a Spork"...and then I found myself just pretending I understood!  You watchmaking guys are amazing, thanks for letting me have a peek every once in a while

[erk78]

I had one of these on may 12. But i was young these days and how stupid i was to sell it for a few bucks to buy another one. This was indeed a stunner and i am still regretting

[7s26b]

Very nice work, I wish I had the skills to broach and press bearngs, the Spork dial is just perfect, and a true four O'clock crown is very unusual.
The 4R15/6a isn't 21j though, it's 22j, and the 'b' is 23j.
The 4r15/16b is akin to a 7s35/36c, plus Spron 510 ( as you previously noted).

[lawyergeek]

A classic, highly legible dial.