Seiko Men's Perpetual Calendar Watch #SLL086

The most trumpeted selling point of the Seiko Perpetual is its perpetual calendar - unlike most analog watches, it can keep track of the length of the month on its date display. But to me, the best feature of this watch is its accuracy. It uses an unusual type of quartz mechanism, operating at a much higher frequency than the standard quartz movement, which makes the watch extremely accurate, much more so than any other quartz watch in this price range. Mine gains maybe a second a month. That's nice if you're obsessive... or if you want to enter the room exactly in time to catch the first seconds of a TV show.

Another reviewer complained about the expense of getting the battery changed. The battery (a CR2412) is a lithium cell, costs around $5-10, and is supposed to last 10 years. It can be changed easily by any jeweller, provided it's done before the battery runs out. When the battery is low, the second hand moves in two-second jumps, which gives two weeks of warning time.

However, if the battery is allowed to run down, or if a incompetent jeweller does not install the new battery within a couple of minutes of removing the old one, the watch will lose its calendar settings. Resetting the calendar is a fussy process, involving shorting out various minuscule gold contacts on the interior of the watch. It's best done by Seiko (although if you like microsurgery, and don't care too much about warranty, you can find instructions on the web).

If the battery is not installed correctly, and the calendar settings need to be reset, the watch will indicate the error by moving its second hand in five-second increments. This is the condition the other reviewer referred to. The watch isn't defective - it's correctly showing an error.

So, if you have this watch, read the manual, make sure you change the battery when the watch warns you, and make sure the job is done at an authorized Seiko dealer.

I've had this watch for four years, and I've been delighted with its accuracy. The looks aren't bad either. Buy Seiko Men's Perpetual Calendar Watch #SLL086!