Written by Peter Brooker in Essentials on the 5th April 2017

The year is 1963. Beatle-mania is now a thing, Alcatraz closes, The Great Escape is released, Kennedy is shot and The Great Train Robbery has just gone down in Buckinghamshire. Amidst all this, Seiko introduced the first Sportsmatic 5. This watch set a new standard in accessibly priced mechanical watches with its innovative combination of an automatic movement, 3 bar water resistance and a one-level day and date display in a single window. Rugged, dependable and unique, Seiko Sportsmatic 5 instantly made its mark, and began a tradition that is now half a century old, and is still growing. Since then Seiko has been the face for a multitude of global sporting events including the Summer Olympics in Tokyo and Barcelona. The Winter Olympics in Norway and Japan, and of course the World Cup between the years of 78 and 90. While a classic watch won't ever lose its charm, sports watches are valuable to athletes, dads, or any man who enjoys going to the gym or likes playing football, tennis, or other fun sports. For some people, finding the best sport watches isn't an easy task, and it means they need some guidance to know their features and see if they fit their lifestyles, to do this, it's always best to read online reviews that will allow you to choose the one that is perfect for you. Today we take a look at the top 5 sporting watches currently available from Seiko in 2017.

SRPA21K1: PADI Special Edition 

To commemorate their latest collaboration with Padi who are one of the world's most trusted scuba diving training organisations with over 6,300 Dive Centers and more than 136,000 qualified PADI professional instructors around the world. It would be remiss of me not to highlight the Prospex PADI Special Edition.

SNE435P1: PADI Special Edition 

This PADI Special Edition is also worth a rather large shout out. The crown is upright to the 3 position and the face now has a prominent navy blue, tapered to a lighter iridescent hue as it nears the bezel.

SSG001P1: Radio-controlled 

Stepping up a price bracket we wanted to highlight the SSG001P1: Radio-controlled. The timepiece automatically receives radio signals to precisely adjust the time and calendar. A more menacing aesthetic to its previous counterparts and with the LumiBrite hands and markers it's decidedly classier.

SSG010P9: Radio-controlled  

I'm glued to the Coutura range and keep coming back to this SSG010P9: Radio-controlled. Again, the timepiece automatically receives radio signals to precisely adjust the time and calendar. What it lacks in water resistance it makes up for in other ways, such as the World Time function (25 time zones).

SSC513P9: Powered by light energy 

Finally, we have a striking timepiece powered by light energy which has a more vintage appeal and a more exaggerated polygonal bezel. With emerald green hints on the face, the SSC513P9 is something a little different for the watch draw.

We feature the SRPA21K1, SNE435P1, SSG001P1, SSG010P9 and SSC513P9 timepieces in this guide to the Top 5 Seiko Sport Watches.