Home / Watches / Affordable Watches

Costo Is Quietly Selling a Seiko Panda Chronograph for Way Below Retail

It was already affordable, now it’s just ridiculous.

Silver metal link watch band attached to a Seiko chronograph watch with a black dial on a red background.
Add Gear Patrol as a Preferred Source on Google

By Johnny Brayson

Published

·

If you buy from a link, we may earn a commission. Learn more

Costco is mainly known for its $1.50 hot dog deal, its cult-favorite Kirkland Signature house brand and its unbeatable deals on bulk staples.

But the warehouse club can also be an excellent place to buy a new watch.

Costco admittedly doesn’t stock many watches, and even fewer desirable brands. But every now and then, the members-only store drops a watch deal that seems too good to be true.

Now is one of those times.

Costo is currently selling a chronograph from Seiko’s Essentials Collection for just $169. That’s nearly $100 less than the watch’s already affordable SRP of $265.

Silver stainless steel Seiko watch with a metal link bracelet and a clasp, shown from the back.
The five-row steel bracelet is secured with a deployant clasp.
Seiko

The Reference SSB429 is far from Seiko’s fanciest watch, but it has everything you need for an everyday companion.

Its stainless steel case measures a wearable 41.5mm across and just 12mm thick, including the scratch-resistant Hardlex crystal, and is paired with a matching five-row steel bracelet with alternating brushed and polished links and a push-button deployant clasp.

The watch is powered by one of Seiko’s reliable quartz chronograph movements, Calibre 8T63, which also features date and 24-hour complications. Plus, it’s water-resistant to a robust 100m, meaning you can easily wear this watch swimming (just don’t use the chronograph pushers underwater).

Side view of a silver metal wristwatch with a linked bracelet and three buttons on the case against a blue background.
The use of a quartz movement keeps the watch relatively thin at just over 12mm.
Seiko

Best of all, though, is the dial.

The SSB429 is an extremely good-looking chrono for the money, with a classic reverse panda layout featuring contrasting white subdials at 3 and 9 set against a black dial. The inner tachymeter scale, used to calculate speed using the chronograph, is in black and encircles a white seconds track split into fifths, adding more attractive contrast to the dial.

This is all punctuated by a red tip on the chronograph seconds hand, while the faceted silver hands match the applied indices for an elevated look that betrays the watch’s ultra-low price tag.

Availability and pricing

The Seiko SSB429 is available now from Costco for members only, including online, for just $170. That’s a savings of $95 off the $265 retail price.

Silver Seiko chronograph watch with black dial, three subdials, tachymeter bezel, and metal link bracelet.Seiko

Seiko Stainless Steel Black Dial Chronograph Men’s Watch, 41.5mm

Specs

Case Size 41.5mm
Movement Seiko Caliber 8T63 quartz chronograph
Water Resistance 100m
About the Author:

Johnny Brayson is an editor at Gear Patrol mostly covering watches. He enjoys watches that are packed with blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em details and believes nearly every watch could stand to be a tad smaller.

Read More

Want to stay up to date on the latest product news and releases? Add Gear Patrol as a preferred source to ensure our independent journalism makes it to the top of your Google search results.

add as a preferred source on google
, , , , , , ,