BY JOVAN KRSTEVSKI
It is a widely held notion in the watch industry that Seiko dive watches are the best on the market in their price range and category and outperform the majority of divers in the same price range. In 2008, Seiko catalogs debuted the SBDC007 automatic diver’s watch and its orange SBDC009 cousin. Fans have dubbed these timepieces “Shogun.” With the exception of the second generation Shogun, which was introduced in the year 2020, the extremely robust, relatively affordable diver’s model. It had primarily been reserved for the domestic market but hasn’t been seen recently. Seiko has just announced three new Seiko Shogun editions, based on the second generation of the Seiko Shogun and are exclusive for the U.S market, as the year 2022 comes to a conclusion.
The case is forged from titanium and has Seiko’s super-hard coating that allows it to withstand scratches. It measures a good 43.5mm x 13.25mm, and has a lug-to-lug distance of 51mm. What’s improved upon their predecessor is that now the new generation Shogun has sapphire crystals protecting the dials. The two-tone insert is fitted on the case surrounding the dial in dark grey color and has a clearly delineated elapsed time scale. The first fifteen minutes of which are delineated in a lighter shade of grey, a reference to the undersea world’s inherent dichotomy of light and darkness. It also hosts the unidirectional rotating timing bezel. A screw-down winding crown at 3 o’clock helps achieve a water resistance of 200 meters.
The textured dials on all three models were inspired by caves and other habitats that cave divers encounter underwater, and thus have three variations in colors. The large pointer-type hands are positioned centrally and are in a similar vein as their predecessor and are treated with Seiko’s LumiBrite luminescent material. A date window is found at 3 o’clock which has a cyclops magnification on top of it.
The new Seiko Prospex U.S. Special Edition Dive Watches are powered by Seiko’s entirely in-house Calibre 6R35 automatic movement. It is a 24-jewel movement operating at 21,600vph, offering hacking, hand-winding, and a quickset function for the date display and offering 70 hours of power reserve. All three models come on solid-link titanium bracelets with wetsuit extensions built into their clasps. These new Shogun models will be available from select Seiko retailers starting in October 2022 with a price tag of $1,500 USD.
Visit Seiko here.
