BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
GMT diver’s watches is a category of watches I usually have an issue with because most manufacturers do a half-hearted job of it by removing the diver’s bezel from a watch entirely. ISO 6425 is quite clear in that for a watch to be considered a diving watch, the bezel must be unidirectional (there are other criteria). It’s a safety feature, after all. GMT bezels are, as far as I’m aware, bidirectional to allow easy usage at the expense of a diver’s safety. Thankfully, the ever-middle-of-the-road Japanese have flown straight and true with new Prospex Diver’s Modern Re-Interpretation GMT SPB381, SPB383 & SPB385 models.
Seiko, as one would expect, has done it right by fitting all of these watches with a ceramic unidirectional diver’s bezel. A GMT hand is fitted to the watch to ensure the GMT function remains usable too, and the inner flange ring has the GMT numerals printed on it, although I’m not sure how clear those will be in person.
All the dials come with clear round hour markers and clear, large hands, which are all covered in lume. Three options are available to purchase, a black dial with a black bezel (SPB383), a green dial with a green bezel (SPB381) or a blue dial with black bezel (SPB 385). That last one is a Save the Ocean variant with an ice blue dial with texture, it’s a limited edition of only 4000 examples, and each one comes with a textured strap made out of recycled plastic bottles. The other two models are not limited.
Inside all watches is the self-winding 6R54 with a 3Hz beat rate and 72-hour power reserve. It also displays the date using a discreet colour-matched date wheel, clearly, Seiko has been reading my articles because unmatched displays are usually a bugbear of mine. This movement is wrapped inside a 42mm x 12.9mm case for all three watches, with a super hard coating to keep scratches away. Water resistance is 200m.
The price for the black and green versions is €1,700, and it’s €1,900 for the blue dial Save the Ocean variant. These will be available later in the year.
Visit Seiko here.
