By Jovan Krstevski
When it comes to a diver’s watch, Seiko can never be sidelined. It is as if Seiko lurks just in the background waiting to be unveiled and this sentiment is very true for the newly announced three limited edition “Black Series” Prospex dive watches set to be released in the first quarter of this year. What makes it very interesting is its “professional” design, as per Seiko, these watches are designed to dive.
The watches are very sporty with that classic Seiko aggressive diver style. Most of all they are very legible using black dials, tan hour markers, and white and orange hands. The Lumibrite on the hands adds better legibility in the deep but the clever orange highlight is pretty much a lifesaver. As night diving requires specialized tools and having said this, the new Seiko diver’s watches are all designed for night diving and are capable of achieving maximum legibility. Besides, no matter what happens, Seiko fans will be all over these watches, they just look handsome and very practical.
Moving on, let’s begin with the Prospex Diver Automatic SRPC49K1. It features the same specs as the standard Seiko Prospex Automatic Turtle with a 45 mm wide case. It features 200 m water resistance rating too. Powering it is the 4R36 movement operating at 21,600 bph and yielding 41 hours of power reserve. Seiko applies a unique technique on the case called hard black coating yielding a unique DLC coated like surface. The watch also has a screw-down crown and a unidirectional rotating bezel. No doubt, this will be a crowd favorite since it is very simple and very much like the classic Seiko Prospex Automatic Turtle watch in a black case.
Then there is the Prospex Solar Diver SNE493P1 which is one of the two solar-powered pieces. It is smaller than the Turtle at 43.5 mm diameter but it does look mean thanks to the same black coated case. It is also a very capable diver with 200 m water resistance rating. Same features are observed like screw-down crown and unidirectional bezel. The astounding part is that the V157 solar powered movement has a staggering 10 month power reserve.
Finally, the last model is the Seiko Prospex Solar Diver Chronograph SSC673P1 featuring the same 43.5 mm case of the Prospex Solar Diver SNE493P1. It also has 200 m water resistance rating complete with screw-down crown and unidirectional bezel. Powering it is the V175 movement with a one-hour chronograph that shows 1/5 second increments. Unlike the other solar diver, Seiko Prospex Solar Diver Chronograph SSC673P1 features only 6 months of power reserve. The black case also gets matching black chronograph pushers completing a handsome dark look.
All three Seiko Prospex “Black Series” watches wear on a black silicon rubber strap. They will also be limited in production. Price for the Prospex Diver Automatic Turtle SRPC49K1 will be €490, the Prospex Solar Diver SNE493P1 will be priced at €380, and the Prospex Solar Diver Chronograph SSC673P1 will be €410.
