By Jovan Krstevski
Seiko has been giving us lots of high-quality diving watches and many watch lovers love the idea that their collectible items are indeed a diver’s treasured possession so everybody is pretty much happy. I am saying the above because we can all agree that Seiko is already very popular amongst leisure and professional divers. However with the Seiko Prospex Special Edition PADI Watches, Seiko has now officially partnered with PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors). This is clearly a marketing strategy but for the diving crowd, this is more like a treat since most divers I know love Seiko watches for their efficiency and convenience. Before you tell me that these days computers are what guide today’s divers, it is always a rule amongst divers to have a back-up and that is where analog diver’s watches come in.
The Seiko Prospex Special Edition PADI Watches come in two official PADI versions both certified for 200m. These editions are notably differentiated by their case designs and of course movements. First is the Seiko Prospex Special Edition PADI Automatic Diver’s SRPA21, the mechanical model of the two and sports the classic Seiko-style Pepsi bezel and metal bracelet. I suppose this is going to be more popular for watch collectors since the horology people usually call this SRPA collection the “turtle” editions. The 45mm steel case sports Hardlex crystal and magnetic resistance properties for its 3Hz in-house caliber 4R36 automatic movement with 41 hours of power reserve and day/night complication. The dial of this watch is very nice featuring the typical blue and red colors along with the nicely integrated PADI logo on the dial. The calendar is at the traditional 3 o’clock while the large hands and indices sport superb legibility.
Next in the Seiko Prospex Special Edition PADI watches is the hi-tech Seiko Prospex SUN065 Kinetic GMT Diver. It has a rather large 47.5 mm steel case sporting newer design. Frankly, I like its design but I think it has to do with subjectivity on this matter. It also sports a nice classic Seiko-style Pepsi bezel without the red highlight. Since it has a bigger case, the additional pusher, and the rather thin crown make the watch more stylish although honestly I would prefer a slightly bigger crown. The nice looking pusher here adjusts the GMT hand in one hour increments – this function is very handy for those of us needing two time zones. As for the dial, we still get the same design with more elaborate decors. It has the same blue with red accent coloring plus there is the official PADI logo at the 6 o’clock. The date is subtly located between 4 and 5 o’clocks. It is powered by Seiko’s in-house caliber 5M85 Kinetic quartz movement and comes with an automatic-style rotor to charge the battery giving it 6 months of power reserve. It also comes on a sporty black silicone diver’s strap. For more info, please visit seikowatches.com
JOVAN KRSTEVSKI – FOUNDER, PROPRIETOR & EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Jovan Krstevski has been collecting watches every since his father bought him an Omega Seamaster back when he was just a teenager. He launched Watchgeek back in 2011, which is now known as WristReview and is one of the most widely read watch blogs on the Web. He quotes ’WristReview is a site to help people find, explore, discover and enjoy wristwatches.’ Besides WristReview, he also writes for a number of publications. Read his articles here
