BY DHANANJAY PATHAK
Last year Seiko unveiled two exciting Speedtimer mechanical chronographs to pay a tribute to a few of its historic chronograph references from the 1960s. Now, the Japanese watch giant has further expanded the Speedtimer collection with the release of the new Seiko Prospex Speedtimer blue dial reference SRQ039J1.
The main talking point with the SRQ039J1 is its blue panda-style dial. Seiko has chosen an interesting shade of blue here, which is neither too vivid nor too dull, creating a visually pleasing experience. To provide a nice contrast to the matt blue base and to create a panda look, the two registers at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock are presented in black. Furthermore, both the registers are nicely sunken, which, combined with the applied hour markers, brings a nice sense of depth to the dial. Just outside the hour track, there is a printed minute track with rectangular lume plots at intervals of five, which should make it easier to read the time in low-light situations. A sloped chapter ring to track chronograph seconds has been placed on the outer periphery, and completing the dial is a well-placed date window at 6 o’clock.
The stainless-steel case is identical in design and size to last year’s offerings. It measures 42.5mm in diameter and has a thickness of around 15mm, which is common for a modern chronograph. That said, the downward angled lugs should help the watch wear comfortably on the wrist. In terms of finishing, everything looks good, and there is a nice mix of brushed and polished surfaces on offer to give the watch a premium feel. The right side of the case features a grippy crown at 3 and sporty pump-style chronograph pushers at 2 and 4. And as this is a sports chronograph, it is well appointed and is water-resistant to a healthy 100 meters.
Flipping the watch over reveals the beating heart behind this watch, the caliber 8R46. And in-house automatic movement, the 8R46 features some good technical chops such as a vertical clutch and a Column wheel for a smoother chronograph operation. It ticks at 4 Hz and offers an autonomy of around 45 hours. The movement has a very industrial finish and can be viewed through the exhibition case back.
The new Seiko Prospex Speedtimer SRQ0391J1 retails for EUR 3,000 and is accompanied by a blue crocodile leather strap.
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