Island Inspired: Seiko Introduces Trio of 140th Anniversary Prospex Divers
Amidst all the heavy coverage of last week's LVMH Watch Week, Seiko quietly introduced a trio of anniversary timepieces in celebration of the Japanese brand’s founding in 1881. All three limited-edition 140th Anniversary Prospex Divers are based on Seiko’s classic 1968 Hi-Beat Diver: the Seiko Prospex SLA047, Seiko Prospex SPB207, and Seiko Prospex SSC807. Each of the green-dialed models represents an individual style, one for the casual diver, one for a professional diver, and one solar-powered quartz chronograph in a dive watch design.
Each watch takes its design influence from the island of Iriomote in the Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The island features abundant coral reefs teeming with marine life and primeval and pristine mangrove forests; the verdant dial color and diving functionality is derived from that source material. These new watches also come on the heels of other 140th Anniversary releases by the brand and its sister brand Grand Seiko, most notable among them Seiko’s King Seiko KSK first seen at the end of last year, and the Grand Seiko Seiko 140th Anniversary Limited Edition from the mid-fall of 2020.
Seiko Prospex SLA047
Focusing first on the SLA047, we find a familiar looking, professional-grade 300-meter water-resistant dive watch in a 44.3-mm by 15.4-mm steel monobloc case. The model features Seiko’s signature sharp finishing that brings together brushed and polished elements; a 4 o’clock crown indicative of the 1968 vintage influences on the design; and a deeply toothed unidirectional bezel with a black-and-white 60-minute dive-scale insert.
Underneath the anti-reflective sapphire glass is a deeply set dial with an outer curved minute minute ring, upon which sit applied hour indices filled with lume. Other features on the deep green dial include a subtle 3 o’clock date window, a flash of gold color in the "300 M" water resistance script toward 6 o’clock; and enlarged sword hands for the hour and minute along with a gold-toned seconds pointer.
To power the SLA047, Seiko chose its in-house Caliber 8L35, an automatic movement the brand has used extensively in the past, in watches like the previous trio of anniversary dive watches from last spring and the Re-creation SLA025J1 diver. The movement holds a 50-hour power reserve, beats at a frequency of 28,800 vph, and carries 26 jewels to assist in its seamless operation.
Seiko Prospex SPB207
Next we turn to the Prospex SPB207, the 200-meter water-resistant mechanical model within the trio. This watch features a smaller case than the SLA047 — 42 mm in diameter and 12.5 mm thick — providing it with a slimmer profile but still plenty of the heft one would expect from a Seiko dive watch. Like its bigger sibling, the SPB207 features a 4 o’clock crown, a black unidirectional bezel, and sharp multi-textured finishing throughout the case.
The dial is also quite similar, though with a few noticeable differences. These include the outer minute ring being placed on the green dial proper rather than on the outer curved sector, slightly slimmer hour indices, a different-colored dive rating notation at 6 o'clock, and a dot of red on the tip of the seconds pointer.
Inside the SPB207 is another self-winding movement, Seiko Caliber 6R35. Also used often by the brand for its dive watches, the movement has a slightly lower frequency than the 8L35, at 21,600 vph, and as a result carries a longer power reserve of 70 hours.
Seiko Prospex SSC807
Rounding out the limited-edition trifecta is the Seiko Prospex SSC807, a solar-powered, 200-meter water-resistant diving chronograph. The 44.5-mm watch features a number of key elements distinguishing it from the others, foremost among them the differently shaped case, which has more rounded lugs and a set of screw-down pushers on either side of the crown. The black unidirectional bezel on the SSC807 has an additional applied dot of lume at its top in comparison to the other references’ printed triangles.
Along the dial's outer edge lies a curved, chronograph-style minute ring, which surrounds another ring of applied hour indices, including quarter-hour markers whose edges are more rounded that the sharper ones on the non-chronograph models. Three subdials assist in the chronograph functionality of the watch at the bottom three quarter-hour positions, while a small date window sits at 4:30. At the center are the familiar sword-style hour and minute hands and a gold-colored pointer, on this model used to count the chronograph seconds.
The Prospex SSC807 contains the Seiko caliber V192, a solar-powered quartz movement. The caliber is accurate to 15 seconds per month, features a 1/5th-second chronograph functionality alongside its standard chronograph functions, and features a power-reserve indicator that's on display when the chronograph is not in use.
Pricing and Availability
Each of the new Prospex models will be available in March via Seiko and Seiko-authorized boutiques. The SLA047 will be limited to 3,000 editions and is priced at €3,300 (about $3,994), the SPB207 will be limited to 6,000 editions and priced at €1,400 (about $1,695), and the SSC807 will be limited to 4,000 total editions and priced at €790 (about $956).
To learn more, visit Seiko’s website, here.
