The dust hasn’t yet settled from our New Year’s celebrations and we’ve already received word on three new timepieces from Seiko. The three watches come as a part of the new “Black Series” of diving watches from the brand’s “Prospex” line. The all-black style here is a welcome addition to Seiko’s supremely popular and accessible collection of divers.
The new series includes an automatic, three-handed diver with Seiko’s famous “turtle” case construction (SRPC49K1), a solar quartz chronograph (SSC673P1), and a solar quartz, time-only diver (SNE493P1).
All three of these are priced in an affordable range and are water resistant to 200 m. They feature a similar color scheme with a Lumibrite coating on the hour indices, a stainless steel case, Hardlex crystal, and a black silicone strap.
The lone automatic watch here, the SRPC49K1, uses the brand’s trusty 4R36 movement that has been previously used in various iterations of the fan-favorite “turtle” build. It has a power reserve of 41 hours. Although the SRPC49K1 will be the hero piece for most watch enthusiasts, the solar-powered SRPC49K1 and SNE493P1 have plenty to offer as well with good looks and power reserves of six and ten months respectively. In particular, the SNE493P1 presents a great value and is clearly a homage to noteworthy divers of the past.
Although Seiko has labeled each of these watches as a limited edition, we haven’t yet heard exactly how limited they will be or if they’re restricted to a certain market. The watches are priced at €490 (approximately $590 at time of publishing) for the Prospex Diver Automatic Turtle SRPC49K1, €380 (approximately $457 at time of publishing) for the Prospex Solar Diver SNE493P1, and €410 (approximately $495 at time of publishing) for the Prospex Solar Diver Chronograph SSC673P1.
Forget about limited edition to limited markets. Why not Seiko make the SRPC49K1 TO ALL OF US who have been true partners that have bought and invested our hard earned money in Seiko Timepieces. Stop the baiting and bring the price point down. Just make a whole lot more accessible to all your faithful fans.
Where can I buy this awesome watch
Too bad it’s not for sale in the United States. I guess they don’t want our money
WILL THESE 3 BLACK SERIES BE AVAILABLE IN THE USA ? IF SO WHEN ?
Isn’t silicon kind of brittle for watch straps? I think silicone might work better.
you’re confusing silicone with silicon. The watch band is made of the former and electronic chips and processors are made of silicon. Silicon is, indeed, a hard and brittle crystalline solid element. Silicone is a “rubber like” polymer.
Will any or all be available with an optional steel bracelet band? Love the watches, just can’t do rubber/silicon bands.