cazalea
[Seiko Moderator]
20890
I apologize for saying this, but two more Seiko Divers are coming
As your Seiko moderator, I must sincerely apologize for my complete inability to keep track of how many Seiko Diver watches are currently being offered in the global marketplace.
Please accept my Apologies.
The case, bezel and crown are all made of Seiko’s Ever-Brilliant Steel, a grade of stainless steel which is more corrosion resistant than that which is commonly used in watches today. To further ensure the watch’s durability, the crown is not screwed directly into the case but locked into a separate component that is built into the case and so can be more easily replaced.
However, I can tell you that yesterday Seiko announced two more Dive Watches, in a SAVE THE OCEAN theme.
The new watches that are coming soon in January feature the 8L35 movement, assembled by hand in the Shizukiushi studio, and offer either blue or black themes. They fall into the Prospex collection and provide a new interpretation of the 1968 diver’s watch but are even better equipped to meet the challenge of the most extreme conditions. These watches, with their advanced specifications, will be worn by members of the 63rd Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition’s mission to Antarctica.
The case, bezel and crown are all made of Seiko’s Ever-Brilliant Steel, a grade of stainless steel which is more corrosion resistant than that which is commonly used in watches today. To further ensure the watch’s durability, the crown is not screwed directly into the case but locked into a separate component that is built into the case and so can be more easily replaced.
The design and texture of the watch strap pay homage to the 1968 original but it is produced in silicone for greater strength and comfort. The watch is also offered with a fabric strap which incorporates a traditional braiding technique from Japan called Seichu. The Seichu strap’s strength and resistance to the degradation caused by exposure to sunlight meet the most demanding standards of Seiko Prospex diver’s watches.
The watch is powered by Caliber 8L35 which was developed especially for diver’s watches and is hand-assembled by the craftsmen and women at the Shizukuishi Watch Studio in northern Japan. The movement’s rigidity and accuracy ensure the highest possible levels of performance in the most demanding environments, both on land and under water.
Specifications
- Caliber 8L35
- Movement Automatic with manual winding
- Accuracy +15 to -10 seconds per day
- Duration 50 hours
- Case Seiko special Ever-Brilliant Steel
- Crystal Dual-curved sapphire crystal with Anti-reflective coating on inner surface
- Lume LumiBrite on hands, index(es) and bezel
- Band Silicone strap and additional polyester strap is included
- Water Resistance 200m / 660ft diver's
- Thickness 13.1mm
- Diameter 42.6mm
Other Specifications & Features
- Screw case back
- Screw-down crown
- Serial number and LIMITED engraved on the case back
- Unidirectional rotating bezel
- 26 jewels
- Date display
- Stop second hand function
Price
- Approximately $5000
SLA055J1 is the Blue Dial version limited to 1300 pieces. The patterned dial captures the feeling of the Antarctic landscape while the subtle gradation of the blue from light to dark echoes the hauntingly beautiful colors of the polar ice. The bezel also evokes the uniqueness of this frozen landscape with its ice-blue numerals and markers. All twelve-hour markers have a generous coating of Lumibrite, as do the hands, and the crystal is a dual-curved sapphire with anti-reflective coating on the inner surface to ensure high legibility from every angle.
SLA057J1 is faithful to the original in design and color and is introduced as a limited edition of 600.
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I apologize for saying this, but two more Seiko Divers are coming
As your Seiko moderator, I must sincerely apologize for my complete inability to keep track of how many Seiko Diver watches are currently being offered in the global marketplace. Please accept my Apologies. However, I can tell you that yesterday Seiko ann...
That blue is quite beautiful
but the price not so much unfortunately... One more reason to go hunting for it locally second hand at some point in the future
Apologies not necessary and therefore denied!
You do a great job with Seiko, Mike. Certainly a brand I am far from an authority on. They seem to release new models extremely frequently, I have no idea how anyone could keep up. Appreciate your work as always!
I think it's more of an issue that they don't want warranty returns so they under-claim the accuracy
In service, I think Seiko watches tend to be more accurate than the specs imply -- especially the models with movements starting in 8 or 9 which are their hand-assembled and regulated models. But that's just my impression. Only Seiko could say for certain...
Exactly this
Same here. Seiko fan through and through but they have their head in the sand on this one. For all the oh my 8L runs cosc, there is one sucker out there who will have his 5 grand seiko be off by 12 seconds on his first day of ownership, that's a bitter pi...
