The 1970 Diver’s Re-creation Limited Edition SLA033, new in 2019.
Chumley’s speakeasy and asked him about the aggressive go to market
strategy and its reflection in product development.
“We listened to our customers and have introduced the kinds of products
they’re looking for: homage watches, watches with interesting back stories,
and watches that are found in higher-end establishments. The features and
innovations in our upper-end models, like Grand Seiko, are now incorporated
into Prospex and Presage as well, at the most competitive, value- driven
price points in the market. We deliver watches between $500 and $3,000
that easily rival Swiss counterparts costing two to three times more,” he said.
RETAILERS ARE IMPRESSED
Conversations with multiple retailers throughout the colorful New York
evening confirmed the move as a positive one.
“They’ve got some great products, and huge amounts of support,” said a
dealer from the southern regions, whose wife took home the evening prize
for most evenly tanned. “The incentives are amazing, they’re really working
the market well,” echoed another dealer. “We literally can’t keep some
models in stock, and the one you’re interested in was sold out last year,” a
third told me on the bus between stops as I admired the Prospex reissue
on his wrist. To me, as one identifiable and viable part of the buying public,
Seiko has always been the value- priced diver watch.
In 1965, Seiko introduced the 150M, Japan’s first diver’s watch, with looked
and arguably functioned as well as any of its Swiss counterparts. This watch
helped Seiko establish its beachhead as the viable, affordable, value-driven
alternative to the higher priced European offerings. Its robustness and
60 | INTERNATIONAL WATCH | FALL 2019
The new Seiko Prospex SNR033
quality made it popular with GIs, particularly the automatic 6105-811X, with
an asymmetrical case, a watch affectionately known as the Captain Willard
after it appeared on Martin Sheen’s wrist in the movie “Apocalypse Now.”
PROSPEX
It wasn’t long before this watch made its way to dive shops across the U.S.,
which planted the seeds for what is now the Prospex line.
There was far too much heritage and admiration for the original 1960-1970’s-
era watches for Seiko to let them languish in the hands of collectors, while
their lume slowly died away, denying the rest of the market an
opportunity to own one. To satisfy demand, Seiko introduced a limited-
edition recreation model in 2017, the SLA017, whose design stayed true to
the original model, with a more modern feel and enhanced features including
improved automatic functionality, water resistance to 200 meters, a
stainless-steel case with super-hard coating and an anti-reflective sapphire
crystal, (SPB051 $1,000, SPB053 $800).
In 2018 the company released a stunning recreation of the Seiko Prospex
1968 Diver’s Watch, which immediately won the watch industry’s most
coveted honor, the Grand Prix d’Horlogerie de Genève, as Best Sports Watch
of the Year. This watch became an instant collectible and commands a
premium on any watch reseller site.
And as if this massive journey in the Time Tunnel didn’t provide enough
options, Seiko also retro-modded its iconic 1970 dive watch, worn by
Japanese adventurer Naomi Uemura when he did a solo dog-sled run from
Greenland to Alaska, in the new Prospex SLA033 ($4,250). It’s slightly larger