The world’s leading watch brand, Seiko celebrates the 55th anniversary of the first-ever diver’s watch- Prospex. The Prospex collection is synonymous with excellence in watches.
55 years ago, Seiko introduced its, and Japan’s, first-ever diver’s watch. With an automatic movement and water resistance to 150m, it proved its reliability when it was used by members of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition from 1966 to 1969. In the years that followed, Seiko created many other diver’s watches that found favour with professional divers and adventurers alike, thanks to their high quality and reliability.
Three of the most important landmarks from Seiko’s first decade as a maker of diver’s watches are now re-created in celebration of the 55th anniversary of that first achievement – 1965 Diver’s Recreation, 1968 Professional Diver’s 300m Re-creation and 1975 Professional Diver’s 600m Re-creation. They are offered in the Prospex collection which is today synonymous with excellence in watches for use in all types of sports and challenging environments.
While faithful to the original designs, all three watches are fully up to date in their specifications and execution. The greatest advance is in the grade of stainless steel used in the construction of the three watches. It is used for the first time in the watch industry for the cases of the 1965 and 1968 re-creations and the bezel of the 1975 re-creation whose case is, like the original, in titanium. The 1965 and 1968 re-creations are powered by the high beat 8L55 movement and the 1975 re-creation carries Caliber 8L35, both developed and assembled expressly for diver’s watches.
All three re-creations share the same blue-gray dial that reflects the beauty of the sea but also hints at their ability to perform at depths which dim the intensity of the oceans’ blue. The straps also pay homage to the originals while being modern in both the material used and their colour. The rubber strap with a fabric-like texture of the 62MAS from 1965 is reproduced in silicone for greater strength and comfort. The strap on the 1968 re-creation is also in silicone and has the same pyramid pattern as its predecessor and the 1975 professional diver’s re-creation comes with the signature accordion-type strap.
This new version is characterized by its slim profile and a lowered center of gravity that makes it comfortable to wear on even a smaller wrist. All three watches will be made available as limited editions of 1,100. The 1965, 1968, and 1975 re-creations will be introduced in June, July, and August 2020 respectively.
