Seiko Prospex SLA025J1 (or SBEX007) Hi-Beat 300 Meter Limited Edition Dive Watch - A new love affair, A Review (plus Video)

In 2017, Seiko re-issued its iconic dive watch, the 62MAS in the form of the SLA017 (or SBDX019). This year the brand celebrates the 50th anniversary of another icon, the first hi-beat dive watch, the Seiko 1968 Reference 6159-7001. This original watch was very significant in many ways. In that year, Seiko released a diver that had doubled its dive rating, drastically increased legibility and timing precision, added an automatic movement, and offered an innovative and unique design. It wasn’t the first Seiko diver, but it was definitely the most consequential, and helped lay the groundwork for many future iconic models from the brand.

When it was presented at Baselworld 2018, I was very excited and it immediately joined my 'must have' list. I started to put my name down on a number of waiting lists managed by friendly Seiko authorised dealers. Since this is a limited edition model with only 1,500 units, demand is expected to be fierce and to hedge my bets, I got on a few waiting lists. The first that calls me will get my business.

Seiko Prospex JDM Baby Marinemaster 200 Meter Diver SBDC061 (similar to SBDC063 or SPB077/SPB079) - Similar to a Seiko Sumo, A Review (plus Video)

My trip to Japan in June 2018 has been very memorable. I visited for the first time, Fukuoka, capital of Fukuoka Prefecture that sits on the northern shore of Japan’s Kyushu Island. To commemorate the occasion, I decided to get myself a Japanese watch. Inside the Yodobashi Camera superstore in Hakata, Fukuoka City, I found a Seiko that was launched in Baselworld 2018.

The watch is the Seiko Prospex JDM Diver SBDC061. This watch has the International reference SPB077 when sold outside Japan. Similar to SBDC063 (or SPB079), the watch has been dubbed 'Baby Marinemaster' by Seikonistas. I got the watch on 19 June 2018 for just YEN82,633 after taking into consideration store discounts.

The SBDC061 is the more affordable modern reinterpretation of the famous Seiko 6159-7001 diver. The reference 6159-7001  diver was the first Seiko Professional diver (where the PROSPEX line was born) first released 50 years ago in 1968. The 6159-7001 was the first Seiko diver to bear the marking “Professional” on the dial. Seiko did also issue a much closer reinterpretation of the Seiko 6159-7001, the SBEX007 (internationally known as the SLA025) but that particular model is a limited edition and the specifications (as well as the price!) is very high-end.

Seiko Presage Chronograph SRQ025J1 (similar to SARK011) - It has that formal ambiance and sophistication that not many watches have in its price range, A Review (plus Video)

I finally snared a 8R48 powered Presage!

There are 7 Presage watches in my collection currently. All automatic with either the 4R series or 6R series automatic movements. The SRQ025J1 will be the first chronograph Presage in the collection. Not easy getting this as the local distributor in Malaysia, Thong Sia, tend to not bring watches deemed 'too expensive' for local consumers. Even if they do bring such watches, the numbers imported are usually not more than a handful.

The chronograph Presage came to prominence back in 2016 when Seiko launched the limited edition SRQ019 and SRQ021 in honour of the 60th anniversary of Seiko’s first automatic mechanical watch in 1956. The SRQ019 has a white a grand feu enamel dial while the SRQ021 has a black Urushi lacquer dial. By virtue of their special dials and limited edition run, these watches were priced at a premium which was too rich for my taste. Luckily, a year later, Seiko decided to produce a standard production run of chronograph Presage in the form of the SRQ025J1.