Seiko Prospex – The Black Series Limited Edition 2018
Seiko is introducing a limited edition ‘Black Series’ for their Prospex collection. Prospex, referring to ‘professional specification’, consists of a wide collection of watches for divers, pilots and adventurers. For their diving collection, Seiko created three models with black coated cases. A quartz chronograph (SSC673P1), a quartz three-hand model (SNE493P1) and an automatic three-hands watch (SRPC49K1).
Seiko claims to be inspired by the world of night diving for these new limited edition Black Series, but our guess is that there is simply a good market for black watches. They have proven not to be a fad, so many brands have included black coated watches in their collection, including Seiko.
What all three models have in common, is their legibility. Big round hour markers applied with Seiko’s Lumibrite for great visibility in low light conditions. Then, there’s the large orange minute hand and 60-minute scale uni-directional diving bezel. All three watches come with a comfortable black silicon strap.
Even though Seiko created a special landing page on their website for these new models, the information is a bit marginal. There is no word on the number of watches that Seiko will produce of each of them, while being a limited edition. There is also no word on pricing Thanks to our colleagues of Ch24.pl we have some prices. There’s also no information available about their availability in the different markets. Seiko has the tendency not to release every model to all markets.
Anyway, besides these small points of criticism from our side, the watches look stunning. Let’s have a closer look at each reference.
Seiko SRPC49K1 Automatic Black Series
The Seiko Black Series of our choice would be the SRPC49, the automatic version based on the vintage 6309 ‘Turtle’. Price will be approx. €460.
| Movement | 4R36 |
|---|---|
| Case | Stainless steel |
| Strap | Silicon |
| Crystal | Hardlex crystal |
| Water Resistance | 200m diver’s |
| Case diameter | 45.0 mm |
| Features | Power reserve: 41 hours 21,600 vibrations per hour Unidirectional rotating bezel Screw case back Screw-down crown |
Seiko SNE493P1 Solar Black Series
The three-hand model with a solar powered quartz movement will probably the cheapest of the bunch. A large multi-layered dial with a cyclops on the date aperture. A bit Submariner-ish, but since that’s an icon that many people like, this model will surely be loved by many as well. Price will be approx. €380.
| Movement | V157 |
|---|---|
| Case | Stainless steel |
| Strap | Silicon |
| Crystal | Hardlex crystal |
| Water Resistance | 200m diver’s |
| Case Diameter | 43.5 mm |
| Features | Power reserve: 10 month Unidirectional rotating bezel Screw case back Screw-down crown |
Seiko SSC673P1 Solar Chronograph Black Series
Seiko’s Prospex chronograph with a solar powered quartz movement. A small date aperture has been placed at 4.30 on the multi-layered dial. Price will be approx. €410.
| Movement | V175 |
|---|---|
| Case | Stainless steel |
| Strap | Silicon |
| Crystal | Hardlex crystal |
| Water Resistance | 200m diver’s |
| Case Diameter | 43.5 mm |
| Features | Chronograph up to 60 minutes in 1/5 second increments Power reserve: 6 months Split time measurement on demand Unidirectional rotating bezel Screw case back Screw-down crown |
When there’s more concrete information regarding price, availability and the total production of these Seiko Black Series watches, we will get back to you.
In the meanwhile, visit the official Seiko Prospex Black Series website.
