Baselworld 2018 – Seiko Prospex Diver 300m Hi-Beat SLA025 – The Recreation of the 1968 Ref. 6159-7001
Seiko’s reputation in terms of professionally oriented dive watches is not to demonstrated anymore – and that since 1965, with the creation of the Seiko Diving Department, and later the Prospex nomenclature. For our biggest pleasure, the brand has been opening its old grimoires and digs into its rich history to offer us some of the best vintage re-editions we’ve seen recently. Last year was about the Seiko’s first ever dive watch. This year, the brand looks at yet another icon, with the re-creation of the 1968 Automatic Diver 300m Reference 6159-7001. Meet the brand new Seiko Prospex Diver 300m Hi-Beat SLA025.
At the heart of many Grand Seiko watches beats the mighty 9S calibre, which is celebrating its 20th birthday, and the location of the party is Baselworld 2018. There’s a swathe of new offerings on the table, including this deliciously dialled number, the Grand Seiko SBGR311. Vital statistics Excuse me if I rush through the key stats, because, really, I want to talk about that dial. The SBGR311 is 42mm across, steel, with that characteristic mix of exceptional polish and brushed finishes that define Grand Seiko’s zaratsu-polished cases. From behind there’s the 9S68 (obvs), visible behind a sapphire caseback with a Grand Seiko lion and gilt 20th anniversary text. Now, that dial. Have you ever seen a brown dial quite so wondrous? It’s as mercurial as the brand’s best, glistening like hot chocolate when the light hits it just right. But beyond the colour and finish, there’s that pattern, a radial explosion of tessellating shapes, each marked with either the gothic G, S or historic Daini Seikosha mark. On top of that the applied, polished hours seem to float, as do those very pointy-looking dauphine hands. The choice of a gold seconds hand and ‘GS’ marker provides just the right…
Seiko’s venture into the dive watch world came hard and fast. Releasing their first dive watch in 1965, just three years later they upped the ante and introduced the Seiko 6159. A one-piece cased 300m rated diver, powered by a hi-beat movement that until then was being used only by the Grand Seikos of the time. Now, 50 years later – and revealed here at Baselworld 2018 – Seiko have re-created the original, with the brand new SLA025. Vital statistics With its black dial and bezel highlighted by polished golden hour markers, hands, and 60-minute scale, it has all the looks of the original. But, then, there’s also the framed date window at 3 o’clock and a familiar touch of red at the tip of the seconds hand that completes the package. Things are then taken one step further, by Zaratsu-polished lugs that define the sharp shape of a 44.8mm – and 15.7mm thick – monocoque steel case, with a screw-down crown. And, of course, there’s still a hi-beat calibre inside, racing away at 36,000 vibrations per hour – the modern Seiko 8L55. A slightly less finished version of the Grand Seiko 9S85, the 8L55 has a power reserve of 55 hours, and was designed and crafted for…
The foundation upon which modern Grand Seiko is built is the calibre 9S, first unveiled 20 years ago. Basel 2018 sees the Japanese brand pay tribute to this important movement with this new Grand Seiko model, the SBGH267 Vital statistics Grand Seiko’s dial and case finishes are rightly lauded for their high level of quality. But the far less visible movement is just as significant. And, if the watch is automatic, the chances are high that movement is the 9S. First introduced in 1998, this movement, with its high level of precision, lengthy power reserve and rock-solid construction, was ahead of its time for a high-volume commercial calibre. With a distinctive purple oscillating rotor in the style we’ve come to expect from Grand Seiko’s LEs, it forms the heart of this watch, which features a subtle mosaic pattern dial in Grand Seiko’s blue, as well as a completely new 39.5mm wide by 13mm tall case. This version is in steel, but there’s also a yellow gold version and a platinum model with a V.F.A. (very fine adjusted) movement, which promises accuracy of +3/-1 seconds, compared to the +5/-3 range of the SBGH267. On the wrist Classic Grand Seiko. The design is…
In addition to the scene-stealing 9S 20th anniversary pieces, Grand Seiko have announced two new Spring Drive models at Baselworld 2018. Reference SBGA373 with a champagne dial, and SBGA375 in rich blue. Vital statistics With its inexorably smooth sweeping seconds hand, there’s something hypnotic about Grand Seiko’s Spring Drive technology, powered and regulated by an ingenious combination of kinetic, magnetic and electrical energy. And while the Snowflake tends to garner the most attention, there are other time and date members of the collection, the most recent being these two. Both are powered by the 9R65, visible through clear casebacks on both models, and housed in broad-shouldered 40mm, 44GS-inspired steel cases. It’s worth noting that these pictures are of prototype models, and I’ve been told that the (very) large crowns are likely to be replaced by something a little smaller and more balanced. On the wrist Grand Seiko’s champagne dials are exceptional and — apparently — very technical, requiring numerous layers of lacquer to achieve that soft golden colour that is nigh on impossible to capture with any accuracy. In direct, bright light it fades to silver. It may lack the flash of the brand’s more distinctive dials but it’s still…
What if you were a brand born in a cockpit and were an ace at aviation-inspired watch designs? What would be your next step? Why, you’d design a plane, of course! And that’s exactly what Bell & Ross have done. The brainchild of Bruno Belamich – co-founder and creative director of Bell & Ross – the BR-Bird is a way-out V12-powered propeller-engine aircraft that’s designed for speed. With short, broad wings placed nearly at its tip and a single-seat cockpit set as far back as possible, the ultramodern bird was designed to compete at the Reno Air Races – an extreme aviation speed competition set on the edge of the Nevadan desert. To commemorate this flight into the world of aviation, Bell & Ross have also introduced two brand-new limited-edition watches inspired by the decorative elements of the BR-Bird. Vital statistics Limited to 999 pieces and dubbed the BRV Racing Birds, the pair – consisting of a three-hander, and a chronograph – sport the colours and aesthetic of their high-flying inspiration. White dials are highlighted by hints of orange and grey, and the font for the blue Arabic numeral hour markers is taken straight from the on-board counters of the…
Longines have a well-earned reputation for exceptionally strong heritage releases, and while their Baselworld 2018 collection featured a particularly hot blacked-out Legend Diver, it was newer lines, like the extensions to Record and V.H.P. that really stood out. On the one hand, the new gold and two-tone additions to the traditionally styled Record impressed with their simplicity and everyday wearability, while on the other, Longines added a chronograph and a GMT to their super-accurate V.H.P. collection. This line in general is well beyond your average quartz collection. Longines’ Baselworld 2018 collection goes to show that this twin focus on making quartz cool and COSC-level accuracy accessible seems to be a real winning formula for the brand.