VIDEO: All three limited edition watches from the new Seiko 55th Anniversary dive watch collection
This year, Seiko is celebrating 55 years since their first-ever dive watch, which was released in 1965. Since then, the dive watch has become a core part of Seiko’s offering, with innumerable watches released over the years, many of which have developed cult followings. To mark this occasion, Seiko have released a trio of limited edition watches, each paying tribute to an important dive watch from their archive. The three watches in question are based on references released in 1965, 1968 and 1975 respectively, and all still make up a significant part of their professional collection today. As I mentioned, they are limited in their production numbers. Each watch will be available in 1100 pieces, and will be delivered between June and July of this year. Seiko 55th Anniversary Dive Watch Collection Australian Pricing The Seiko SLA037J1 reissue from 1965 is AUD$9750, The Seiko SLA039J1 reissue from 1968 is AUD$10,500 The Seiko SLA041J1 reissue from 1975 is AUD$6950. Made in partnership with Seiko. However, the opinions expressed in this article are our own in accordance with our Editorial Policy.
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This week’s gone full Speedmaster. On Saturday, it was the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, deemed to be a “successful failure”, because there was indeed a major malfunction, but all astronauts on the mission lived to talk about it. I was very fortunate to have heard this story told by one of the men who played a part, US astronaut Jim Lovell – at the NASA Space Centre in Houston. In short, when all the astronauts had to cram into the lunar module to make it back to earth after an oxygen tank exploded on board, the Speedy played its part in helping Jim nail the precise moment to trigger and then cease a crucial 14-second fuel burn to get the module angled correctly to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere. Using the earth’s horizon line as a guide and his chronograph for the fuel burn, they successfully made it back home and Omega was awarded the Snoopy Award for their crucial role in getting the astronauts home safely. If that wasn’t enough, we are also keeping an eye on the sale of an Omega Speedmaster belonging to a Russian cosmonaut that was worn in space. Nikolai Budarin wore the…
There’s no doubt about it. The latest 47mm professional dive watch from Grand Seiko makes a dramatic first impression, but that shouldn’t overshadow just how remarkable the technical achievements are inside that large and in charge case. The Grand Seiko SLGA001 certainly isn’t for the faint of wrist, measuring in at 46.9mm in diameter and 16mm tall, but the technology powering it is impressive to the highest degree. The new Spring Drive movement is thinner than its predecessor, as well as being more shock resistant thanks to a single-piece central bridge. It boasts a full five days of power reserve as a result of two mainspring barrels. The accuracy has also been improved to ±0.5 seconds per day, an achievement possible thanks to technology borrowed from the 9F quartz movements used by Grand Seiko. The case and bracelet are constructed in hard-wearing titanium, which eliminates what would have been significant weight if the watch was made in the typical steel used in watchmaking, and makes it remarkably more wearable considering its size. This is a watch designed for the professional diver, and ticks just about every box someone who spent their life underwater would want. The Grand Seiko 60th Anniversary Limited…
We’ve become accustomed to the sight of a vintage reissue in the watch world. Some are good, some are just plain opportunistic and unimaginative, and some miss the mark completely. And the reason many miss the mark is an awkward straddling of the fence between the past and the present. The question boils down to the level of historical accuracy that is being attempted, and whether or not the watch pulls it off. The Seiko SPB149J is a modern reissue of the 62MAS, which was Seiko’s first ever dive watch and it opts to proffer a modern interpretation of the OG, rather than a slavish 1:1 reproduction. This is a modern Seiko dive watch that employs some design cues from the original. The case has a similar shape. The dial layout is also clearly inspired by the 62MAS. But it is a thoroughly modern watch in the movement, bracelet (the original was sold on a rubber strap), and proportions of many other elements of the watch. As a result, we aren’t presented with a watch that looks too vintage for the modern enthusiast, or misses the details that would upset the vintage collector. The result is a watch that feels…
Last year, we aired the first series of ‘Every Watch Tells A Story’ on YouTube. The premise is as simple as it gets. When we invite raucous crowds into the Time+Tide home base for events, occasionally we offer them the chance to tell the story of their watch. Which promptly explains why everyone in these videos IS SHOUTING. Hey, what we lose in audio quality, we gain in good vibes. Because part of the sport of agreeing to do one of these, is then enduring all the heckling you get from other guests while you do it. We sit them in front of the media wall, turn on the bright lights, mic them up, and ask them a couple of questions about their watch for the evening. Some of the stories are dramatic. Others are pragmatic. But all are interesting, simply because they’re relatable, and they’re personal. The first episode for our second series of stories, stars Joseph. He tells the story of his Seiko 5 Sports SRPD79K1, a watch whose appeal is heightened by its after-market integrated black rubber strap. Despite its undeniably sporty styling and intention as a watch, it looks surprisingly appropriate and at-home with Joseph’s work…
What a difference two years makes. In 2018, I introduced this until now unpublished video by saying that — shock, horror — we were reviewing a collection of watches with quartz movements: the new Longines V.H.P. Collection. I’d go as far as to say it makes me grimace a little to watch in 2020. Because since then, the advancement of quartz back into luxury watchmaking has been steady and it has occurred with less and less resistance. Grand Seiko has been driving the change, as some YouTube commenters have already picked up on. Personally, I now own two modern-era quartz watches. A Longines Conquest V.H.P. and a Grand Seiko GMT SBGN005G, which remains a spectacular experience, every time it gets on the wrist. So, moving on, we’re not quite sure how this “lost video” happened. Because looking at it now, it’s a long and detailed review about the highly feted Longines V.H.P. Collection that absolutely should have seen the light of YouTube. At the time, despite the preamble, we were quickly won over by the V.H.P. for its technical smarts. But a big part of the charm, for me, was the peculiar and bold colourway of the Commonwealth Games Edition.…
The latest generation of the TAG Heuer Connected Watch has just been released and it represents a major and — practically everyone would agree — welcome departure from the tech and mindset of the previous two generations. Simply because it is now powered by Google Wear OS, which allows the Swiss to do what they do best — a dramatically refined and more luxurious case and overall design — and it lets Google run the hardware, with a raft of improved apps and functions, most of which we explore in the video. In terms of the story so far, let’s do a recap on where they’ve come from. It may surprise you to learn that TAG Heuer have actually been in the smartwatch game since way back in 2015, when they released their first generation watch. At the time, TAG Heuer CEO Jean-Claude Biver claimed it to be a raging success. This was the same year the first Apple Watch was released. Connected Watches have been doggedly part of TAG Heuer’s remit since their inception. In 2017 we were given the second generation of Connected Watch, which saw improvements in almost every aspect, from the apps onboard to the screen resolution. The latest…
