Today, we look at two special editions of high-end diver's watches, the Seiko Prospex SLA053 and SLA059, exclusive to the United States. Historically, Seiko watches were mostly released only for the Japanese domestic market, but sometimes the American branch of Seiko gets the chance to release exclusive pieces. The Seiko Prospex SLA053 and SLA059 are named “Seigaiha” due to their traditional Japanese texture, which, according to Seiko, translates to “blue ocean waves.” This repeating wave pattern can occasionally be seen in Japanese crafts. This pattern is used on the dials of these two watches, which are rendered in a deep blue (SLA053) or burgundy red (SLA059) color.
The watches also come with matching blue or burgundy and steel seigaiha cufflinks. In the past, it was common to sell wristwatches with matching cufflinks, something still seen today with brands like Audemars Piguet and Omega. In this case, Seiko simply throws in the cufflinks as part of the purchase, which is pretty cool. Some people might find it a bit ironic that cufflinks come with what are essentially professional diver's watches, and they would be wrong. However, it is true that the vast majority of high-end sports and diving watches rarely venture beyond social settings. Now, you just need more shirts with sleeves that require cufflinks...
In recent years, Seiko and Grand Seiko have made creating interesting dials a hallmark of their respective brands. Many dials are inspired by Japanese art or craft, but not all. At their best, these decorative additions are subtle, allowing the watch to shine primarily as a time-telling instrument and secondarily as an artistic piece with a sense of decorative expression. Seiko succeeds with the Prospex Seigaiha models because at first glance, they are simply SLA series models with vibrant blue or burgundy dials. Look closer, and only then do the repeating wave pattern motifs of Seigaiha emerge.
I personally really like these Prospex SLA models because they are a modern embodiment of the classic Seiko Marinemaster, which were popular “cult” watches due to their mix of durability, quality, design, and price. The dial and bracelet are exactly what people liked in the original Marinemaster models (including the ratcheting micro-adjustment/extension system for a wetsuit in the deployant clasp). Also, the Prospex watches house a powerful in-house Seiko automatic movement, caliber 8L35, which operates at 4 Hz (28,800 beats per hour) with a 50-hour power reserve. The movement displays the time with a date.
Unlike the original Marinemaster, the contemporary SLA053 and SLA059 watches also feature a black ceramic insert in the rotating bezel. The dials are among my favorites that Seiko makes for their diver's watches: in my view, it’s the right mix of classic elegance and proportions with the style of hands and hour markers characteristic of Seiko. The “thick” hands and hour indices were originally designed to incorporate the maximum amount of luminescent material. Thanks to Seiko's LumiBrite luminescent material, in the dark (after light charging), these dials glow impressively.
The cases are steel and water-resistant to 300 meters, as has always been the case with these and other Seiko watches for deep diving. The SLA059 model features a matte and polished case with a matching steel bracelet (a matching black silicone strap is also included in the box), while the SLA053 model has a black steel case with a hard coating and comes only on a matching high-quality black silicone strap (with a matching black-coated clasp).
Seiko explains that the Seigaiha dial Prospex watches are released in two versions: one dedicated to night ocean waves (the black and blue model SLA053) and the other - the burgundy steel model SLA059 - represents the ocean at dawn.
The first is released in a limited edition of only 500 pieces, while the second is not designated as a limited edition. Both models will be sold exclusively in the US market from August 2021 for the SLA053 and November 2021 for the SLA059. The price for the Seiko Prospex Seigaiha reference SLA053 is $3,200, and the price for the SLA059 model is $3,300.