Tags: Presentation | Seiko | Men's | Classic | Traditional
24.6.2021 | 5 MIN
Seiko has added several new sports watches to its permanent collection. Due to the shape of the case, it is undoubtedly a turtle, but almost everything else is changing. The truth is that only few people today actually dive with diving watches, so the turtles climbed to land and now we can find four new Seiko Land Turtle in the Prospex line.
Fans can recognize the Seiko Turtle design at a first glance and as it has always been done, associate it with diving models. It makes sense, because turtles have a long history in the line of diving models.
We would find the first turtles as early as in 1977, but we know the design origin from the early 70's in the form of Captain Willard (which Seiko has recently reinterpreted in many variants). Seiko started with professional diving watches in 1965, so turtles were part of most of this successful - and still not ending - era of Seiko Diving.
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Today, turtles can be found in Prospex Sea line for professionals and we can be sure they are purebred diving watches, including 200M water resistance with ISO 6425 certification and, of course, with a one-way rotating bezel with a minute scale.
That changes with the new Prospexes. Sea turtles have climbed to land and are turning into land turtles. And from the Sea sub-line, we find them in the Land sub-line.
Comparison of diving Turtle Sea and more outdoor Turtle Land.
Prospex (Professional Specifications) is a Seiko's je sports line. As the name suggests, the line is full of watches for professionals. Seiko divides it into Sea (for divers), Land (for mountaineers) and Sky (for pilots) and now also Street (with bolder designs inspired by Tuna's design). Seiko focuses mostly on diving models (Sea), but recently they have also strongly expanded the Land sub-line, in which we can find, for example, the famous Alpinist.
Probably the most significant change is the bezel with a scale. The bezel insert carrying the scale is made of aluminum, depending on the model, led into more muted, earthy colors. But above all, it is no longer a diving bezel, but azimuthal, showing the sides of the world. It has denser sharper teeth and is rotatable in both directions. It has denser sharper gearing and is rotatable in both directions.
This means that classic analog watches don't qualify for the diving certification. However, Seiko was able to maintain a water resistance of 200 meters thanks to the reliable waterproof construction of the cushion case. There is also a screw-down crown and a full caseback so you can't see the movement.
If we are still talking about turtles, the movement is also a slight change. Although it stayed at the basic 4R level, there is no day in the week and date complication, ie the 4R36 caliber, but only date, that is inconspicuously hidden at 4:30, ie the 4R35 caliber. The same caliber can be found in samurai or tuna. It is built on the well-known 7S hard worker, but also offers hacking and the possibility of manual winding. The power reserve reaches 41 hours.
Rather than terrestrial, Turtle Land are amphibians. They can still boast with the water resistance of 200 meters, screw-down crown and caseback.
Hands are another significant design change. They are shuffled and the hour hand is now in the shape of an wide arrow, while the minute hand is in a shape of a syringe. The indices stretched from circular to square points. There is also a rich LumiBrite luminescence, which is perfect on land as well as underwater.
Bracelets are also adapted to land conditions. So far, the four models presented in this Turtle Land collection have received either a leather strap or a textile strap with a classic steel buckle.
Turtles always had an arguable glass. While many appreciated the resilience of the Hardlex mineral in classic turtles, others enjoyed the King Turtle version, where Seiko first integrated a sapphire crystal with an internal anti-reflective layer. In land turtles, the sapphire crystal was used, but unfortunately without the anti-reflective layer.
Turtles were always worn very comfortably and fitted on many wrists. But with their diameter of 45 mm, they always belonged in larger watches. The new turtles in the Land sub-line took on slightly more subtle dimensions. Specifically, we are talking about a diameter of 42.4 mm with a height of 11.7 mm and a length of 45.2 mm. So if you are one of those, who never liked turtles for their size, perhaps the evolutionary reduction may be a win for you.
Photo: with kind permission from monochrome-watches.com
So far, Seiko has introduced 4 basic models in the set. My personal favorite is the Seiko Prospex Land Automatic SRPG13K1 with with a beige-green light dial on a green textile strap. The hands and indices are nicely contrasting black and lined, and overall the model looks like an ideal choice to take to nature.
Seiko Prospex Land Turtle; Photo: with kind permission from monochrome-watches.com
The Seiko Prospex Land Automatic SRPG15K1 model is then similarly in blue colors of the dial and the textile strap. In terms of matching with everyday clothes, it is a more versatile model. From this point of view, the winner is the black variant Seiko Prospex Land Automatic SRPG17K1 with black leather strap, black dial and black scale. This is only contrasted by the modern rose gold design.
The most distinctive is the model with the rose gold surface treatment of the case, which is seconded by the processing of hands and inscriptions on the dial. Seiko Prospex Land Automatic SRPG18K1 is due to the color treatment the most expensive one from the series. It is worn with a brown leather strap with light stitching.
We can speculate whether the price it is adequate for models with a basic 4R machine, and many will certainly laugh at me when I say that: yes. It's not a sales call, but a certain belief that Seiko has it for a long time now, that with that price you also buy models that can't be found elsewhere, in a design that if you love, you'll love it despite the higher price.And above all, it is short-sighted to think about the price of a watch only from what movement you will find inside.
Photo: with kind permission from monochrome-watches.com
What's more, it's not just a new Seiko fashion fad, but a brand new model in the successful Seiko Prospex collection, where you know you can rely on the watch in every way. Uncompromising water resistance, turtle robustness and the iconic shape of the case remained the same. In the end, it is all about if you long for a strict diving watch or if you bring this land handsome home.
