Ten Seiko Tool Watches worth owning.
By Matt Price
As a follow up to our recent articles on Seiko tool watches, we’ve decided to compile a list of ten Seiko tool watches worthy of your attention. After all, the internet loves lists. We love lists. You love lists. So, here’s the list […]
Take any great brand with a long history and there’s a temptation to start drawing up your top five or top ten products.
Invariably, however, it’s far too subjective – and that’s certainly the case with Seiko. But we did think that, as a follow up to our deep dive (geddit?) on Seiko tool watches, it would be worth putting together a slightly less definitive list of ten Seiko tool watches worthy of your attention.
After all, the internet loves lists. We love lists. You love lists. So, here’s the list.
SKX009
For many watch collectors, the SKX line is the Seiko that started it all. Famously affordable and famously tough, it has long been seen as the dive watch for the everyman. The SKX007 is considered the quintessential example by many, but it’s the more colourful SKX009 that floats our boat, seen here starring alongside Robert Redford in the sailing thriller, ‘All Is Lost’.
SPB237 aka the ‘Willard’
Named after Martin Sheen’s protagonist in Apocalypse Now, the ‘Captain Willard’ is actually one of the earliest watches to appear in Seiko’s famous range of cushion-cased classics nicknamed ‘Turtles’. Arguably the brand’s most famous dive watch, it’s a piece of cinematic and horological history – and this finely-finished update is as good as it gets. You can read more about the Seiko Willard here.
SLA017
The dive watch as we know it was invented in the Fifties, but it wasn’t until 1962 that Seiko got in on the act. That’s when they introduced their first ever diver, the Seiko Diver’s 150m – better known to many by its product code, 62MAS. It’s a seminal Seiko, so it’s no surprise the brand has returned to it for inspiration many times in recent years, most notably with 2017’s beautifully finished SLA017.
SBDX014 aka the ‘Emperor Tuna’
The SBDX014 is one of many deep-sea Seikos known colloquially as ‘Tuna Cans’ or simply ‘Tunas’, due to the unusual size and shape of their shrouded cases. The most expensive and exclusive of these watches available today, this one is known as the ‘Emperor Tuna’, thanks to its gold trim and high-end movement. What it shares with some of the earlier Tunas, however, is its monstrous 1000m water resistance rating – and, not coincidentally, its monstrous 48mm size.
SNJ 037P aka the ‘Arnie’
One of only two quartz watches on this list, this limited-edition update to the watch Arnold Schwarzenegger wore in ‘Commando’ is another example of Seiko’s Tuna Can watches. Officially named the Seiko Prospex Hybrid Diver, the ‘Arnie’ is another beast of a watch, coming in at 47mm – though a relatively short lug-to-lug distance means it will wear slightly smaller. Good news for those of us with smaller-than-Schwarzenegger wrists.
SNR029
Another big, tough diver aimed at the professional market, the SNR029 is a modern watch with truly innovative innards. It is powered by Seiko’s unique ‘Spring Drive’ technology, a system usually reserved for higher-end Grand Seiko watches – though that said, the use of the Spring Drive in this watch is certainly reflected in the price. Made from titanium to take some of the weight out of its 44mm case and sold as part of Seiko’s Prospex LX range, this is a premium-priced, premium technology professional dive watch.
6139-6002 aka the ‘Pogue’
In the Seventies, Seiko made some of the world’s most eye-catching chronographs, including, arguably, the first self-winding chronograph in the world, from 1969. Known as the ‘Pogue’ among Seiko afficionados, it was rebelliously worn on a mission to Skylab by Colonel William Pogue, secreted in his boot. Once in orbit, he swapped it with the NASA-issue Omega Speedmaster on his wrist, claiming that, having used the Seiko in training, it was the only watch he trusted. We could write a whole article on this one. So we have.
6138-8020 aka the ‘Panda’
The Pogue gets most of the plaudits when it comes to Seiko chronographs from this era. But there were other design classics in the catalogue during the 1970s, not least this stunning panda-dialled option. Built on the 6138 movement, the sister to the 6139 that powered the Pogue, it featured two sub-dials rather than one, to allow timing of events lasting longer than an hour. It also meant for a unique dial layout with the Seiko logo pushed to one side – a move widely regarded today as a masterclass in utilitarian Japanese design.
SPB119J1 Alpinist aka the ‘Ghost’
The dressy field watch is almost a category of its own – and Seiko can stake a credible claim to having pioneered it. Based on a line of toughened-up Seiko dress watches made for Japanese mountaineers in the Fifties, today’s Alpinist sits, like most Seiko tool watches, under their Prospex line – and stretches to a number of different design iterations. With its water resistance, legibility, smartness and chunkiness, the ‘Ghost’ pictured here (itself a tribute to the ‘Red Alpinist’ of the Nineties) is a strong choice for anyone who only wants just one, do-it-all watch.
Gen 1 RAF chronograph
You’ll really be flying under the radar with this one. One of only two quartz watches in this list, it was made exclusively for the British Royal Air Force from 1984 until 1990, for both their helicopter and jet pilots, making it a true mil-spec watch. A masterclass in utilitarian watch design, its interesting details include the ‘P’ beneath the Seiko logo, which stands for ‘Promethium 147’, the radioactive lume used to make the dial markings glow in the dark.
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Images. Seiko Watch Corporation
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