Hodinkee
The Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Mechanical Measures What Matters
The Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Mechanical Measures What Matters
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Hodinkee
The Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Mechanical Measures What Matters
Hodinkee
The revived VANAC line expands with three new titanium references, inspired by Tokyo's skyline.
Teddy Baldassarre
Typically when quartz watches are brought up in regards to the Grand Seiko catalog as a whole, they're thought of as entry points to the brand. However, there is much more to the story than "just" being a quartz movement, Grand Seiko has a lot more to offer here. Sit down with Teddy and Joe Kirk to discuss the merits o
Hodinkee
The Japanese baseball superstar is a rare global ambassador for Grand Seiko as the brand continues its international push.
Teddy Baldassarre
Grand Seiko is a brand that’s adept at making the intricate seem effortless. This talent for restraint is best demonstrated dial side, specifically with its play with textures that call for a second (or third, fourth, and so on) look. While the deceptively simple “Snowflake” dial is among the brand’s most renowned examples of its mastery of subtlety, today, I’m pulling focus to another iconic example of Grand Seiko’s dial mastery with the more dramatic White Birch variation. Down below, I’ll be breaking down the importance of the “White Birch” SLGH005 in Grand Seiko’s recent history, some of its guiding design philosophies, as well as all the necessary specs you need to know. [toc-section heading="History And Context"] Debuting in 2021, the SLGH005 with its “White Birch” dial marked a historic turning point for the brand, and in the years since, it has become regarded as an example of the brand’s strengths firing on all cylinders. Before its introduction, Grand Seiko had already become synonymous with intricately textural dials (which, of course, drew inspiration from the natural world), but the White Birch texture is really when the brand turned up the heat an extra notch. Before, the brand largely relied on radial and horizontal textures, and it isn’t a coincidence that the continuous series honoring the Japanese micro-seasons (most famous being the “Shun-bun”) was already in play before the White Birch hit the scene. Many of these dials...
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Hodinkee
A brand new movement supports a downsized spin on a classic GS design.
Teddy Baldassarre
Seiko has one of the most expansive catalogs in the watch industry, which is key to the Japanese brand’s prowess, but its nuances can also make it quite overwhelming at times to sort through from a consumer perspective. Today, I’m going for hyperspecificity on multiple levels, not only focusing on the brand’s “Luxe” tier, but also on a specific series within that tier, and on one watch, well, specifically. As you’ve likely already noticed from this article's title, we’re gathered here today to jump into the deep end with the Presage Classics Craftsmanship Series SPB495. Though its name doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue, the Seiko Presage SPB495, to me, truly demonstrates the dynamic range to be found within the contemporary Seiko lineup, given that you have the patience to sort through the complexities of the brand’s collections and naming convention nuances. [toc-section heading="History And Context"] Seiko’s Craftsmanship series officially made its start in 2013 as the brand celebrated its centennial anniversary. Positioned within the larger Presage collection, this initiative has been a way for the brand to further enhance the collection's foundational elements, mainly being a mechanical line, guided by and harkening to Seiko’s centuries-long history, with a focused attention to its dials. Essentially, the Craftsmanship series adds in more sophisticated, high-end elements into the mix, paying tribute to many traditional, artisanal techniques th...
Fratello
It’s that time of the week again - time for another Sunday Morning Showdown! This time, Jorg and Mike face off in a battle of vintage-inspired daily wearers. Jorg picked the Longines Ultra-Chron Classic, which honors the original Longines Ultra-Chron from 1967. Mike’s pick is the King Seiko SJE089, which was inspired by the classic […] Visit Sunday Morning Showdown: Longines Ultra-Chron Classic Vs. King Seiko SJE089 to read the full article.
Hodinkee
An afternoon of Japanese horology with Grand Seiko Brand Curator Joe Kirk, Designer Akira Yoshida, and Hodinkee's TanTan Wang.
Worn & Wound
eBay Finds is back! This bi-monthly installment will feature a selection of watches currently listed on eBay that have caught the eye of editor Christoph McNeil (@vintagediver). If you come across any hidden gems on the ‘Bay drop us a note at info@wornandwound.com for potential inclusion. Vintage Seiko 6309-7049 Got some great stuff for you this week, starting off with this classic and iconic vintage Seiko 6309-7049. Small rant here, the seller calls it a “turtle”, and I know lots of others do too, but damn I hate that nickname. Anyway, horrible nickname notwithstanding, the 6309 is a brilliant diver that really shouldn’t need any introduction. This example is really nice, and looks all original with a touch of honest wear. The steel case looks unpolished with the original brushed and polished finishes and sharp edges. The black dial looks great with nicely aged lume. The bezel insert is original with some light wear and a little fading that gives it a touch of that lovely ghost bezel look. Movement is clean and runs well per the seller. Great original example of a highly desirable vintage Seiko diver. View auction here Vintage 1950s Girard-Perregaux Next up is a sweet vintage Girard-Perregaux sport/dress watch. The 31mm steel case is excellent, unpolished with crisp edges and nice polished finish. It features fancy horned style lugs that really pop. The original cream dial is a beauty, with a quite pleasant, even patina to it. It has applied steel markers and ...
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Teddy Baldassarre
Seiko has a well known and understood design language that is expansive in nature. It’s a style that feels just as at home on a humble skin diver as it does in the context of a field watch or chronograph. It always feels comfortable, but never derivative. Like a perfectly well worn-in pair of jeans that you keep coming back to. The Speedtimer name is a perfect example of this originality since it was first used by the brand in 1969, and it largely remains so today. The modern Speedtimer SSC813 within the Prospex collection is not entirely reliant on that history, rather, it presents a contemporary vision of a Seiko chronograph at its most accessible. [toc-section heading="Seiko And Chronographs"] Seiko plays an important role in the history of the chronograph as we experience it today. The Japanese brand’s mechanical timers of the mid ‘60s showed off a modern vision for a highly focused design that would open the door for a new generation of watches. These designs did not use a host of subdials, but rather a single timing hand and a single pusher. This is a focus that would be retained until 1969, when Seiko introduced the reference 6139, one of three automatic chronographs to be revealed that year that would shape the genre for the coming decades. Unlike the other two, the Seiko used just a single subdial which would totalize up to 30 minutes. The 6139 would have a cultural impact just as big as its horological impact, appearing in films and, in the case of the so...
The iconic Seiko "Pogue" Speedtimer has a cult following among enthusiasts, and many were excited to see Seiko reach back into their archives with the modern version in the SSC947. See how Seiko used their heritage to inform the contemporary Speedtimer in this review.
Worn & Wound
eBay Finds is back! This bi-monthly installment will feature a selection of watches currently listed on eBay that have caught the eye of editor Christoph McNeil (@vintagediver). If you come across any hidden gems on the ‘Bay drop us a note at info@wornandwound.com for potential inclusion. Vintage Seiko Bell-Matic 4006-6010 Starting this week off with a solid vintage Seiko Bell-Matic alarm watch. The steel case is nice, unpolished with sharp edges. The silver dial has a cool linen texture that gives it a great vintage look. Applied, raised steel markers with dauphine hands and the classic Seiko day/date window at three complete the look. Overall this is a clean example of a Bell-Matic. The only bummer is that it doesn’t come on the original bracelet. However, slap a nice leather or croc strap on this and you’ll have a gem! No movement picture but the seller states the watch runs well. View auction here Vintage Omega Seamaster DeVille Looking for a nice treat for yourself for the holidays? Check out this sweet vintage Omega Seamaster DeVille. The DeVille is Omega’s dress watch version of their iconic Seamaster line, and this example would be from the 1960s. The slim yellow gold filled case is superb and unpolished. You can still see the subtle chamfers on the delicate lugs. The classic Omega silver dial is super clean, with slim stick markers and stick hands. There is an applied gold Omega symbol and name at twelve. The Omega signed crown is correct and original. T...
Two Broke Watch Snobs
A full wrist-time test of the Seiko 5 GMT and Tudor Black Bay GMT, breaking down $400 vs $4,000 in build, usability, and long-term value.
Worn & Wound
eBay Finds is back! This bi-monthly installment will feature a selection of watches currently listed on eBay that have caught the eye of editor Christoph McNeil (@vintagediver). If you come across any hidden gems on the ‘Bay drop us a note at info@wornandwound.com for potential inclusion. Seiko 6138-0049 Starting off this week with a bang, or rather a bull…head! This vintage Seiko 6138-0049 Bullhead chronograph is a real beauty. The massive steel case is excellent, unpolished with sharp edges and the original polished/brushed finish. The brown dial looks to be in superb condition, with no black funk on the lume or hands. The tachymeter bezel is equally superb. The watch comes on the correct and original fishbone steel bezel, which is always a plus. Seems like this is coming from the original owner, as it includes the original sales receipt. Sadly, no box or papers. However, the watch runs and functions as per the seller. Great opportunity for a really well preserved example of an awesome vintage Seiko chronograph. View auction here Vintage Aquadive Here’s a nice vintage Aquadive diver from probably the 1970s. The 36.5mm case is chrome plated with a steel back, and the plating is in really solid shape. The edges are nice and crisp as well. The dial is a really cool one, black and gray bullseye style with white painted hour markers and lume filled white baton hands. The orange seconds hand has a classic lume filled lollipop tip for easy reading. The aluminum elapsed ...
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Teddy Baldassarre
Here in the watch world of the 21st century, we’re living in the heyday of the vintage revival, with just about every brand returning to their archive, and trying to find the magic heritage design that will resonate with a contemporary audience. Seiko has one of the most extensive catalogs – vintage or modern – in the watchmaking world, and in today’s guide, I’ll be digging into the brand’s past and matching it with the watch that has carried its torch into the present. With the 10 vintage Seiko watches below, we’re going to run the gamut of style and utility, but each piece is an icon of Seiko’s past and present in its own right. 62MAS: Seiko’s first diver At the time of its introduction in 1965, the Seiko 62MAS was the first dive watch to ever come out of Japan. Featuring a deep grey dial with luminous, trapezoidal indices, a unidirectional dive bezel in black, and a date window at three o’clock, the 62MAS was water resistant 150 meters, and actually accompanied members of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition from 1966 to 1969. For Seiko’s (and Japan’s) first diver, the brand has gone the heritage reissue route, releasing a faithful modern take on the watch with the Seiko Prospex SPB143. Despite being in the brand's more expensive Luxe tier, I would say the SPB143 is among the brand’s most popular watches at the moment. Even outside of its heritage connections, the SPB143 is a capable, versatile piece that’s as good-looking as it is ...
Teddy Baldassarre
The Seiko Prospex Marinemaster SJE101 1965 Diver’s Modern Reinterpretation is definitely a mouthful, but it’s definitely with purpose. Part of the higher-end Seiko Luxe family, the SJE101 evokes two icons - the 62MAS and Marinemaster - but can it live up to those lofty expectations? The answer, as you can imagine, is mixed. What’s for sure, though is that this is a uniquely wearable Seiko Prospex dive watch that measures less than 40mm and has some really impressive finishes. That said, the Marinemaster title carries a lot of expectations with it, and there has been a fair share of discourse about whether it lives up or not. Seiko Marinemaster Context What exactly is the big deal with the Seiko Marinemaster? Let’s take a look at how it came to be such a lauded name in the diver category. The first watch in the collection was actually the Seiko Marinemaster Quartz SBCN005, aka the Transocean from 1999. This was a 44mm-wide titanium watch that was highly functional with barometric pressure measurement and barometric trend display. A year later in 2000, the Marinemaster SBDX001 was released, boasting 300 meters of water resistance and no helium escape valve. The Marinemaster family would continue in production until about 2018, when it began to disappear in favor of the larger Prospex family. But about five years later, the Marinemaster would come back in the form of this collection. More than a couple of people have asked whether this is “really a Marinemaster...
Teddy Baldassarre
An outsized part of Seiko’s history is within its dive watch heritage, going all the way back to 1965 with the company's first dedicated diver, the 150-meter 62MAS, released as the 6217-8000, and later, its larger-crowned sibling, the 6217-8001. It was the beginning of a lineage that went on to include legendary references like the Willard, the Turtle, the Marinemaster, the Tuna, and the SKX, just to name a small assortment of them. Today, Seiko’s broad dive-watch lineup is well-known for its rugged dependability: from the entry-level Prospex models to the elevated Luxe variants like the Seiko SPB149, there’s a Seiko diver for every enthusiast. Seiko has paid tribute to the 62MAS design in the past with limited editions, but in the 2020s, the brand has seen a slew of regular-production, and short-lived models – like the SPB143, 239, and 149, which stand as the most faithful renderings of the 62MAS, characterized by the brand as the Prospex 1965 Heritage Diver’s Watch. Although this model family came with different dial variants at its 40.5mm case size, today, we’re going to showcase the discontinued SPB149 before looking at the current production SPB143 and other modern day options which continue the 62MAS legacy. We will go through the standard points of its case, wear, dial, and movement, and then share concluding remarks about its overall legacy in 2025. Seiko SPB149 Context In Spring of 2020, Seiko dropped a quartet of watches - the SPB143, SPB145, SPB1...
Teddy Baldassarre
Teddy Baldassarre is an authorized luxury watch retailer of brands like TUDOR, OMEGA, IWC, Grand Seiko, Breitling, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Zenith, Longines, ORIS, MIDO, Tissot, Hamilton, NOMOS Glashütte, Baume & Mercier, and more.
Teddy Baldassarre
Teddy Baldassarre is an authorized luxury watch retailer of brands like TUDOR, OMEGA, IWC, Grand Seiko, Breitling, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Zenith, Longines, ORIS, MIDO, Tissot, Hamilton, NOMOS Glashütte, Baume & Mercier, and more.
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Teddy Baldassarre
Teddy Baldassarre is an authorized luxury watch retailer of brands like TUDOR, OMEGA, IWC, Grand Seiko, Breitling, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Zenith, Longines, ORIS, MIDO, Tissot, Hamilton, NOMOS Glashütte, Baume & Mercier, and more.
Teddy Baldassarre
Teddy Baldassarre is an authorized luxury watch retailer of brands like TUDOR, OMEGA, IWC, Grand Seiko, Breitling, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Zenith, Longines, ORIS, MIDO, Tissot, Hamilton, NOMOS Glashütte, Baume & Mercier, and more.
Teddy Baldassarre
Teddy Baldassarre is an authorized luxury watch retailer of brands like TUDOR, OMEGA, IWC, Grand Seiko, Breitling, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Zenith, Longines, ORIS, MIDO, Tissot, Hamilton, NOMOS Glashütte, Baume & Mercier, and more.
Teddy Baldassarre
Teddy Baldassarre is an authorized luxury watch retailer of brands like TUDOR, OMEGA, IWC, Grand Seiko, Breitling, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Zenith, Longines, ORIS, MIDO, Tissot, Hamilton, NOMOS Glashütte, Baume & Mercier, and more.
Teddy Baldassarre
Teddy Baldassarre is an authorized luxury watch retailer of brands like TUDOR, OMEGA, IWC, Grand Seiko, Breitling, Blancpain, Glashütte Original, Zenith, Longines, ORIS, MIDO, Tissot, Hamilton, NOMOS Glashütte, Baume & Mercier, and more.
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