History of the Laurel At a time when pocket watches dominated the scene, Kintaro Hattori, the founder of Seiko, realized that the wind was changing and decided to start the production of wristwatches. According to Seiko, the Laurel was introduced in 1913 and is considered the first Japanese wristwatch, although its movement was originally designed for small pocket watches. With the tools of the time, manufacturing and assembling components much …
The Seiko Zimbe are a series of limited editions, exclusive to Thailand, which have been a great success among enthusiasts and collectors from all over the world. Introduced in 2016 with the first reference SRPA19 (Gray Turtle), the Zimbe series takes its name from the Japanese pronunciation of whale shark (Jinbei Zame). Due to the high interest from collectors, and the low production numbers, the watches of the Zimbe series …
Seiko is one of the biggest names in the watch industry, and its watches are available in virtually every corner of the world. Today, with their overseas expansion in the luxury sector, even Grand Seiko watches are increasingly available everywhere. Despite this, there are many watches that continue to be almost unfindable outside the Japanese market. We speak in particular of vintage models, but also of some limited or JDM editions. …
The Seiko Cocktail Time series was born from a collaboration with one of the best bartenders and mixologists in the world, Ishigaki Shinobu of the Ishinohana Bar in Tokyo. At the launch of the series in 2010, three models were available exclusively for Japan. Among these stands out the Cocktail Time “Cool”, reference SARB065, which over the years has grown in popularity among Seiko enthusiasts all over the world, becoming …
Introduced in 2007, the Sumo is one of Seiko’s youngest diving watches, and also one of the most loved by enthusiasts. Three models were presented at launch: SBDC001 (black), SBDC003 (blue, also known as “Blumo”) and SBDC005 (orange). These were the first divers to house the 6R15 automatic caliber, produced entirely in-house, as usual for Seiko. The name “Sumo”, chosen by enthusiasts and later adopted by Seiko itself, is due …
The diver’s watch we know today as the “Turtle” was first introduced by Seiko between 1976 and 1977, and continued to be produced until the late 1980s. Nearly three decades after the first models left the scene, in 2016 Seiko announced the reintroduction of the much loved turtle shell case diver as part of the Prospex line. Greeted with great enthusiasm by fans, the new Seiko Turtle immediately became a …
The history of Grand Seiko begins in 1960 with the introduction of the Grand Seiko Chronometer, better known today as Grand Seiko First. Between 1960 and the first half of the 1970s, numerous models were produced, which can be divided into seven different families, based on the movements. There are seven families, and not eight as we often hear, because the caliber 3180 (renamed 5720) and the 430 (renamed 5722) …
The SBDC007 automatic diver’s watch, nicknamed Shogun by enthusiasts, first appeared in Seiko catalogs in 2008, along with its orange variant SBDC009. The 44mm case, very light since it’s made of titanium, housed the caliber 6R15, a robust and reliable Seiko classic that we find in several watches of this range, with a power reserve of 50 hours, hacking and manual winding functions. In the second generation, introduced in 2020, …
At the beginning of 2004, Seiko introduced a new diver’s watch model, with a titanium case and water resistance up to 200 meters, available in three colors: black (SBDA001), blue (SBDA003) and orange (SBDA005). The shape of the hands, which for some enthusiasts resembled swords, earned it the nickname of Samurai, which is still maintained today despite the fact that the new models have completely different hands, “borrowed” from the …
Appearing for the first time in Japan in 2000, with the references SKX779 (black dial) and SKX781 (orange dial), these diving watches with a “grotesque” appearance immediately divided enthusiasts. Renamed Seiko Monster because of their design, they are loved by some and hated by others, and over the years they have been able to attract the attention of many collectors. In this guide we will see all the models released …