Never one to miss an anniversary, Seiko is continuing their celebration of 60 years of divers with a new Heritage Diver’s GMT in the Prospex collection in the reference SPB519. This will be a familiar frame to fans of the brand, and what’s new here is the shimmering silver dial with red accents set against a blue ceramic bezel insert. This may be the cleanest iteration of this design to yet be released, and one that continues to prove just how versatile a good starting design can be. The Prospex GMT delivered what many fans had been asking for, and Seiko is committed to fleshing it out for the long haul.
This watch may have a GMT complication, but it is first and foremost, a dive watch. Look no further than the bezel, which is fully indexed to the minutes, rather than split with a 24 hour design. For that information, you’ll have to peer further into the dial, where it’s been relegated to the very perimeter so as not to disturb the vital legibility of the rest of the watch (in theory, at least). For a watch celebrating the brand’s rich history of making dive watches, this one keeps its focal point in the right place.
In execution, everything works quite well here, save for what could be argued is the most important feature, legibility. The polished hands and hour markers set over a light silver dial leaves you at the mercy of your surroundings as far as contrast is concerned. On a bright day or at the wrong angle, the hands and markers will simply blend into the dial at a glance. This dial with black hour surrounds and hands would have gone pretty hard if you ask me, but you could charitably interpret this design as decorative in nature.
Inside sits Seiko’s automatic caliber 6R54 with 72 hours of reserve on tap (as bluntly noted on the dial). It’s worth noting that this is a ‘caller’ style GMT, meaning the hour hand is not independently adjustable. This sits within a 42mm steel case that measures a hair over 13mm in total thickness, with a depth rating of 300 meters. The three link bracelet does get Seiko’s quick adjust system that allows for around 14mm of adjustment on the fly with the press of a button.
Overall, this is a sharp addition to the Prospex collection that highlights the versatility of Seiko’s dive watch design language. It pays tribute to a wonderfully rich history, and features a colorway with plenty of personality. The Seiko Prospex 60th Anniversary Diver SPB519 will be available this June, priced from €1,900. Seiko
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