The Seiko 5 Sports activities Heritage Design Re-creation Restricted Version

For followers of classic Seiko, in the present day’s new launch will likely be pleasing. The Seiko 5 Sports activities Heritage Design Re-creation Restricted Version, apart from being a mouthful, is a pair of implausible watches. These items use a case design firmly rooted within the late ’60s. That’s thrilling as a result of Seiko has created one other new case and is pushing to launch some nice fashions from their again catalog.

Among the many many Seiko and Grand Seiko releases we see every year, the model has quietly introduced a number of reissues of cult basic watches. Items together with the Navigator Timer SPB411 and the SRPK17 have been actual surprises and look nice within the metallic. Plus, they’re reasonably priced. The perfect information is that Seiko isn’t afraid to create a brand new case design for a limited-edition watch. That’s the story in the present day with the Seiko 5 Sports activities Heritage items we’ll talk about.

A fast look again on the 5126-8090

Earlier than we get into the brand new Seiko 5 Sports activities Heritage fashions, I’d like to attract your consideration to the inspiration behind these items. The 1968 reference 5126-8090 was certainly one of many Sports activities Diver fashions made throughout the late ’60s till the early ’70s. It has picked up the nickname, “Kamen Rider,” attributable to its use by a personality in a well-known Japanese TV present. I’ve talked about earlier than that these are a few of my favorites as a result of they’re artistic and cozy. Prior to now, they have been additionally fairly priced. Now, good Sports activities Divers are expensive and exhausting to seek out in good situation. One other level value noting is that roughly one 12 months in the past, Seiko got here with the SRPJ91. This watch used the SKX-style case with a 5126-inspired bezel and dial.

The Seiko 5 Sports activities Heritage fashions

The brand new Seiko 5 Sports activities Heritage fashions can be found with a silver (reference SRPL03) or black dial (reference SRPL05). These watches use a 38.5mm by 44.8mm stainless-steel case with 100 meters of water resistance. An exterior, dive-style bezel and Hardlex crystal convey the thickness to 12.4mm. Seiko has adorned the palms, bezel, and dial with their proprietary LumiBrite materials.

The watches come on a stainless-steel bracelet with a push-button and tri-fold clasp. The look differs from the unique bracelet however is just like what was used on final 12 months’s SRPK17. Hyperlinks could also be eliminated utilizing a pin and collar system.

A pleasant contact is the included black leather-based, rally-style strap with a signed buckle. All of this is available in a retro-design Seiko 5 Sports activities field. General, it’s a pleasant package deal and a becoming tribute to one of many model’s cooler watches.

A well-known motion

The Seiko 5 Sports activities Heritage fashions use the acquainted 4R36 automated motion. Whereas this motion received’t set the world on fireplace with its said accuracy of +45/-35 seconds per day or 41 hours of energy reserve, it’s a dependable runner that always reveals higher timing outcomes. Functionally, it has each a day and date show, according to the ’60s unique.

Ideas and pricing

Except for the semi-boring strap, there’s nothing destructive I can say in regards to the Seiko 5 Sports activities Heritage pair. These watches are the spitting picture of the unique 5126-8090 and so they look implausible. Sure, the dial language above 6 o’clock has been up to date to replicate extra water resistance and a unique jewel depend. The Daini image can be gone, however the general format is similar. The unique have been a number of the best-looking Sports activities Divers and are actually among the many most fascinating. A brand new watch of the identical dimension with fashionable reliability and robustness feels like a terrific thought.

Then there’s the pricing and availability. Seiko will launch these watches globally in July and every colour will likely be restricted to 9,999 individually numbered items. That signifies that availability shouldn’t be a problem. Pricing can be enticing at €460 or £400. As a reference, final 12 months’s SKX-based mannequin got here out at €380 on a leather-based strap, which makes these new items much more compelling. This was a enjoyable shock from Seiko in the present day. Hopefully, you agree!

For extra info on the brand new Seiko 5 Sports activities Heritage fashions, go to the official Seiko web site.

Watch specs