In 1881, a 21 year old entrepreneur named Hattori Kintaro opened a shop selling and repairing watches and clocks in central Tokyo. 140 years later and that shop is now a global phenomenon otherwise known as Seiko. In celebration of their birthday, the Japanese watch manufacturer have launched an exclusive series of watches including four limited edition Seiko 140th Anniversary Prospex, Presage, Astron and 5 Sports models dressed in the same white and blue livery.
Seiko are no strangers to marking their historic milestones. Just last year we saw several Grand Seiko limited edition designed in celebration of the collection’s 60th birthday, a Seiko 55th Anniversary Divers watch to mark the same years since the release of their first ever diving timepiece and even a Seiko Astron GPS Solar reference proudly engineered in celebration of Kintaro Hattori’s 160th birthday. As 2021 marks the brand’s 140th anniversary, it was no surprise to any of us that a fleet of new releases would come our way, and lo and behold, they launched the Seiko 140th Anniversary Limited Edition collection.
Designed to capture the scene of a blue sky piercing through the clouds, each Seiko 140th Anniversary Limited Edition watch features a classic stainless steel case, blue bezel, crisp white dial and blue hands. They differ in almost every other way however, following in the footsteps of its model’s familiar DNA. Let’s take a look at each model in more detail…
Seiko Prospex 140th Anniversary SPB213 Watch
Arguably one of the brand’s most popular references, the Seiko Prospex is given an icy blue and white makeover as part of 140th Anniversary series. Reference SPB213, which is limited to 6,000 pieces, continues to take inspiration from Seiko’s first ever divers watch released in 1965 with a robust 40.5mm stainless steel case and matching stainless steel bracelet with folding buckle. The pure white dial is equipped with steel Lumibrite hands for hours and minutes, a date window and a beautifully contrasting blue seconds hand. The matching blue bezel is characteristic of the Prospex line, delivering incredible functionality for diving with unidirectional functionality and a 60 minute scale. Inside, the Seiko Prospex 140th Anniversary SPB213 watch is powered by the automatic winding Calibre 6R35 which delivers a 70 hour power reserve.
Specifications:
- Case Size: 40.5mm
- Case Material: Stainless steel with super-hard coating
- Bezel: Unidirectional
- Glass: Curved sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
- Crown: Screw in
- Case Back: Screw down
- Water Resistance: 200 metres
- Movement: Calibre 6R35 automatic
- Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date
- Power Reserve: 70 hours
- Jewels: 24
- Frequency: 21,600bph
- Dial: White with Lumibrite hands
- Strap: Stainless steel bracelet with super-hard coating
- Buckle: Three-fold clasp with push button release, secure lock and extender
- Limited Edition: 6,000
- RRP: £1,130
- Release Date: May 2021
Seiko Astron 140th Anniversary SSH093 Watch
Seiko Astron watches aren’t quite as widely discussed as some of the other Seiko families, but they are without a doubt some of the brand’s most technically impressive. The iconic GPS Solar aesthetic is replicated once again but this time with a 42.7mm stainless steel case, steel bracelet, blue ceramic fixed bezel and a smooth silver, almost white, dial adorned with contrasting blue accents. Inside, its technological prosperity remains the same with the GPS Dual-Time 5X53 Calibre allowing you to adjust to the exact time anywhere in the world with just a simple touch of a button. The Seiko Astron 140th Anniversary SSH093 watch is the most limited out of the entire collection, restricted to only 1,400 pieces with dual curved sapphire crystal glass and a 100 metres water resistance.
Specifications:
- Case Size: 42.7mm
- Case Material: Stainless steel with super-hard coating
- Bezel: Blue ceramic, fixed
- Glass: Dual-curved sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
- Crown: Screw in
- Case Back: Screw down
- Water Resistance: 100 metres
- Movement: Calibre 5X52 Solar
- Functions: Dual time with AM/PM indication, perpetual calendar, automatic DST adjustment, GPS controlled time and time zone adjustment, time transfer function, signal reception result indication, world time function, power save function
- Accuracy: +/– 15 seconds per month
- Dial: White with Lumibrite hands
- Strap: Stainless steel bracelet with super-hard coating
- Buckle: Three-fold clasp with push button release
- Limited Edition: 1,400
- RRP: £2,080
- Release Date: June 2021
Seiko Presage 140th Anniversary SPB223 Watch
For us, the Seiko Presage collection has always been the more sophisticated member of the Seiko family delivering a stunning range of dress watches incorporating the same Japanese artistry as seen on their high-end Grand Seiko line. The new 42.4mm Seiko Presage 140th Anniversary SPB223 is no different, boasting a refined elegance characterised by its flat surfaces, sharp accents and of course, a new blue and white colourway. The dial of the Presage SPB223 is the most unique out of the four references embossed with a Asanoha or hemp leaf embossed pattern inspired by Japanese culture. The dial is equipped with a centrally mounted 24-hour GMT hand, power-reserve indicator and date display, all powered by the automatic winding Calibre 6R64. This reference is limited to 3,500 pieces.
Specifications:
- Case Size: 42.4mm
- Case Material: Stainless steel with super-hard coating
- Bezel: Blue ceramic, 24 hour scale
- Glass: Sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating
- Crown: Screw in
- Case Back: Screw down
- Water Resistance: 100 metres
- Movement: Calibre 6R64 automatic
- Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, GMT, date, power reserve indicator
- Power Reserve: 45 hours
- Jewels: 29
- Frequency: 28,800vph
- Dial: White with Lumibrite hands
- Strap: Stainless steel bracelet with super-hard coating
- Buckle: Three-fold clasp with push button release
- Limited Edition: 3,500
- RRP: £1,300
- Release Date: May 2021
Seiko 5 Sports 140th Anniversary SRPG47 Watch
The last Seiko 140th Anniversary watch in the collection is reference SRPG47, a design part of their fairly new but impressive Seiko 5 Sports collection. The series was designed to revive a historic Seiko collection first released in 1963 known as the Seiko Sportmatic 5. In similar fashion, the Seiko 5 Sports 140th Anniversary watch boasts incredible robustness and durability owing to the 42.5mm stainless steel case, steel bracelet, Hardlex crystal, 100 metre water resistant case and dazzling blue 60 minute bezel. Again, a white textured dial takes centre stage set with luminous hour, minutes and seconds hand and a day and date window powered by the Calibre 4R36 with a 41 hour power reserve. The limited edition is not really limited at all, with a whopping 11,000 pieces of the Seiko 5 Sports 140th Anniversary watch expected to be released next month.
Specifications:
- Case Size: 42.5mm
- Case Material: Stainless steel
- Bezel: Unidirectional
- Glass: Hardlex crystal
- Crown: Screw in
- Case Back: Screw down
- Water Resistance: 100 metres
- Movement: Calibre 4R36 automatic
- Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, day, date
- Power Reserve: 41 hours
- Jewels: 24
- Frequency: 21,600vph
- Dial: White with Lumibrite hands
- Strap: Stainless steel bracelet
- Buckle: Three-fold clasp with push button release and secure lock
- Limited Edition: 11,000
- RRP: £270
- Release Date: May 2021
