Seiko has long been the champion of the everyman watch collector, offering well-built mechanical timepieces at a price point that almost anyone can access. One of the Japanese watchmaker’s most popular entry-level dive watch collections, the SKX line, was discontinued a few years ago but this week the replacement of the well-loved 38mm SKX013 has been announced in a new range of Seiko mechanical divers.
Forming a part of the revamped Seiko 5 Sports collection that superseded the original SKX collection, this new line-up of universally wearable divers arrives with four different variants including the SRPK31 (champagne), the SRPK33 (teal), the SRPK29 (black), and the SRPK35 (orange). With a lug-to-lug measurement of 44.2mm and a thickness of 12.1mm, they aren’t petite by any stretch of the imagination but wear a little smaller on the wrist than the rest of the Seiko 5 Sports collection which measures 42.5mm in diameter.
The black and champagne dial colours are definitely the most classic of the four designs, with dark grey hands that match the tone of the hour markers (and the bezel of the champagne reference), while the orange and teal are a little more vibrant and eye-catching with gold hands. All four references are powered by the workhorse 4R36 automatic movement which offers 41 hours of power reserve when fully wound and arrives on three-link steel bracelets with a brushed finish that matches the case.
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While this collection is the closest thing in the current catalogue that enthusiasts have to the well-loved SKX013, it’s worth noting this latest 38mm release isn’t a “true” dive watch as it only has 100m of water resistance (compared to 200m for the SKX013), doesn’t have a screw-down crown and is missing its lume dot on the bezel for time-tracking in low light. Despite those omissions, which if we’re honest don’t change the use cases for 99% of the people likely to own them, it’s great to see Seiko bringing back the 38mm size and with a range of dial colours that classic looks and a bit of pop in equal measure.
All four new references are currently available for pre-order, with deliveries expected to arrive in May and June. They arrive with an RRP of $495.
