Seiko | Featured Brand at Time+Tide Watches

06.04.2021
Zach Blass

INTRODUCING: A trio of new Seiko 5 Sports X Evisen Skateboards watches

Seiko is known for reliable, robust and value-driven offerings – undercutting the prices of their competitors without compromising quality. They are also known for their creative collaborations, incorporating popular culture like Naruto anime into their designs. Today, their latest partnership is with the popular Japanese skate brand in the new Seiko 5 Sports X Evisen Skateboards watches. Evisen Skateboards was founded in 2011, the name derived from the word ‘‘everything’’ pronounced with Japanese intonation. The name was chosen to express their belief that ‘‘skateboarding is everything’’. The brand has released a variety of products that incorporate ancient Japanese traditions and culture, as well as works by artists associated with the brand – a production culture very in line with what Seiko offers. The result of the partnership is three limited-edition Seiko 5 Sports watches that incorporate elements of Seiko and Evisen design. The three cases share the same dimensions with each watch 42.5mm in diameter and 13.4mm thick. Each of the cases are satin-brushed on their front with a tapered polished bevel to the brushed lug hoods. The casebands of each are executed in full mirror polish, blending sporty and elegant finishes. As a Seiko 5 Sports watch, it is… Read More

Read More No Comments

21.03.2021
Nick Kenyon

11 of the best affordable dive watches under $5k

Dive watches are probably the single most popular watch category and with good reason. They are robust, water resistant and, as dress codes become increasingly casual, can also be worn pretty much anywhere you aren’t expected to wear a bow-tie. The variations within dive watches over the decades are another reason that collectors find them so compelling. Some dive watches have important links to armed forces around the world, which can send enthusiasts into a frenzy of minutia obsession. Likewise the different ways that brands have creatively overcome the challenges of the deep, such as legibility or helium build-up, allow for rich scholarship into the details of such evolutions. But at the core of it, we all just love watches that look great and don’t need to be wrapped in cotton wool as we go about our busy lives. And if we don’t have to spend a fortune, that’s even better. So what are the best affordable dive watches out there right now? We’ve put together a list of 11 different references from a number of different brands that will all ring up the till less than $5k (in watch collecting, everything is relative, especially what is affordable) and represent… Read More

Read More No Comments

16.03.2021
Zach Blass

INTRODUCING: The Seiko Prospex SLA051J1 and SLA049J1 Limited Edition

Prospex is the largest growing Seiko line-up with buyers flocking to add pieces from the collection to their wrist. Highly robust and value-driven, these watches can be more affordable than their competitors with little to no sacrifice in the quality of fabrication. While many will refer to this watch as a new entry into the “Willard” line of Seiko divers – named after the watch worn by Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) in Apocalypse Now – that’s actually not the back story here. This watch is really a tribute to the Japanese adventurer Naomi Uemura, who wore a similar piece in the 1970s while completing a 12,500km solo dog-sled run from Greenland to Alaska. Now outfitted with a textured charcoal gray dial, the Seiko Prospex SLA051J1 is a modern re-interpretation of the diving watch that Uemura wore on that expedition. The SLA049 meanwhile is available in a limited-edition run of 1200 pieces and celebrates the 80th anniversary of Uemura’s birth with a blue dial reminiscent of the mountainous terrain that he explored. The stainless-steel cases are 44mm in diameter, but more compact than their diameter lets on with a lug to lug measurement under 48mm. The flying saucer-like profiles wear well… Read More

Read More No Comments

06.04.2021
Zach Blass

INTRODUCING: A trio of new Seiko 5 Sports X Evisen Skateboards watches

Seiko is known for reliable, robust and value-driven offerings – undercutting the prices of their competitors without compromising quality. They are also known for their creative collaborations, incorporating popular culture like Naruto anime into their designs. Today, their latest partnership is with the popular Japanese skate brand in the new Seiko 5 Sports X Evisen Skateboards watches. Evisen Skateboards was founded in 2011, the name derived from the word ‘‘everything’’ pronounced with Japanese intonation. The name was chosen to express their belief that ‘‘skateboarding is everything’’. The brand has released a variety of products that incorporate ancient Japanese traditions and culture, as well as works by artists associated with the brand – a production culture very in line with what Seiko offers. The result of the partnership is three limited-edition Seiko 5 Sports watches that incorporate elements of Seiko and Evisen design. The three cases share the same dimensions with each watch 42.5mm in diameter and 13.4mm thick. Each of the cases are satin-brushed on their front with a tapered polished bevel to the brushed lug hoods. The casebands of each are executed in full mirror polish, blending sporty and elegant finishes. As a Seiko 5 Sports watch, it is… Read More

Read More No Comments

12.03.2021
Thor Svaboe

INTRODUCING: The first Seiko we’ve seen on a bund strap – the Limited Edition SJE085 Alpinist is a killer version of their first sports watch

When Seiko launched their new, vintage-inspired sub range of the Alpinist, we shared the three standard models in our story here, but we’ve kept the star under wraps. Here’s the fourth smaller sibling, the limited edition SJE085 Alpinist 1959 recreation, vintage purity on a surprising bund strap. While it might look like mere tweaks to the design of the bright trio covered in our previous story, the SJE085 is, in fact, much more than mere hand-stitched leather cuff-ery. While the look is the same, the case and lugs are only for this Limited Edition, with a 36.6mm diameter versus 38mm for the standard model, and a svelte 11.1mm thickness. This is obsessively designed with a deep passion for the Seiko Laurel original, but why not before I hear you ask? Well, Seiko have been rather generous with their limited and standard diver’s watches, with only a smattering of Presage in between a strong selection of skin divers and Tuna cans. This time they’ve pushed the boat out, especially on what is a charmingly quirky chocolate-sweet bund strap, its whimsical seams and outer grooves looking like nothing else on a standard Seiko. The watch case is both a celebration of the… Read More

Read More No Comments

10.03.2021
Thor Svaboe

INTRODUCING: This minty-fresh foursome celebrates the Seiko 140th Anniversary from a tough Seiko 5 to the technical tour de force of Astron.

It’s 140 years since Seiko founder Kintaro Hattori established his first watchmaking shop in Tokyo. To mark this occasion, the Seiko designers must’ve had a craving for menthol judging by the icy cool aesthetics of the Seiko 140th Anniversary collection. Seiko 5 Sports 140th Anniversary Limited Edition SRPG47K1 Let’s kick off with the most accessible piece, a sharp Seiko 5 Sports. I sincerely feel that we now can count the 5 as the proper heir to the SKX throne with a bewildering array of colourful editions available (like the ones covered in our story here or this mad batch of Anime-infused fun). There are 11,000 of these new pieces available, but I’d still get my skates on, as this is seriously fresh. Despite its 100 metre depth rating, the lack of a screw-in crown makes this more Sports than Diver, but a bulletproof everyday wearer nonetheless. The classic Seiko bright blue diver’s hands pop off the crisp white pattern on a balanced dial that’s one of the cleanest Seiko 5 designs yet. The laser-like lume glow and needle thin blue lollipop seconds hand are sharp finishing touches to a great first mechanical sports watch. You can’t really go wrong with… Read More

Read More No Comments

07.03.2021
Thor Svaboe

INTRODUCING: The new Seiko Prospex 1959 Alpinist Modern Re-Interpretation

Neo-vintage? Vintage-inspired? Take your pick with this new interpretation of the Alpinist. Personally, I love it, I’m still happily surfing on the vintage wave – somewhat more like a tsunami at times, and haven’t had my fill of nostalgia yet. Seiko gave us what we wanted in 2020, but there’s no stopping them in this 140th anniversary year. After releasing a fresh new take on the Alpinist last autumn, here is a brand new vision for the series in the Seiko Prospex 1959 Modern Re-Interpretation, a strong trio of references that reimagine what many cite as Seiko’s first sports watch that was build to meet the robust demands of mountain climbers. My personal challenge is simply to keep up with the releases, as the production might of Seiko is apparently impervious to mere pandemics. We were genuinely delighted last week when we saw the launch of a pure vintage Alpinist vision on a bund strap, and now we have a complementary trio with a slightly more modern touch, while not losing their retro panache. Do a quick take on the images and you’ll spot what are still strong vintage cues, albeit in a clean-cut case that’s more pronounced in its… Read More

Read More No Comments