Functions:

Firstly, for all you Seiko enthusiasts, this premium timepiece has been made in Japan, indicated by the suffix ‘J’. Seiko watches made in Japan are hard to obtain outside of Japan due to the highest quality of craftsmanship and astonishing features that come in each individual timepiece. We have a range of Japanese watches here at Watchnation but in limited quantities, so if you are looking to add to your collection then this is the perfect place for you.

The Prospex Story:

Scuba-diving became increasingly popular around the 1960’s, an example of this was the formation of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) in 1965. Moreover, diving equipment was becoming increasingly reliable, so more people began to dive recreationally. There was of course a crucial need for divers to be able to time their dives. Subsequently, the watch market responded to this necessity by flooding the market with reliable dive watches.

In 1965, Seiko first produced their original dive watch – the 6217. This was the very first Japanese dive watch and it paved the path for future divers that claim to meet Seiko’s Professional Specifications. The original 6217 was notably worn by the 8th Japanese Antarctic expedition. This model featured bidirectional rotating bezel, legible lumed hands, and an easy-to-grip crown.

Although professional divers were still pining for a dive watch that had the capability of going deeper than 300 metres. The Seiko development team went about going to produce a watch which was capable of doing so. The year 1975 marks the release of the first Seiko Prospex, with the ability to be used in 600 metres of depth. The Prospex is the first diver watch to use a titanium case instead of standard steel. It was also the first to use a ceramic shroud for deep-sea diving and the first to use a hybrid analog digital watch with an alarm.

Another achievement for the Prospex family was the L-shape single crystal gasket, which prevented any helium escape valve unnessacary. This was one of the development teams first aims, to prevent a helium resistant watch. There were numerous other milestones that Seiko achieved with the Prospex. Such as in 1986 when Seiko produced a watch that was water resistant to 1000 metres.

The Brand: Seiko