Prospex divers 55th anniversary

[1William]

Interesting watches but nothing that immediately rings my bell. The pricing keeps edging up but they will all sell out and the secondary market will be strong down the road. I will check them out when my AD get's them in.

[mgsooner]

Originally Posted by Jp28

Funny that all the additional announcements have been removed ! As stated

“Previously there were a number of additional watches listed on this page. These watches were shown in the Seiko 2020 catalog that was provided on the seikowatches.com website.

Unfortunately this catalog was incorrectly uploaded by Seiko as it contained a number of watches that are still under embargo (as of 2020-03-06). The catalog has now been removed from the Seiko website and I have removed the information previously contained as per the request for Seiko Australia. These new models will be announced in coming weeks and will appear on local Seiko sites when officially released.”

Ha. Oops.

[Lol-x]

Originally Posted by Seiko

The greatest advance is in the grade of stainless steel used in the construction of the three watches. To be known as Seiko's "Ever-Brilliant Steel," thanks to the brilliant white hue that gives this trilogy of watches its unique look, this grade of steel is more corrosion resistant than that which is used in most high-end watches today.*

What is this some kind of "904L" with a proprietary Seiko label applied. Seems to be copying the style of Rolex with superior metal and name.

[037]

Originally Posted by Lol-x

What is this some kind of "904L" with a proprietary Seiko label applied. Seems to be copying the style of Rolex with superior metal and name.

904L is an industry-standard stainless for corrosive environments. Rolex didn't invent it.

Given the PRE number though, it's not 904L. They say their alloy is 1.7X higher than 316L, which is roughly 30, so it has to have a PREN of around 50. The closest I can find in that range is 4565S with a range of 42.0~52.1. I recall them saying somewhere that the actual PREN was 44, which would also put 254SMO and 1925hMo as possibilities.

It could also be Sandvik Sanicro 28 but I doubt it. I suspect it's supplied by Outokumpu (which is Finnish despite sounding somewhat Japanese) given their history with anti-corrosive stainless.

I'd personally lean towards it being 1925hMo / 926 stainless but that's a SWAG given very little info.

Either way, they are using a SERIOUS stainless steel here and it's absolutely not 904L. That I'm 100% certain of given the data.

[Lol-x]

I know Rolex call theirs "Oyster-Steel" now Seiko calls theirs "Ever-brilliant Steel".

[037]

Yes.

Sorry, I kinda geeked out there.

[mgsooner]

It’s 905L steel.

[razzz]

beautiful!

[Xenophon]

They're all very nice but the price is about double what I'd pay.

[037]

Price seems to be the sticking point for many.

Had Seiko released these at the same price as their counterparts, I wonder if that would have been accepted more or less by the community?

For the record, I do think they're priced high but am not sure what the right numbers would be to keep everyone happy.

[Locust]

Originally Posted by 037

Price seems to be the sticking point for many.

Had Seiko released these at the same price as their counterparts, I wonder if that would have been accepted more or less by the community?

For the record, I do think they're priced high but am not sure what the right numbers would be to keep everyone happy.

Well $4250 was too much for the sla033. 5k was too much for the LX line. $3400 was too much for the SLA017 3 years ago. 🤷*♂️

[Locust]

Think the marine master 300 was $1900 back before it was discontinued. (Someone correct next if I’m wrong). Seems like sub 2k is a good comfort level for many. I think 6k is high for the record. But they only made 1100. Think they’ll sell out of the 62mas no problem.

[MARTIN1264]

Originally Posted by eskiserkan

Ridiculous pricing from Seiko... Esprcially movement with +15sec/day

Agreed... Insane pricing.

[037]

Originally Posted by Locust

$3400 was too much for the SLA017 3 years ago. 🤷*♂️

That's funny since I passed up the 017 in 2017 telling myself that the price was way too high for what it was. Fast forward two years and I paid a bit more for my 017 used and enjoy the heck out of it.

Originally Posted by Locust

Seems like sub 2k is a good comfort level for many. I think 6k is high for the record. But they only made 1100. Think they’ll sell out of the 62mas no problem.

Agreed. Seiko probably decided the threshold was high enough on the 55ths that enthusiasts would buy rather than speculators. I personally expect to see them depreciating a bit, just like many of the limited GS.

[Lol-x]

Interesting they have gone with a 'tropic' style strap on the SLA037 rather than the rubber pyramid texture style strap they used on the SLA017.

I hope the new tropic strap is black (hard to tell maybe its midnight blue), so I can get it for my SLA017 as I find the standard SLA017 rubber strap makes my watch rotate off-centre on my wrist Damn that is annoying Seiko if you are listening!!!

[037]

It's blue for sure and the same silicone formula. Likely it will have the same overall geometry and inherent issues with fit.

Get a real (remake) Tropic. The rubber is far better and doesn't attract dust.

https://www.tropicstrap.com/

I have my SLA017 on an Isofrane made by the same company. I've had this strap for 15+ years on many dives and it's still just like new. It's made from the same rubber formula. And it still smells like vanilla after all this time.

[Lol-x]

Thanks for that Erik, will the 20mm fit as it says only 20mm available?

[Rebel]

Good looking watches.

[037]

Originally Posted by Lol-x

Thanks for that Erik, will the 20mm fit as it says only 20mm available?

Yeah, 20mm will fit just fine. The springbar holes are 2mm diameter, so the OEM bars will be a tight fit, but the rubber is super soft and will compress width-wise to fit between the lugs.

I'm going to order a Tropic soon since I know how well the Isofrane works. I'll want it for the SLA037.

Here's mine (also 20mm). If you want a brighter photo just yell.

[jrs146]

Looks awesome!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[gnuyork]

Originally Posted by 037

Yeah, 20mm will fit just fine. The springbar holes are 2mm diameter, so the OEM bars will be a tight fit, but the rubber is super soft and will compress width-wise to fit between the lugs.

I'm going to order a Tropic soon since I know how well the Isofrane works. I'll want it for the SLA037.

Here's mine (also 20mm). If you want a brighter photo just yell.

That looks so so good.

[Lol-x]

The SLA017 is very photogenic!

I found this tropic which looks pretty good and much more economical but still 20mm and I'm worried it will not fit the narrow 19mm lugs on the SLA017 & SLA037....
https://www.cheapestnatostraps.com/c...tropic-2-0-tpu

[Ny325]

They look great. Pricing on the other hand, WOW. My turtle SRP773 will fill the void. I like the straps though.

[037]

Originally Posted by gnuyork

That looks so so good.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by Lol-x

The SLA017 is very photogenic!

I found this tropic which looks pretty good and much more economical but still 20mm and I'm worried it will not fit the narrow 19mm lugs on the SLA017 & SLA037....
https://www.cheapestnatostraps.com/c...tropic-2-0-tpu

She sure does have a purty face...

Not sure on that strap. At that price you're taking a chance on how soft or hard the rubber is. That's where a more expensive strap becomes worth it. Buy one, cry once.

[toxicavenger]

Originally Posted by 037

It's blue for sure and the same silicone formula. Likely it will have the same overall geometry and inherent issues with fit.

Get a real (remake) Tropic. The rubber is far better and doesn't attract dust.

https://www.tropicstrap.com/

I have my SLA017 on an Isofrane made by the same company. I've had this strap for 15+ years on many dives and it's still just like new. It's made from the same rubber formula. And it still smells like vanilla after all this time.

The squared of edge on the new tropic looks unfinished in person. Pretty disappointing since it is not a cheap strap.

New Isofrane's do not have a vanilla smell. It was a marketing gimmick back when they started adding it.

[037]

Originally Posted by toxicavenger

The squared of edge on the new tropic looks unfinished in person. Pretty disappointing since it is not a cheap strap.

New Isofrane's do not have a vanilla smell. It was a marketing gimmick back when they started adding it.

New straps straight from Synchron no longer smell like vanilla? Well that sucks. The vanilla was added to counteract the smell of natural rubber. It's not a gimmick. It works. Rather, worked.

I haven't seen their Tropic in person but see what you mean on the square edge.

[MSchu]

While I did spring for a $4000 SLA033, $6000 for a SLA037 is just more than I am willing to pay for the watch... even with a 8l55 hi-beat. I've always wanted to add a SLA017 to my collection, but those are well into the $5000+ range already so I will take a wait and see attitude and maybe pick up the zero three seven after the luster is worn off... if they don't increase in price.

[037]

Originally Posted by MSchu

...and maybe pick up the zero three seven after the luster is worn off... if they don't increase in price.

I'm fully expecting to see the SLA037 decrease in time, not increase. Quite a few limited run GS models have decreased and there's far less craftsmanship in the new SLAs.

I'm looking forward to it regardless. Hopefully it doesn't disappoint.

[dchang81]

I'm gonna imagine they wont fly off shelves and would be able to pick it up for a decent discount. That's what I did for the SLA025. I was worried I'd miss out on the SLA033, but then supplies seem pretty plentiful nowadays and I got an ok discount. The new cheaper ones with the 6r15 honestly seem more interesting to me.

[gnuyork]

Originally Posted by MSchu

I've always wanted to add a SLA017 to my collection, but those are well into the $5000+ range already

I know, I just checked Chrono 24 last night. Yikes!