Much to Celebrate

The 55th anniversary of Seiko's dive watches is a big thing to celebrate.  This year it seems that Seiko has done more to celebrate the 55th anniversary than it did with the 50th anniversary.  While Seiko has created many dive watches that celebrate the 55th anniversary, there are three crown jewels.  One of the crown jewels is the 1968 remake the SLA039.  This watch is amazing it celebrates everything that Seiko is and wants to be down the road.  

The SLA039

The 1968 dive watch was an important watch in Seiko's history.  In 2018 Seiko released the SLA025, a watch that won the industry's most coveted honor the Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Genève.  It was the first Seiko dive watch to do so.  Why do we mention this, the SLA039 is essentially the same watch but with a different color pattern.  Instead of the black dial and band, the SLA39 is replaced with the 55th anniversary blue.  

Seiko's first high-beat diver's watch, created in 1968, is an important part of this tradition. With a 10-beat high precision automatic caliber, a one-piece structure, a mono-directional rotating bezel and screw-down protection crown, the success of this model laid the foundation for the Seiko diver's watch development which has now, for 50 years, pushed back the frontiers of precision, durability and ease of use in watches for professional and recreational divers.

The SLA039 is one of the three of the most important landmarks from Seiko's first decade as a maker of diver's watches are now re-created in celebration of the 55th anniversary of that first achievement. They are offered in the Prospex collection which is today synonymous with excellence in watches for use in all types of sports and challenging environments.

Caliber: 8L55

The watch caliber is Seiko's amazing 8L55.  It is a 10-beat high precision automatic caliber.  The movement is automatic with winding capacity so you can wind or hack the watch.  The accuracy for the 8L55 is +15 to -10 seconds every day.  With the SLA039 has a 50 hour duration.

Exterior

Like the original 1968 version, this recreation features a flat case with a sharp design. Seiko's unique Zaratsu polishing techniques accentuate the edges, bringing additional sharpness and beauty to the lugs.  The case is made of Ever-Brilliant Steel a high grade superior steel.  While the original model was an air diver's watch, the re-creation has been upgraded for saturation diving via a resilient one-piece case structure. The case measures 44.8mm with a 15.7mm thickness.  Even with this enhanced specification, the watch rests easily on any size wrist.  The crystal features a dual-curved sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on the inner surface.  The watch has fantastic lume with lumibrite on hands, indexes and bezel.

Band Material

The band is a classic waffle style dive band made of smooth silicone.  The band is unique featuring a blue-grey color that celebrates the 55th anniversary of Seiko dive watches. 

Water Resistance

The watch is a true dive watch ISO tested at 300m / 1000ft for saturation diving.  

Other Specifications

• Extremely limited edition watch one of 1,100 worldwide
• Monoblonc case, One-piece structure
• Screw-down crown and case
• Limited Edition Serial number engraved on the case back
• Unidirectional rotating bezel
• Stop seconds hand function

The DePaulas Difference.