It has been a while since I’ve reviewed a Seiko dive watch, and I’ve certainly missed them. Seiko is one of my favorite sports-watch makers, and it has an enviable history of making high-quality diver-style watches at a range of price points. Seiko has become so popular in the dive watch space because of its seemingly equal interest in producing affordable or high-end dive watch packages. The brand has also spent a lot of time over the last few years upgrading the construction of many of its legacy creations, while also asserting what Seiko feels are its core designs and models. Given current price points and offerings, this Seiko Prospex 1968 Heritage Diver’s GMT SPB519 watch is priced in the middle between Seiko’s entry-level mechanical diver’s watches and the much more expensive luxury models that contain fancier movements. That said, I don’t think you need to spend too much more than this to be happy, and Seiko offers a lot of features for the money.
Oddly, Seiko seems to be competing with itself by offering similar-looking models at dramatically different price points. I am very happy with this 42mm wide steel-cased Marinemaster-style GMT diver’s watch, but Seiko confuses me by having similar options for more money. I must admit that I get confused as I try to compare it spec-for-spec with a watch Seiko currently makes that looks very similar, but costs $2,000 more. You see, while this Seiko Prospex GMT SPB519 very much looks like a Seiko Marinemaster, Seiko does not consider this model a Marinemaster. Marinemaster watches cost more. Let’s consider, for example, the recently released Seiko Prospex Marinemaster HBF001. It has a roughly similar steel case size, it also has a ceramic bezel, it looks very similar, and it also has an automatic movement (though time+date and not a GMT). That three-hand Seiko “proper” Marinemaster costs $3,600 USD, which is $1,900 more than this Seiko SPB519. Granted, there are a few little upgrades and a better 8LXX series versus the 6RXX movement family — but I continue to feel like Seiko is generally causing confusion by having such similar products. That is another matter altogether, but I know that most people interested in this Marinemaster-esque Prospex GMT watch are going to browse the Seiko website just like me, and they don’t have the knowledge to figure this out.
Do you think it is okay for me to refer to this Seiko as a Marinemaster, even if Seiko doesn’t? The Marinemaster, to me, is defined by its case shape, bezel, style of hands, and hour markers. The Prospex 1968 Heritage Diver’s GMT has all the hallmarks of the Marinemaster from what I can tell. I will further say that the Marinemaster aesthetic is my absolute favorite of Seiko’s currently produced dive watch styles. For decades, Seiko has produced the Marinemaster style in so many product forms. To me, the aesthetic says “Japanese Rolex Submariner,” which is a concept I find endearing. Rather than the traditional black dial, this particular take on the style has a light silver dial, red accents, and a blue ceramic bezel insert. Seiko claims that this particular colorway honors the original 1968 diver’s watch, and it is certainly an uncommon way to enjoy the Marinemaster look on your wrist.
If you haven’t handled a Seiko Prospex watch in a number of years, you’ll see a lot of upgrades in a product like the SPB519. The ceramic bezel is just one example. The overall steel case quality and polishing are beautiful. The bracelet no longer feels like an afterthought, and the deployant clasp is made from solid milled-style pieces of metal, as opposed to a lot of the stamped components once used for such wristwatches. From a quality and finishing standpoint, this is truly an excellent product. The watch is also great for diving. Seiko’s Lumibrite material is bright, and the steel case is water resistant to 300 meters. The unidirectional rotating bezel feels solid, but not everyone will like its quieter, mushier clicks. I actually ended up not minding the bezel action at all (and appreciating its engineering), but readily admit it is not what people expect, given how “clicky” many higher-end dive watch bezels tend to be.
The case is produced from steel and is 42mm wide and 13.3mm thick with a 48.6mm lug-to-lug distance. While it’s a bit thick, this is a very comfortable timepiece to have on the wrist. Over the dial is a box sapphire crystal with AR-coating on the underside. This small extra crystal height with its beveled edge is good for aesthetics as it plays with the light well. Though strictly speaking, you want the crystal recessed or at least flush with the bezel in order to best protect it from impacts, etc. Seiko once again positions the signature-less (naked from branding) crown at the roughly 4 o’clock position on the case for ergonomic purposes. Large and easy to grasp (even with the watch on the wrist, which is highly uncommon), the crown is out of the way and won’t jab you.
In the title of this article, I say that this Seiko Prospex is a hybrid watch. I didn’t just mean Prospex moonlighting as a formal Marinemaster, but rather a diver’s watch with a GMT function. Rather than being a serious two-time zone travel watch, this is a strong diver-style watch that also happens to have a secondary GMT function. That implies the best person to get this watch is someone who really wants a diver (as opposed to a GMT), but wants some GMT functionality mixed in to the package. First of all, it’s a caller GMT, meaning you adjust the GMT hand instead of the hour hand (as you would in a more focused traveler’s watch). Second, the GMT scale itself is not prominently emphasized. In fact, you need to look at the dial at a slight angle to even see the GMT numeric scale that is printed on the angled flange ring placed around the periphery of the dial. If you look directly at the dial, you cannot really view the 24-hour numeral scale. Sometimes GMT dive watches put the GMT scale on the bezel, but that isn’t what Seiko did here, as they preferred to maintain the 60-minute timing scale. Thus, I don’t really think of this as a GMT watch that you can dive with. Rather, I see it as a diver’s watch that happens to have GMT functionality, which many people will probably opt to use as an AM/PM indicator (which is what I have been doing with the SPB519).
The movement inside the Seiko Prospex Diver’s GMT is the in-house Seiko caliber 6R54 automatic. This movement operates at 3Hz with an impressive three days of power reserve. The movement features the time, date, and the adjustable 24-hour hand. Seiko uses the Prospex case to shield it from a decent level of magnetism. Seiko doesn’t claim that its 6R54 movement is as accurate as the more expensive 4Hz 8L45 movement in the proper Marinemaster, but I found it to be generally accurate and reliable in my testing. There’s no view of the movement, though the caseback that mixes laser-etched text with a more deeply etched wave and…something rising above it. It might be obvious to you, but I cannot immediately determine the precise meaning of the artwork.
This Seiko is the first I have reviewed with the new and upgraded steel deployant clasp. It features a fold-over locking clasp as well as a microadjust system. The entire assembly feels great and works very fluidly. It is a huge upgrade over some of the legacy bracelet hardware once found on even expensive Seiko diver models. My only issue with it is that when the microadjustment is open, it looks more like a diver’s extension rather than an elegant way to increase the size of the bracelet a bit. That’s because the metal extension bar is what pulls out from the bracelet, as opposed to another link, which is otherwise hidden inside the deployant. The implication is that for aesthetic purposes, most people will want to wear the bracelet’s microadjust system in the entirely closed position. Of course, this problem does not exist if you decide to get Seiko’s much more expensive Prospex Marinemaster. That model has a slightly different bracelet as well as a deployant and micro-adjust system. One interesting piece of trivia is that, according to Seiko, this SPB519 watch is the first time Seiko has used this particular deployant clasp on a non-limited edition watch.
Seiko continues to make some of the best divers’ watches around, even if its catalog and model assortment can make it challenging to understand the differences between them. The Seiko Prospex 1968 Heritage Diver’s GMT watch is trying to be multiple things at the same time, and mostly succeeds despite having a few quirks and faults. Seiko is attempting the complicated task of creating and maintaining aesthetic product pillars, while at the same time trying to stratify its price points. This is very challenging to do and makes it difficult for consumers to understand minor product differences at a distance. All I can say is that it ends up being a very good reason for you to visit a Seiko dealer to compare these seemingly similar models that, in person, easily distinguish themselves.
The Seiko Prospex 1968 Heritage Diver’s GMT SPB519 is not part of a huge family, but Seiko does offer this and similar models with different dial colors. It is important to note that Seiko still currently sells the older generation models, such as the black dial SPB383 and the green dial SPB381. The newer generation is 300 versus 200 meters water resistant, and has the new deployant buckle. Currently, the only other two watches of this newer generation are the limited-edition Seiko SPB509 (with a blue dial to match the blue ceramic bezel and a yellow GMT hand) and the Seiko SPB534 (black dial and ceramic bezel with gold accents). Given their limited status, both of those watches cost $50 more than this not limited SPB519. I very much like the brighter and more cheerful silver dial with its blue bezel and slight red accents. It doesn’t really feel like anything else in the current Seiko collection, and as I said above, it feels like a pricing sweet spot between Seiko’s lower-end and much higher-end Prospex Dive models. Retail price for the Seiko Prospex Heritage Diver’s GMT SPB519 is $1,700 USD. For more information, please visit the Seiko Watches website.