Imitation, nay, re-interpretation is the sincerest form of flattery.
The Seiko diver that started it all, a Reference 6217-8000, was released in 1965 and would go on to be known as the 62MAS in collector circles — MAS being an acronym pulling from the diver’s main function “‘autoMAtic Selfdater”. The watch featured a tidy 37mm stainless steel case with bold luminous markers, a distinguishable set of hands and a fully graduated rotating bezel that to this day, are the core design hallmarks of any Seiko Prospex diver. It would only be a matter of time (a shade over 50 years to be exact) until Seiko tapped their OG dive watch to produce a compelling heritage model for the modern wearer.
Seiko released the SPB14X series in 2020 as a celebration of 55 years of the 6217, and captured the hearts of vintage dive watch enthusiasts around the world. The continue to iterate on that platform, and this particular piece, a Reference SPB253, takes the core design and kicks it up a notch. Part of their Black Series collection and limited to 5,500 pieces, this Seiko diver features a 40.5mm stainless steel case with an applied black hard coating covering the entirely case, bezel, crown and caseback. It is equipped with a signed screw-down crown, 150 meters of water resistance, a curved sapphire crystal, unidirectionally-rotating timing bezel with orange accents and a screw-on caseback with Seiko’s signature wave emblem.
The gloss black dial has everything you would expect from the venerable diver — bold luminous rectangular markers, stick hands with a matching orange accented minute hand and contrasting date window at 3 o’clock. Paired with its factory signed rubber dive strap with matching hardware, this limited edition piece also includes a sweet brown nylon pass-through strap, as well as its factory warranty booklet and instruction manual.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a rookie or a seasoned vet in the world of watch collecting, a well-executed Seiko diver is something that’ll always put a smile on your face — and this one will make your smile just a tad bit wider than most!
