Are Seiko Watches Good?

Seiko has introduced a new green-dial version of its recently updated Marinemaster, and I think this might be one of the better-looking executions we’ve seen from the collection. The new Prospex Marinemaster Save the Ocean Limited Edition HBF003 takes the familiar 1968-inspired design and adds a green sunray dial with a pink gold-colored seconds hand. It’s limited to 900 pieces worldwide and will be available through Seiko boutiques.

Every once in a while, Seiko releases something that makes me wonder how it survived all the meetings required to become an actual product. The new Power Design Project Pandagraph is one of those watches. And I mean that as a compliment. The HHK001 and HHK002 began with designer Kiyotaka Sakai and Seiko’s Power Design Project, an internal program that gives designers room to explore ideas outside their usual assignments. The Pandagraph appeared as a concept in 2024, built around Sakai’s extremely literal interpretation of the “panda” chronograph.

Seiko has another European-exclusive Prospex Speedtimer, and the formula should be familiar by now. The new HBJ008 uses the existing 39mm solar chronograph platform with a dark blue dial, black subdials, bright orange accents, and a brown rally-style leather strap included alongside the steel bracelet. Production is limited to 4,000 pieces. I think the dial is easily the reason to pay attention here.

Seiko is adding another watch to the modern King Seiko Vanac collection, and at first glance, the change is mostly about the dial. The new King Seiko Vanac HKF005 takes the angular steel platform introduced with the current Vanac lineup and gives it a dark, glitter-like dial that Seiko says was inspired by Tokyo’s city lights at night. Looks pretty darn cool out the gate.

Seiko has two more 5 Sports models arriving this October, and at first glance, the HDB004 and HDB005 look like another pair of color additions to an already enormous collection. Dig around a little, however, and there’s a cooler story here. Seiko is revisiting the old SNZH design (one I used to own), a watch that occupied its own strange and memorable corner of the Seiko 5 catalog.

Seiko has added two new watches to the Prospex Speedtimer family, and these are a little strange in a way I think works. The new Heritage Motoring Countdown Speedtimers take recognizable pieces of Seiko’s motorsport history and rearrange them into three-hand automatic watches with internal countdown bezels. There’s no chronograph here, which makes the Speedtimer designation worth talking about.

Seiko isn’t exactly afraid of color. Between bright Prospex divers, limited editions, textured Presage dials, and enough shades of blue to occupy their own Pantone book, the brand has given collectors plenty to choose from. Still, the new HBC011 Prospex 1965 Heritage Diver surprised me a bit. At first glance, this may be my favorite colorful Seiko release in recent years.

Seiko has returned to one of the safest places in its history for inspiration: the 1913 Laurel, widely recognized as Japan’s first wristwatch. This time, the result is a pair of regular-production Presage Classic Series watches that use traditional Japanese dial techniques and arrive at prices that deserve a closer look.

Seiko’s 145th year has played out like a slow reveal, one new release at a time. Back in February, the brand leaned on gold to stand in for its past. In May, it reached for the Seiko Blue it settled on in the 1960s to represent the present. Now comes the third act, a run of six limited editions built around a single traditional dye and pitched, a little grandly, as the brand’s future. The shade tying them together is Edo Purple.

Most watch collaborations borrow a logo and call it a day. Every so often, one actually borrows an idea. Honda spent the early 1980s trying to shrink personal transport into something that could ride in a car trunk, and Seiko has now built a watch around that same small-is-the-point thinking. The case stays compact on purpose, sized to echo the machine printed on the dial. That machine is the Motocompo, and the watch is the new Seiko 5 Sports HDB010.

I’ve spent years politely nodding at the Seiko Samurai before moving on to something else. The angular case has never grabbed me, and outside of a rare exception or two, the collection has always sat in someone else’s corner rather than mine. My co-founder Kaz had a lovely aqua-blue limited edition a while back, and I’ve kept a soft spot for the rare titanium orange original from the mid-2000s, but the modern Samurai and I have mostly kept our distance. That’s what makes this week strange. Two new dials stopped me cold: the yellow HBB003 and the orange HBB004.