![]() The dominant design feature of the Grandfather Tuna and the watches that followed it is, without a doubt, the shrouded case design. Introduced in 1975, the “Tuna” was unlike anything else Seiko had ever produced, distinctively styled, but also paving the way for a long series of tech-forward designs featuring some of Seiko’s most interesting movements. Among the most intriguing dive watches introduced during this time was the Seiko 6159-7010, the so-called “Grandfather Tuna.” This milestone timepiece was developed in response to a now-famous letter from a professional diver expressing a need for a true diver’s watch that could withstand the conditions and shock that it would be exposed to under deep water conditions and activity. Highly specialized watches with novel features began to hit the market, and they didn’t look much at all like the divers that popularized the genre just a decade before. In the 1970s, as dive watches were becoming more common among the general public and manufacturing capabilities continued to advance, watch design took many unique turns. Their unique shape is among the most distinctive in the sports watch landscape, and has morphed from ugly duckling to something of a style icon in a few short decades. ![]() These unique dive watches have been a cult favorite for decades, while also serving as a lab of sorts for some of Seiko’s most ingenious technology. Today brings us to the final chapter in our series: Seiko’s shrouded divers. In this three part series, we’ll take a look at the histories of three distinct dive watch families under the Seiko umbrella - timepieces so iconic and treasured by watch aficionados that many have their own, unofficial nicknames - and track their evolution to today’s most modern, tech-forward, Prospex iterations. And with a starting price around $256 they won’t be terribly expensive, either.Seiko has a long history of making superior dive watches perfect for pros, weekend enthusiasts, and everyone in between. No worries, though: a proxy shopping service means you can smuggle these stateside and make all your G-Shock-wearing friends envious. The rest are all full-time models in the lineup, though they appear to be Japan exclusives right now. Seiko is making five SBEP references, with two of them - SBP007 and SBP009 - being limited pieces. ![]() ![]() This sounds silly on a fully digital watch until you realize the progression of minutes is shown not just on the analog display but also on a minute track on the outer edge of the display, allowing you to use the bezel as a makeshift timer if need be. (Sounds familiar, right?) One of the few vestiges of the Tuna’s analog roots is the rotating diving bezel. It’s water-resistant to 200 meters, boldly-sized at 49.5mm in diameter and features a solar-powered movement with alarm, world time and timer functions. While it may not have been Seiko’s intent, the final product looks poised to go toe-to-toe with Casio’s G-Shock line. ![]() The new SBEP is not without precedent - Seiko made the H558-5009, an analog-digital hybrid version of the Tuna back in the ’80s - but this is the first time we’ve seen the watch go fully-digital. The big, chunky, tuna-can-shaped “Tuna” diver has been a stalwart analog watch in the brand’s lineup since its introduction decades ago, but for 2018 the watchmaker is taking it in a bit of an unexpected direction by introducing a digital version, the SBEP series. ![]()
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