Seiko SRP789 Black/Red "Turtle" Reissue

Here's the other half of Seiko's recent release of new "Turtle" reissues, the black and red "Coke" SRP789. The details of this line of watches can be found in my earlier reviews of the SRP777 (see post here), and this model's launch sibling the SRP787 (see review here).

The key feature of this model is the adoption of a black and red ("Coke") color scheme, particularly the use of red with the unidirectional rotating dive bezel up to the 20 minute mark, and the outline of the minute hand. Almost everything else is black, except for some white and silver highlights here and there. The effect is pretty much minimalist, but the overall execution provides for a very legible package which is on the whole pleasing to the eye.

Some photos:

SRP789, AKA "Coke Turtle".

 

Seiko SRP787 Black/Blue "Turtle" Reissue

Seiko dive watch fans in this part of the world are fortunate again in that we have first dibs on new members of the "Turtle" reissue series, a few months before they are scheduled to be made available in other territories. Most Seiko aficionados recall that the initial release of the new series of SRP77x divers paying homage to the iconic Seiko 6306/6309 happened here in Southeast Asia around late November or early December last year, at least a full month before these were made available anywhere else. Now, at least two months before the announced official release date of May 2016, available for purchase from authorized dealers here are two new members of the reissued "Turtle" family, the SRP787, and the SRP789.

In case you're not yet familiar with this particular line of Seiko dive watches, the key details include a case and dial design harking back to the old cushion-style 6306/6309 divers produced from 1976-1988, ISO 6425 dive watch certification, 200m water resistance, use of Seiko's workhorse movement, the 24-jewel hacking/handwinding 4R36 which runs at 21,600 bph with a 41 hour power reserve, and hands reminiscent of the hands used in the iconic SKX007/009 line of divers. Dimensions are 45mm (excluding crown) x 14mm x 48mm, with a lug width of 22mm.

For more details on this particular range, you can refer to my review of the SRP777 Black "Turtle" reissue here, or my reviews of the other earlier released variants, the SRP773, SRP775 and the SRP779.

This post will be focusing on the black/blue variant, a color scheme often referred to as "Batman", based on the color scheme of that particular comic book character. The watch is predominantly black, similar to the SRP777, but with a solid end-link stainless steel bracelet with dive extension same as the SRP773 and SRP775. The bezel is blue up to the 20 minute mark, and black the rest of the way. The minute hand sports a blue outline, making it stand out more visually from the rest of the dial. I would expect these new models to be popular given that the changes would likely appeal to those into modding.

Locally they are priced anywhere from 260-310 USD. I would expect these to be priced a bit higher in other territories when they are made available there.

Some photos:

SRP787, AKA "Batman Turtle".

 

Seiko Neo Sports Black SRP715

Rounding off my series of reviews of Seiko's Neo Sports 4R36-based field/military style watches is this review of the black dial, black leather strap SRP715. Among this particular line of watches, starting with the sunburst blue-dialed, stainless steel bracelet SRP707 (reviewed here), the light gray-dialed, stainless steel bracelet SRP709 (I don't actually have this variant),the dark gray-dialed, stainless steel bracelet SRP711 (reviewed here), the beige-dialed, brown leather strap SRP713 (reviewed here) and the SRP715 which is the subject of this post, the SRP715 has the most basic and arguably the most classic color scheme, with a black dial, white fence-post hands and Arabic numeral indices, silver 24-hour markings and logo, polished fixed stainless steel bezel with a black painted inverted triangle pip mark at 12 o'clock and black paint hour hash marks, and black calf leather strap.

Everything that can be written about this particular model line has probably been already written in the earlier reviews I made of its siblings, so let's just look at some photos:

SRP715.

SRP707 on Hirsch

In an earlier post I've written and posted photos of my Seiko Neo Sports SRP711 on a Hirsch leather strap. Decided that my SRP707, the sunburst blue-dialed version of the SRP711 (see earlier review here), could also benefit from the aesthetic improvements from a high-quality leather strap, as opposed to the rather bland appearance of the stock stainless steel bracelet. This time I used a 22mm brown Hirsch Forest Artisan leather strap, and I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out.

Have a look:

SRP711 on Hirsch

As a follow up to my Seiko Neo Sports SRP711 review (see earlier post here) here are some pictures of the SRP711 on a 22mm dark brown Hirsch Duke Alligator Embossed leather strap. I've mentioned before that the stock stainless steel bracelet doesn't really do anything for me, but the switch to high quality leather really enhances the overall look of the watch, with the rich dark brown strap nicely complementing the dark gray dial and bezel and high contrast white markers and hands. I'll probably end up doing the same to my SRP707 (see review here), perhaps with a slightly different strap style and shade of brown.

Some photos: