Introducing the Seiko Prospex “Street Series” Solar Diver Collection (Ref. SNE537, SNE535, and SNE533)

Given Seiko’s rich lineage and the hunger of today’s watch-head for neo-vintage throwbacks, it should come as no surprise that Seiko continues to look to its back catalog for inspiration. Sometimes, that inspiration lends itself to a near-exact reproduction of a timepiece long gone. As fun as that can be for the Seiko faithful, I personally also really enjoy it when brands—and Seiko in particular—take past concepts and riff on them to make something new. Seiko’s been doing that with the “Tuna” for quite some time now. 

A Seiko icon, the Ref. 6159-7010 “Tuna” (earning this nickname because of its size and the distinct shape of the case shroud) made its debut all the way back in 1975, and in the decades since we’ve seen numerous iterations on that initial design. More recently in Seiko’s Prospex range, we’ve seen numerous solar-powered takes on that concept, and Seiko has just announced three new, online-only editions of their shrouded solar dive watch—introducing the Prospex “Street Series” Solar collection.

There are three references making up this new series: SNE537 (gray), SNE535 (olive), and SNE533 (navy). These watches are sporty and playful, and with the in-house V157 solar caliber (10 months of runtime on a full charge), they’re entirely practical, too. 

Overall, the aesthetic approach here is: less is more. While other solar divers in the Prospex range go for contrasty embellishment, Seiko’s vibe here is more subdued and tactical. The green one especially has a distinct military look that I really dig, and I love the way the textured shroud** plays off the dial, which Seiko describes as “camo.”

Don’t let the 47-millimeter case width scare you away.  All of Seiko’s shrouded divers have a way of seeming larger on paper than they do on wrist (this one also measures 12.4 millimeters thick). With the case’s stout lugs and domineering shroud and bezel that eat some of the dial’s real estate, these actually wear quite a bit smaller than one might think.

Altogether, I’m a fan of what Seiko has put out here, and I’d love to see more iterations on the solar “Tuna” down the line. All three models are available direct from Seiko USA for $450 a pop. Seiko USA

**Editor’s Note: An earlier draft of this post indicated that the shroud was made from aluminum. As some readers have pointed out, the shrouds on other solar tunas are made of plastic. Until I can confirm one way or another, I have removed the mention of aluminum.