Latest Review
The Seiko Prospex Speedtimer is one of those watches that is just incredibly easy to recommend. It runs on a solar powered quartz movement, which makes it ultra practical and reliable. It’s styled to look a little like classic vintage chronographs that we love, but isn’t an on-the-nose recreation of any in particular. And they come in an easy to wear 39mm case, a fairly neutral size for just about any wrist. They’re also relatively affordable, coming in well under $1,000.
Seiko has released several of these “SSC” Speedtimers in recent years in a variety of colorways. The latest is a limited edition for the World Athletics Championships, which this year returns to Tokyo for the first time in 34 years. Seiko has been the official timekeeper of the World Athletics organization since 1987 and has made a number of watches to commemorate the partnership in that time.
This Speedtimer would seem to capitalize on a fairly persistent trend in the watch world: the purple dial. According to Seiko, the tone of this dial in particular is inspired by “Edo purple”, a shade long associated with the city of Tokyo. This color has also been designated as the official color of this year’s World Athletics Championships event.
The purple base is accented with black chronograph subdials and a black tachymeter bezel, along with applied faceted hour markers and lume filled hands that have been outlined in black for increased legibility. The black and purple combination works well here, I think. Sometimes with purple dials, brands seem to want to go all in, full purple, if you will, and it can get to be a bit much. It’s still the dominant color here but it’s tempered a bit, which is a good choice.
The 39mm case is 13.3mm tall and 45.5mm from lug to lug – the same measurement as prior versions of this watch. The solar caliber used is V192, which is equipped with a 60 minute chronograph, a 24 hour hand, and power reserve indicator. According to Seiko, this movement will run for 6 months when fully charged, but of course like all solar movements, it is effectively charging whenever it’s exposed to natural light, so wearing it even somewhat regularly should keep it running indefinitely.
Seiko’s new Speedtimer, reference SSC955, is a limited edition of 6,000 pieces and is expected to be available in August. The retail price is $775. Seiko
