Seiko’s Latest Prospex LX Special Edition is a Spring Drive GMT Inspired by the Moon

One of my personal favorite watch collecting wormholes is Seiko watches equipped with Spring Drive movements. Spring Drive, of course, is most often associated with Grand Seiko, but since the advent of the technology, it’s been used in mainline Seiko watches, often in interesting limited editions. Over the last few years (since Grand Seiko was spun off into a separate entity) we’ve seen more Seiko releases with Spring Drive movements, but these watches still represent an interesting diversion from the norm, and offer collectors a chance dive into Spring Drive in an entirely different manner than the comparatively ornate watches typically found under the Grand Seiko banner. 

The latest Seiko Prospex special edition created for the U.S. market not only features a Spring Drive movement, but the design was inspired by space travel, something watch collectors have a tendency to be just a little obsessive about. On this new watch, reference number SNR051, the silvery gray dial is meant to recall the lunar surface, and the sharp blue GMT hand is inspired by the view of earth from the moon. And of course the whole thing, Spring Drive movement with GMT functionality and all, feels like a cousin of the now legendary SPS005, otherwise known as the “Spacewalk,” a watch designed with EVA in mind.  

The SNR051 is part of Seiko’s Prospex LX Collection, a series of watches Seiko describes as the pinnacle of their own watchmaking. The idea with these watches is to reinterpret classic watches from Seiko’s lineup with no-expenses-spared levels of finishing and thematic links to subjects that resonate with the brand and collectors (we covered previous entries in the LX Collection here and here, both of which are also Spring Drive equipped). On the SNR051 (which Seiko is calling the Prospex LX Sky U.S. Special Edition), those familiar with the brand’s dive watch history will see the resemblance to the 6159-7001, Seiko’s first diver with 300 meters of water resistance, introduced in 1968. While the enthusiast in me would love for the LX Collection to expand a bit to reference other important Seiko dive watches (there are many to choose from) returning to this case shape over and over again with a different, creative theme each time also has an appeal. 

The Spring Drive movement powering the SNR051 is the Caliber 5R66, which keeps time to an almost impossible to believe 15 seconds per month and has a 72 hour power reserve. The GMT component has the ability to jump the local hour hand, making this watch ideal for travel (to space, or destinations closer to home), and water resistance is a perfectly adequate 100 meters. It’s a large watch, coming in at 44.8mm in diameter, 14.7mm tall, and 50.9mm from lug to lug, but the case is titanium, so it would wear a bit more easily than a similarly sized case in steel. Zaratsu polishing is used throughout which ought to give the watch a premium feel, and it comes packaged in a matching collector’s box. 

The Prospex LX Sky U.S. Special Edition will be available beginning in January at select Seiko retailers, and it has a retail price of $5,500. Seiko