Up Close with the Seiko Prospex “Great Blue” Sumo Scuba PADI Special Edition
Thursday - 20 July 2023
The new Seiko Prospex “Great Blue” Sumo Scuba PADI Special Edition is inspired by the deep blue waters that its design is engineered to thrive in and features the distinctive screw-down crown at 4 o’clock
A bit about the Seiko Sumo watch
The Seiko Sumo watch is considered an extra-large diving watch for professionals. It is one of the most coveted and desirable dive watches on the planet and comes in several different forms offering features like 200-meter water resistance, an automatic winding movement, and a robust stainless steel case construction. Its inception dates back to 2007 when Seiko released the first Sumo watch. As its name would suggest, the series is home to comparatively large models, just like the famous Japanese wrestlers! That said, the recently released Seiko Prospex “Great Blue” King Turtle Scuba watch, launched at the same time as this model, also measures 45mm.
Despite a broad diameter, Sumo watches by Seiko are relatively thin in thickness, counteracting some of its chunkiness across the wrist. Sumo watches by Seiko have a characteristic diving bezel that is set into the case itself assisting with the thinness of the case as a whole and making the dive watch a lot more manageable. In addition to this, the watches feature a distinctive crown located at 4 o’clock. Superb polished and satin-brushed effects across the surface of the case make the watches from the Seiko Prospex Sumo range incredibly well made, holding their own very well against Swiss luxury watch brands.
A new PADI special edition
Each year, the Japanese watch brand releases at least one special edition watch made in collaboration with PADI – the world’s leading scuba diving training organization. If you’re into diving, you may have even participated in PADI’s diving courses and scuba diving services, since the company has over 6,300 PADI Dive Centers and Resorts dotted around the world, not to mention more than 136,000 individual PADI Professionals that have issued more than 25 million certifications around the globe. The Seiko watches released in collaboration with PADI each year are designated as the “Great Blue” watches. This year, the brand has released a new King Samurai and new King Turtle watch alongside the new Seiko Prospex “Great Blue” Sumo Scuba PADI Special Edition watch, which we’re going to look at in more detail today.
The series of special edition watches released under the PADI reference by Seiko each year proves to be very popular with general Seiko collectors and fans of its dive watch range. The spec list of any PADI watch, true to Seiko’s traditions in crafting reliable dive tools, is full of solid features that constitute a great companion for exploring the underwater universe. Paired with an impressive spec list is an affordable price tag that cannot be grumbled at.
The new Seiko Prospex “Great Blue” Sumo Scuba PADI Special Edition watch
The new Seiko Prospex “Great Blue” Sumo Scuba PADI Special Edition watch fulfils its promise of a large case size and shape, combined with the distinctive 12 o’clock marker, this time dressed against a rich blue gradient dial that melds into a darkened edge where the luminous hours sit. Influenced by a diver’s view underwater as sunlight hits the surface of the ocean, the “Great Blue” Sumo Scuba watch has a light blue coloured minute hand that is shaped like a sword and matching light blue details that mark out the first 20 minutes of the diving scale on the ceramic-filled unidirectional rotating bezel. As with all Seiko dive bezels, its design rotates only in the counter-clockwise direction as a safety feature to reduce the risk of accidentally extending dive time whilst underwater. The hour track is made up of a mix of circular and trapezoid indexes that have also received a generous amount of LumiBrite to match the hands. Lastly, a date window sits at 3 o’clock on the dial.
The new Seiko Prospex “Great Blue” Sumo Scuba PADI special edition watch measures a diameter of 45mm and features the PADI logo above the 6 o’clock location on the dial, protected by a sapphire crystal glass top. This anti-reflective and scratch-resistant material protects the deep blue display, securing to the sides of the watch’s super hard coated stainless steel bodywork. The case is also water resistant to 200 meters and features a screw-down crown at 4 o’clock, holding the in-house mechanical 6R35 calibre movement at the centre of the case. The movement is capable of producing a 70-hour power reserve once fully wound and promises an accuracy of -15/+25 seconds per day once fully wound.
To complete its robust and dive-ready look, the new Seiko Prospex “Great Blue” Sumo Scuba PADI special edition watch is fitted on a stainless steel bracelet with a three-fold push button mechanism and an extender feature for wearing atop heavy diving gear.
If you’d like more information on the new Seiko Prospex “Great Blue” Sumo Scuba PADI special edition watch and you fancy joining an elite Seiko dive watch fan base, you can call and speak to a member of our Jura Watches sales team today on 01335 43453 or email us at help@jurawatches.co.uk.
