As you may know, I have been looking for a green watch for a while. I really want a SARB017, or one of its siblings but maybe they aren't green enough. I'm not buying a Rolex hulk, but what about a green Seiko Samurai? As I started looking at green watches, I was inundated with green, or green dial, dive watches, and it became apparent that Seiko offer quite a few.
In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if they have a whole department focusing on green dive watches. So I thought it would be nice to share a few of my favourites in different prices brackets, and hopefully it might help me decide. Even if it comes down to eliminating dive watches from the green dial watch search, Anordain Fume 2 anybody. No. This is not an option, too much expensiveness, no money I have. Hopefully none of them are so pretty that I end up falling crazy in love. Beyonce, anybody.
Right then, let's get this started. Note, these are 10 of my faves there are probably, no definitely a few more green Seiko divers out there, def millions more green dial watches.
Expect a few new nicknames to be dished out, likely a few superhero or comic book character monikers. I want one of them to be called the Gamora (the lovely green lady from Marvel/Guardians of the Galaxy) but I doubt any of them are sleek and sexy enough. I think She-Hulk is out there though.
SBDY043J1 - The Green Samurai
No, not the Power Rangers guy, though he was cool. Here we are talking about the ever present, robust and angular Seiko Samurai, featuring a green dial and bezel. One of my favourite watches of all time in its black outfit (I need to review it, damn it), the green looks great too. They are, however, notoriously difficult to find which is why we started with this one, all the others are still available. The emerald green dial looks great with sunburst effect, I don't think the waffle dial style of the black one would be as nice in green. Just a classic and a beast of a watch.
SPECS
Case: 43mm // Lug to lug: 50mm // Thickness: 13.5mm // Movement: //
Price: $421 NEW - Discontinued // eBay $750 - probably more.
SRPD63K1 - The Seiko 5 / the best value one
This is one of those ones that is the spiritual successor of the SKX line and of which there are gazillion colour variations. One of which is this green one, it's quite a nice package for the price. I love the SKXs of old so anything vaguely similar is going to be a winner. This has that deep dish dial/bezel, the same knurling on the bezel and gold lines indices and markers, which looks superb - green and gold, always a winner. While it doesn't have the finesse of the old watches, it's still a great option at this price. If you are mad and don't like the green and gold combo then there is the SRPD61K1 which is a lighter green without the gold.
SPECS
Case: 42.5mm // Lug to lug: 46mm // Thickness: 13.4mm // Movement: 4R36 //
Price: £199 @ Amazon UK // £290 @ Goldsmiths
SNE583P1 - The Green Lantern
Well it's solar so that works, it's the Green Lantern ok, deal with it. This is a great looking and quite classically designed dive watch. It's compact at 38.5mm but definitely takes cues from the Rolex Submariner; the hour markers, bezel and crown/crown guard all point that way, the hands thankfully don't. I guess this could/should be the Seiko Hulk then. The solar power quartz movement give you a reliable work horse at a good price point with deals to be had. However, the almost homage vibes might not be for everyone.
SPECS
Case: 38.5mm // Lug to lug: 46.5mm // Thickness: 10.6mm // Movement: V147 Solar Quartz //
Price: £480 @ Goldsmiths
SRPH15K1 - The Teenage Mutant Land Tortoise
No, not the Turtle, the Tortoise. Part of the Prospex line this one is actually called the Land Tortoise, which means it isn't a dive watch, so it shouldn't really be included. But you know, you could go for a swim with it, I think. The main giveaway here are the compass markings on the bezel rather than time markers for dive timing. Its a good looking Tortoise with a deeper green dial and bezel, everything is chunky, the body, the hands, the markers but even at 42.5mm case size, the design makes the lug to lug very short (for a dive watch) and wearable at 45.2mm. Actually it's a great little package, the photo doesn't do it justice.
SPECS
Case: 42.5mm // Lug to lug: 45.2mm // Thickness: 11.7mm // Movement: 4R35 Automatic //
Price: £520 @ CW Sellors
SRPE05K1 - The Khaki Green Turtle
It is khaki green they tell me, so it's green I tell you... We have a sea turtle to go with the land tortoise. This is a great watch for the money, packing in big watch with a lot going on into that almost compact turtle frame at 47.7 lug to lug. The waffle dial and jumbo cyclops add something different to the mix and with the rugged bezel grip make it a formidable looking and robust automatic offering at a good price point. One of the best of the bunch even if it is not quite green, I think other photos show a more green khaki.
Case: 45mm // Lug to lug: 47.7mm // Thickness: 13.2mm // Movement: 4R36 Automatic //
Price: £520 @ Seiko Boutique UK
SFK003J1 - The Greenscape
I would like to call this one the Prospex Seascape GMT Solar quartz big boy. It is a big boy at 52mm lug to lug but it looks fantastic. The sea waves pattern on the dial, the orange GMT hand and text, and the lighter green bottom half of the sloped chapter ring makes for a deep dish effect. There is a lot going on, it looks busy but it's well balanced, not crazy busy (like I am at the moment). However, part of me wishes this had an automatic movement in it and it was a bit smaller, I guess that would put the price up though, wait for it... I'm sure this one can be found for less than £600 with some special offers/voucher codes. You get a lot of watch for the money, literally. One of my faves.
SPECS
Case: 45mm // Lug to lug: 52mm // Thickness: 14.2 mm // Movement: 5K65 Solar Quartz //
Price: £660 @ Goldsmiths
SPB103J1 - The Swamp Thing Sumo
A lazy name but that's what it is. The Sumo has been a dive watch favourite for many years, in its numerous iterations and colour ways. The green looks great, a big bold watch at 45mm, and a large 52.6mm lug to lug (hence Sumo obvs). The green on this one is outdoorsy and marshy like a swamp or swamp thing. Or maybe like the jungle after a storm (I have been in the jungle after a storm you know - in Khao Yai National Park, Thailand). Now, an issue with the newer Seiko Divers that many a fan has been moaning about is the price, and this is where it starts to escalate a bit at £780 but it is the upgraded movement in one of Seiko's most popular dive watches.
SPECS
Case: 45mm // Lug to lug: 52.6mm // Thickness: 13.4mm // Movement: 6R35 Automatic //
Price: £780 @ Goldsmiths
SPB153J1 - The Captain Bogeyman
There is a lot going here with this 2020 re-issue, affectionately known as 'the Turtle'. This watch was popular with American troops in the 1970s, famously worn in the ‘Apocalypse Now’ film by Martin Sheen playing the character Captain Willard. Now, it is the green of boogers/bogeys so I have renamed it, but my immaturity doesn't take away from the serious nature of this Turtle, It means business, it has loads of presence but is pretty compact and sophisticated. As we move up the scales in terms of finish, story and movement, the price creeps over £1000, but there are deals to be had.
SPECS
Case: 42.8mm // Lug to lug: 46.6mm // Thickness: 13.2mm // Movement: 6R35 Automatic //
Price: £1050 @ Goldsmiths
SPB381J1 - The She-Hulk / Green Queen.
I know the She-Hulk is a weird name but it fits this watch, my favourite things tend to be named after beautiful women, go figure. It is an absolute beautiful beast with a royal presence. Many things manifest here in this lovely watch, it's smaller than some of the others at 42mm, and 48.6mm lug to lug it would sit nicely on my skinny wrist. A busy dial but with purpose and bold styling, the seconds hand with red dot syringe is very nice, as is the bezel grip. I'm never a fan of a date window not at 3 or 6 o'clock and the crown looks a bit conspicuous at 4 o'clock without a guard, other than that I love it. What I don't love is the price, like I said earlier, Seiko prices have a point of contention recently, and this is one of the offenders, coming in at a jumbo £1400. Is it worth it, maybe not, is it nice enough to woo me if a deal came along, maybe yes.
SPECS
Case: 42mm // Lug to lug: 48.6mm // Thickness: 12.9mm // Movement: 6R54 Automatic //
Price: £1400 @ Goldsmiths
SLA047J1 - The Marine Manhunter
Here we have the big daddy, the marine green diving machine, the creamed spinach of the green dial Seiko crop - the Prospex 140th anniversary limited edition released in 2021 - (oh also, there is a DC comics character called the Martian Manhunter, he is green). This has a green dial but a black bezel which takes away a bit but it works in its own right, giving a more complex ceramic cool. This is a limited edition of 6000, which isn't particularly limited but means there are still some out there. It's a serious watch, for serious divers or enthusiasts. That 300m text is big for a reason. I love the deep chunky looks of this watch, though it's quite well sized meaning it goes with sneakers as well as snorkels. A stunning piece which can compete technically and aestetically with the big guns of Rolex, Omega et al, at a price which is high for a non-Grand Seiko despite its pedigree and style.
SPECS
Case: 42mm // Lug to lug: 48.6mm // Thickness: 12.9mm // Movement: 8L35 Automatic //
Price: £3000 @ Chisolm Hunter
JOLLY GREEN BONUS
SBGE295 - The Grand High Green Seiko
We had to get a Grand didn't we, a different brand within the same family it's a bonus watch. The Grand Seiko GMT Hotaka Mountains, it comes with the prestigious Spring Drive movement and in at 44mm. It's a beautiful watch, the dial is art inspired by the snow-covered slopes of the Hotaka mountains. It's sleek and interesting, the snow theme is carried into the bezel being half-white and that polishing that GS are so well known for. It's a lovely watch but not for me as it's too bloody big, just as well as it's too bloody expensive as well.
SPECS
Case: 44mm // Lug to lug: 50.8mm // Thickness: 14.7mm // Movement: 9R66 Spring Drive //
Price: £5750 @ Chisolm Hunter
CONCLUSION
So that's the lot, 10 green dial Seiko Dive watches and a bonus one, but where does that leave me and my green watch journey. You can see that as we go through the range (and price range) we get more sophisticated, the movements and hence power reserves increase, the finish and fit become more versatile and quite frankly, more pretty. They all have the robust designs and legibility you expect from dive watches. But that doesn't mean the lower down ones are any less impressive, the SRPD63K1, automatic, green and gold for £199, is a bargain. We have turtles and tortoises representing the Seiko dive heritage and popularity alongside new look GMTs and heavy hitters - the khaki green SRPE05K1 is very cool.
imgs: Goldsmiths
I like them all, I would wear them all, but I like the deep dish, chunky styles with busy dials. My fave as you might have guessed is the overpriced one, the SPB381J1 (above), the She-Hulk, I think if I could find it under £1000, I might just buy it. That is, however, unlikely as I have seen no deals and one on eBay that was £100 over retail which is weird. Anyway it's a beautiful beast.
If you are after a green dial Seiko diver I hope this post came in handy, there are so many more out there, it's a recent boom-trend but it will always be there and a green dial watch will always work well in the outdoors and great under oceans. I still want an alpinist, but would definitely have both in the collection, if they were deals, of course.
Yours Enviously,
Alvin
Apologies now and in advance for the lack of posts and videos, life is somewhat busy and annoying at the moment. I realise I have had a bunch of first impression posts and I need to add reviews. In case it takes me ages to get around to it, I want to thank everyone for visiting and reading and supporting, especially the people who have subscribed or joined. I appreciate it and you. May the watch gods grant you the time and opportunity to savour the watches you desire.