For some, putting on a stealthy all-black watch is meant to catch the eye despite a pretense of understatedness. Conversely, for many adventurers, wearing an all-black timepiece serves the function of going unnoticed entirely.
A few weeks back, Seiko unveiled its Black Series, which blacked out some of its most popular Prospex diver models, giving them bezels and dials with orange accents. Now, the Japanese watchmaker expands the lineup to include two more divers — the 1965 and the Turtle — and an Alpinist field watch. For starters, all three watches are built with black hard-coated stainless steel cases with more straightforward black bezels (sans orange).
If it were at all possible for the Black Series to get even stealthier, Seiko has done so with this limited-edition trio. Intended for relaxing, undetected night diving, the 1965 (Ref. SLA067J1) and Turtle (Ref. SPB335J1) both feature black straps — either Seichu fabric or silicone, respectively — and seafoam green LumiBrite Pro on the hour markers and hands to look like a night vision scope. However, the standout in the release is the Alpinist field watch (Ref. SPB337J1) if not simply for the fact that this all-black variant is perhaps the most jaw-dropping configuration of a fan favorite in Seiko’s lineup. The black stainless steel bracelet gives it more versatile wearability but the sub-$1,000 price tag is pretty nice too.
As the one watch in this trio to feature a stylized dual-tone dial (black and anthracite), the Prospex 1965 SLA067J1 is limited to just 600 pieces. Meanwhile, the Prospex Turtle SPB335J1 is limited to 4,500 and the Prospex Alpinist SPB337J1 is limited to 5,500. Available starting in April, the models will range from $925 to $3,500.
