Seiko Launch Prospex Mechanical PADI 60th Anniversary Limited Edition “King Turtle”

It has been 10 years since Seiko began their partnership with the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI). However, rather than celebrate that milestone they’ve instead decided to dedicate their latest collaboration watch to an even more significant anniversary, PADI’s 60^th anniversary. The resulting timepiece is the Prospex Mechanical PADI 60^th Anniversary Limited Edition “King Turtle”, which we got hands-on with.

The Turtle is one of the most famous dive watches in the Seiko Prospex range. The name was first used by collectors to describe it because of its rounded, curving case shape that looks like a turtle shell. The nickname then became so synonymous with the model that even Seiko started adopting it – this is also how the Tuna, Sumo and Samurai all got their names too.

As a ‘King Turtle’ that means it’s the higher spec version of the watch. The hardlex glass of the standard Turtle is upgraded to a sapphire crystal with cyclops lens. The bezel is upgraded to feature a scratch resistant ceramic insert. Typically, the dial also features a slightly different texture but here the dial is an interpretation of the PADI 60^th Anniversary logo instead. That means it’s an intense shade of blue with bright red accents for the seconds hand and “Diver’s 200m” inscription.

Under the lights it’s a really vivid display while retaining a lot of that essential dive watch legibility thanks to lumibrite hour markers and matching hour and minute hands. There’s also a day-date function beneath the cyclops lens for some extra utility on land, always a useful reference to have. Personally, I would prefer it without the cyclops lens as it makes the display feel even more asymmetric than it already is, but as it’s a traditional element in some dive watches I’m not too hung up about it.

On the wrist there is no escaping the fact that the Prospex Mechanical PADI 60^th Anniversary Limited Edition “King Turtle” is a big watch. Historically a lot of the Seiko divers were massive – the Tuna that I mentioned earlier earned that nickname because it looks like a can of tuna on your wrist, with common sizes of 48mm diameter or even 51mm in some cases. This watch is not quite that extreme but it’s still 45mm in diameter, making it sit wide across the wrist. Its thickness is 13.2mm, which is not exactly svelte but also not egregious by dive watch standards. Given the current popularity of small, sub 40mm watches, is it weird to say that big watches like this feel somewhat retro in an early 2000s way – which was over two decades ago after all.

Keeping the watch on the wrist is an accordion style silicone strap bearing the full name of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors. Seiko claim to have invented the accordion style strap in 1975, where the strap is longer than it needs to be but with intentional kinks in the material to make it the correct size. This extra material can be stretched out, serving as a sort of natural micro-adjustment system if you need to wear the strap over the top of your diving gear or even adjusting to the natural swelling of your wrist in certain pressurised environments.

Inside the watch and protected by a solid caseback is the calibre 4R35, one of the most common Seiko movements. It has a 41-hour power reserve, automatic winding and a 3Hz frequency. It first debuted in 2011, making it five years older than Seiko’s partnership with PADI. It’s the true work horse of the Seiko range, used in their most accessible mechanical watches across the 5 Sports, Prospex and Presage ranges.

Speaking of accessibility, the Seiko Prospex Mechanical PADI 60^th Anniversary Limited Edition “King Turtle” is £650 in a limited edition of 8,000 pieces. While the size will mean that some collectors immediately rule it out, I think there’s something cool about a big, chunky tool watch like this. Plus, the partnership with PADI is cool, promoting awareness and sustainable practices when it comes to how we enjoy the world’s oceans. It’s a simple fact that one of the best ways to get people passionate about conservation is for them to experience it first hand and when it comes to the oceans, that means getting into the water.

More details at Seiko.