Seiko are introducing four new Speedtimers into the Prospex range, split into two pairs. The first pair are the Seiko Prospex “Heritage Motoring” Countdown Speedtimers and the second pair are the Prospex Speedtimer “Grand Touring” Mechanical Chronographs. We’ve been hands-on with that first duo to give you our first impressions.
Seiko Prospex “Heritage Motoring” Countdown Speedtimers
First we have the “Heritage Motoring” Countdown Speedtimers, a pair of non-chronograph Speedtimers. Instead of a chronograph function they are fitted with internal rotating bezels controlled by the secondary crown at 4 o’clock. Those bezels feature a 60-minute timing scale that counts down from 60 to zero, hence the name Countdown Speedtimer.
A countdown timer has many practical applications such as if you know you have 10 minutes until that important meeting or in a slightly sexier example, 15 minutes until race start in Monaco. Plus, as the 39.5mm x 12mm steel case has 200m water resistance, it could even double as a dive watch if you know you have 30 minutes of air in your tank.
At that size, the watch wears nicely on the wrist. It’s large enough to be very legible with its bar indexes and lumed hour and minute hands while also being slim enough for the comfort and convenience of daily wear. There are two colourways being produced and the version we have been hands-on with is the Powder Blue, a light blue edition that’s nice and clear like the open sky above a race circuit. The second version is Petrol Blue, a darker shade that is specifically inspired by 1970s ‘young-timer’ cars.
Turning the watch over reveals a solid steel caseback, behind which is the Seiko 6R55 automatic movement with 72-hour power reserve and functions for hours, minutes, seconds and date.
The Powder Blue on steel bracelet is priced at £870 while the Petrol Blue on car-interior inspired leather is £840. That puts them in the mid-range price bracket of Seiko by today’s standards, which makes sense because they are three-hand, time and date watches but with premium movements.
Price and Specs:
Seiko Prospex Speedtimer “Grand Touring” Mechanical Chronographs
Second is the duo of Seiko Prospex Speedtimer “Grand Touring” Mechanical Chronographs. These are larger than their Countdown cousins, measuring 42mm x 14.6mm, giving them a significant presence on the wrist. That size is not uncommon in chronographs because you want a wide display so that the subdials aren’t crowded and the larger thickness is caused by the stacking of the movement, winding rotor and column wheel chronograph mechanism.
For the dials, the options are Sky Blue or Silver Grey. They both feature vertical engraved lines across the dials that represent the open road ahead of you and the passing sky above as you travel on your grand tour. The Sky Blue is paired with black subdials for the 30-minute and 12-hour counters and a lighter grey for running seconds. Meanwhile the Silver Grey uses light blue and grey for those same counters. A peripheral tachymeter lets you calculate your speed over a known distance.
Inside is the 8R48 automatic column-wheel chronograph movement with 45-hour power reserve. It’s controlled by the pump pushers which flank the crown at 3 o’clock. The top pusher starts and stops the chronograph mechanism, serving as a stopwatch function, and the lower pusher resets it back to zero.
The Prospex Speedtimer “Grand Touring” Mechanical Chronograph is at the higher end of the Seiko price range at £2,340 for the steel bracelet Sky Blue and £2,250 for the leather strap Silver Grey. That’s not a super popular price range for chronographs as it sits between the upper end of affordable chronographs and the lower end of luxury chronographs from the likes of TAG Heuer and Breitling – the closest comparison that comes to mind is the £1,850 Timex Atelier Chronograph.
Price and Specs:
In addition to the new Speedtimers, there is also an update regarding some older models. Three previous Solar Speedtimer models are receiving SKU refreshes, which means they are the same watch but with new reference numbers, potentially updated stock keeping quantities and the main thing that will be relevant to collectors: price adjustments. Those three are Speed Yellow (formerly the 2024 ‘Pogue’), along with Grand Prix White and Champagne Gold. There’s also a fourth new Racing Green edition that justifies the refresh. All four are priced at £670 – for models like the Pogue that’s only an increase of £10 and brings them in line with the modern pricing of that collection.
More details at Seiko Boutique.
