So what exactly does one get out of a Seiko Prospex with a $1200 price tag? A Lovely Dial As with all of SeikoвЂ™s watches, you get what you pay for, and the quality-to-price ratio is always more than fair. Yes, youвЂ™re going to pay much more for the SPB143вЂ™s superior finishing and design, but I believe the cost is well worth it. Of course this watch does not compete with my Grand Seiko, but it does blow away the Sumos, Samurais, Turtles, SKXs, and SPBs IвЂ™ve owned. So I took a chance on the SPB143 with the hope that it might elevate my Seiko diver game. I donвЂ™t expect a $179 SKX007 to compete with the bliss-inspiring Zaratsu-polished case and the magical dial of my Grand Seiko, but owning the Grand Seiko certainly has revealed to me that affordable Seiko divers tend to suffer from buttery case edges, so-so polishing and brushing, and flat, unexciting dials. My issue with many of SeikoвЂ™s more affordable divers (e.g., SKXxxx, Sumos, Turtles, etcвЂ¦) is that the case and dial finishing are lackluster. ItвЂ™s worth mentioning, too, that my Grand Seiko SBGH269 more or less ruined more affordable Seikos for me. I also had amassed quite a collection of Seiko divers (cresting to 9 or 10 not too long ago), and though these divers were all quite good (and certainly good value), none were truly great watches. James doesnвЂ™t buy a ton of watches, and as one of my trusted sources of both good taste and deep knowledge, I pay attention when James buys a watch. I immediately bought the SPB143 after hearing James Stacey talk about having bought one on The Gray NATO podcast. Instead, the SPB143 announces itself as a Seiko Prospex diver that pays tribute to the original 62MAS without the disappointment of previous attempts. Indeed, Seiko is clearly not trying to be dead-accurate here.

However, the SPB143 is a modern watch, and thereвЂ™s an argument to be made that the deviations from the original 1965 model have helped this watch avoid the whiney microscopic comparisons to the original that too often crescendo into howls of existential crisis from the hardcore Seiko collecting community. The bezel is proportionally wider, the Prospex logo is вЂњincorrect,вЂќ and the dimensions (41.5mm) arenвЂ™t the same as the original (37mm). No, the SPB143 is not an exact replica of the original 62MAS. The other three colorways look pretty good, but for those who long for that first Seiko diver of 1965, only the charcoal dial will do. There is a gilt version, a blue, and a sort of green one, but the one with the charcoal dial I have here (SPB143 in the USA, SBDC101 in Japan) is the closest to the original 62MAS. Seiko released four versions of the SPB14x under the Prospex sub-label, and Seiko fans around the world rejoiced вЂ“ yours truly included. In short, Seiko didnвЂ™t give us a relatively affordable and reasonably accurate recreation of the 62MAS until just a few weeks ago when they released the SPB14x series. SeikoвЂ™s most accurate recreations of the 62MAS have cost many thousands and then shot up over market value, while the more affordable tributes to the 62MAS have been disappointingly unlike the original.

Keen to bank on this passion for the original 62MAS, Seiko has reissued it a couple of times in recent years. Those prices would have seemed impossible just five years ago, and IвЂ™m sure IвЂ™m not the only one kicking himself for not scooping these up when they were вЂњcheap.вЂќ

As such, prices for the original 62MAS have shot up over $10k for clean examples, and the recent limited edition reissues have peaked over $7k. Seiko produced the 62MAS from 1965 to 1968, and in recent years the 62MAS has grown into a coveted and rare collectible. Price: $1200 (only comes on steel bracelet)ДЄs SeikoвЂ™s first dive watch, the 62MAS has become nearly mythical, not only among fans of Seiko but also among fans of dive watches generally.Movement: 6R35 automatic-winding mechanical.Hands-On Review вЂ“ Seiko SPB143 / SBDC101 62MAS Prospex 200m Diver

Seiko prospex spb