One of the frustrations of being a Seiko fan is that many of their finest watches are only released to the Japanese domestic market. At this year's Basel watch fair, Seiko announced the global release of more models under a new line called Ananta. Described as "an exclusive collection of luxury timepieces with Spring Drive and high-grade mechanical movements, targeted at those who truly understand and appreciate fine watchmaking."

Ananta includes both high-grade mechanical as well as SpringDrive watches, giving us Seiko fans ample material for appreciation. Look for more posts here as we learn more.

Read on for more details.

Introduced in 1961, the Alpinist line has been Seiko's product for upscale outdoorsmen. Designed for the 'Yamatoko' or 'mountain man,' these are watches for those who hike and climb mountains. Over the years, Seiko has introduced both mechanical and quartz versions, many with compass bezels and usually waterproof to an unusual 200m (660ft).

The Alpinists are now being redesigned with three new models set to drop in late July for the Japanese domestic market. The case shape has changed considerably, and the crown is now at the 4 o'clock position, and from these pictures, it appears that they're using a variant of the classic SKX-series divers' watch case.

There are three new models, all with the 6R15 mechanical movement.

The first one I want to talk about is the ion-plated black SARB063 (top right). List price on this is 71,400 Yen, or about $720 USD. For that, you get a plated case and bracelet which gives the watch a fashionable flat black look. The black-framed hands are a trifle less legible but still quite readable in my opinion. The white-on-black bezel pops visually, and looks very functional.

Next is the SARB059:

There aren't a lot of people who need a watch that can survive the airless void of space, but Richard Garriott happens to be one of them. He's headed for the International Space Station and some extra-vehicular activity (spacewalking). Garriott could have just chosen to wear the vacuum-rated Omega Speedmaster, or maybe a Fortis Cosmonaut, but instead he turned to one of my favorite watchmakers: Seiko.

Seiko has a long tradition of creating limited-edition watches for explorers in extreme environments. They've made some extraordinary watches, and routinely use the lessons learned in later production models. For example, they made Landmasters for trips to both poles (the GMT hand goes counter-clockwise for the Landmaster South Pole!), an amazing shrouded diver for commercial divers, a ceramic and titanium masterpiece for Mt. Everest, and even a watch specifically designed for hikers of Japan's mountains. As most of these are limited editions, they are tragically hard to find, and rarely even seen.

For Garriott, Seiko has designed a true masterpiece introduced this year at BaselWorld: the Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk. Have a look at these features:

• Spring Drive 5R86 movement for accuracy under the extreme temperature swings of space (-20° to +70° Celsius, or about -4° to 160° Fahrenheit).
• Titanium case with the sides etched out by a new CNC (computer numerical control) machine that Seiko built in order to help get the weight down to only 92.5 grams.
• Completely air-tight case capable of surviving direct exposure to space.
• Oversized buttons for use while wearing space gloves.
• Domed sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating.
• Waterproof to 100m, or 330ft (in case of a water landing, I guess).
• 12-hour chronograph.
• GMT hand for 24-hour UTC time (which is used in both space and aviation).
• New luminescent material that Seiko says is three times as bright as a typical luminescent watch.
• A special dial and hand design for maximum readability.
• 53mm by 15.2mm which is huge.
• Limited edition of just 100 watches (price not yet announced).

They made some interesting design decisions on this one, and I'm smitten by the results. The dial is ultra-readable, with unobtrusive chrono hands, a subtle but still readable "there if you need it" blue skeletonized GMT hand, and bold white hour and minute hands reminiscent of the 6S37 Flightmaster. The power reserve subdial is subdued, and the date window is symmetric with the 9 o'clock marker. Blue makes a low-key accent, carefully placed to be non intrusive. The sculpted case and top-mounted buttons and crown (referred to as a "bullhead" design) make for a stunning and unique timepiece.

The Seiko Spring Drive Spacewalk is to space what the new Rolex Sea-Dweller DEEPSEA is to the ocean. Even at 53mm, I'd happily wear it. It's gorgeous, functional, and built like a titanium tank. Let's hope Seiko introduces a production model soon.

Update (June 15): Richard Garriott gives us an update on how the Seiko Spacewalk is performing so far during training.

View the Seiko SKA367 photo gallery.

One of the things I enjoy about wearing Seikos is that there's so much to discover post-purchase. Often, a watch will have a coherent style that you find you enjoy long after it originally caught your eye. Let's take a closer look at a mid-line Seiko Diver to see what I mean.

Meet the Seiko SKA367, a yellow-faced Kinetic quartz dive watch with a typical complement of features:

• Waterproof to 200m (660ft).
• Stainless steel case with Hardlex mineral crystal.
• Quick-set and quick-change date window at 3 o'clock.
• Power reserve button to check battery level.
• Six month power reserve if not worn, with low-battery warning.
• Screwdown crown and caseback.
• 48mm wide by 15mm high.
• Stainless steel bracelet with dive extension (also available with a rubber strap).
• Lumibrite (Seiko's very bright luminescent paint) on the hands, bezel dot, and indices for nighttime readability.
• List price of $475, with street price of around $360.

When you first see the Seiko SKA367, the yellow face and high-contrast black hands leap out at you. The dial is eminently readable, and a very cheerful yellow color. The crown also has a yellow highlight band that matches the dial and lends the watch a nice stylistic coherence.

The past few years have seen steady growth in the diameter of men's watches. In the 1950s, a dress watch was expected to be slim and small, the normal size being somewhere between 32 and 35mm wide. These days, anything less than 38mm is considered dainty, and even 50mm and beyond isn't unheard of.

However, not everyone wants such a large watch, or for that matter, the bold styling that often accompanies it. These more traditional men seem to be the target market for Seiko's recently introduced line of four mechanical dress watches, all with classic styling and very conservative 36mm cases. They are based on the new 23-jewel 6R15B movement with both hand-winding and hacking, and are known as the Seiko Mechanical line.

Features of the new Seiko Mechanical line include:

• 6R15 23J Automatic movement with hand winding and hack function.
• Accuracy of +25/-15 seconds per day.
• 50 hour power reserve.
• 19mm drilled lugs.
• Sunburst dial finish.
• Water resistant to 100m (330 ft) with a non-screwdown crown.
• Mineral glass crystal and display caseback.
• 125g on the bracelet, 65g on the leather strap.
• 12.5mm thick, and 36mm wide.
• Pricing between ¥50,400 and ¥52,500 (about $465 - $485 USD).

View the Seiko Velatura SRH005 photo gallery.

I've always been a big fan Seiko Kinetic watches. There's something about generating power through physical movement that I somehow find more intriguing than a static and stationary solar cell. I like how you can hear the rotor turn, and even feel the friction that generates the power. And I like how the power reserve indicator let you know if you've been giving your Seiko Kinetic enough wrist time. It may sound strange, but there's something a little more alive about a Kinetic watch than its solar or battery powered counterparts.

With the introduction of the new Kinetic Direct Drive movement which appears in four of Seiko's new Velatura watches (two available in the US — the SRH001 and the SRH005), the Kinetic experience gets even more interesting. Kinetic Direct Drive movements allow the watch to be "hand wound". Before the Direct Drive, there were three ways to charge your Seiko Kinetic:

1. Wave it back and forth for a minute or two to spin the rotor. Anyone who has ever owned a Kinetic is probably familiar with this motion.
2. Wear it. Daily use is more than enough to keep a Kinetic watch sufficiently charged. It's only when you have a Kinetic that is part of an extensive watch rotation that you have to concern yourself with keeping it charged.
3. Place it on a Kinetic charging unit. You can buy charging stands which conduct power directly into the capacitor through the case and dial of the watch to essentially "quick charge" it.

But now with the Kinetic Direct Drive, you can charge the capacitor directly simply by turning the driving wheel. The procedure is certainly much more natural and subtle than the martini shaking motion of the past.

The Seiko Kinetic Direct Drive takes what I love about Kinetic movements to the next level by making the charging process not just active, but actually interactive. Shortly after you start turning the drive wheel to charge the watch, the power reserve indicator jumps to life and turns into a real-time power generation indicator. It's a bit like a Kinetic tachometer, you might say. Here's how it works:

We've written pretty extensively about Seiko here at Watch Report. We just plain love 'em. Their self-powered Kinetic watches, which use a mechanical winder to store energy in a battery driving a quartz movement, are very cool. As with a mechanical watch, an offset weight rotates around an axle in response to the movement of your arm. In an automatic, this action winds a main spring, however in a Kinetic, it actually generates enough power to charge a battery.

At Basel World this year, Seiko announced the Velatura collection of marine watches: eleven watches with four different movements, two of which are brand-new. All are Kinetic quartz, and some of the new models use a new yacht timer movement. As Christian explained in his article about the new Rolex Yacht-Master II, this is a specialized countdown/stopwatch combination used by yacht racers. If you need it, I'm sure it's quite helpful. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten around to buying a yacht just yet, so I'll have to get back to you on that one.

Seiko has now added the ability to handwind Kinetic watches which is a faster way to charge them. They're calling it the Kinetic Direct Drive, and we like it. Unlike the simple "gas gauge" power reserve meters that other watches have, this one is multi-purpose: as you handwind the watch, the gauge "revs" indicating how fast you're winding. Once you stop, the needle moves to indicate how much power has been stored. It's a nice and unique addition, and quite probably a lot of fun to use.

All of the models have dramatic diamond-shaped hands that I find readable and attractive, and sapphire crystals with anti-reflective coatings (a personal must-have). List prices range from €600 to €900, or $845 to about $1,200. Oh, and one more thing: we just found out they're coming to the US very soon! Naturally, we will have a review.

Update: read the Seiko Velatura SRH005 review.

By Paul Hubbard

View the Seiko Orange Monster photo gallery.

After James' review of extreme dive watches, I'd like to bring you back to Earth with a review of a modern classic: the Seiko Orange Monster.

Introduced in early 2001, and officially called the SKX781, this bold diver from Seiko quickly inherited its nickname from its older sibling, the "Black Monster" (SKX779). There are also more expensive limited editions available in blue, yellow, PVD black, and red.

Let's start with some specifications:

We previously wrote about Seiko's innovative Spring Drive watches, and I'm personally a big fan of their Marinemaster Spring Drive diver. At the annual Baselworld conference, Seiko announced the long-awaited Spring Drive chronograph. Unfortunately, it's a 300-piece limited edition, with an exclusive price of €5,500 (about $7,500).

There's a lot to like about the Seiko Spring Drive Chronograph and its design, including:

• Glide motion movement, meaning all hands move completely smoothly, not in "ticks".
• Titanium case and bracelet.
• GMT (24-hour) hand.
• 12-hour chronograph (the only glide motion chronograph in the world).
• 72-hour power reserve indicator.
• Date.
• See-through sapphire caseback.
• Deployment clasp with push-button release.
• Water-resistant to 10 meters, or about 30 feet.

I've always liked the idea of the Spring Drive movement -- primarily for its superior accuracy, and its completely smooth motion -- and now that it has been enhanced with a glide-motion chronograph, I'm extremely intrigued. Hopefully, this technology will move out of the realm of the limited edition and into the mainstream very soon.

By Paul Hubbard

For many years now, Seiko has sold a line of mechanical dive watches based on the trusty 7S26 movement (the heart of the watch). They retail for under $200, they are well made and reliable, and they are generally considered to be excellent "beaters".

The problem is that the 7S26 movement is burdened with a couple of design compromises: you can't wind it by hand, and it is a non-hacking movement, which means that when you pull the stem out all the way, the movement doesn't stop as you might expect (making it very difficult to set the watch with much accuracy). Of course, Seiko sells several other watches with better movements, but they cost more.

As of April 2007, that's about to change. Seiko is introducing three new divers based on the 6R15 movement which is more accurate, can be wound by hand, and can be hacked. With stainless steel cases, they come in black (SBDC001), blue (SBDC003), and orange (SBDC005), and will be priced at $428 (63,000 yen).

The 6R15 divers cost a bit more then their predecessors, but still represent excellent value for the money, and are generating a lot of interest on the net. I can safely predict that they'll displace the 7S26 divers from a lot of wrists.

By Paul Hubbard