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
J Oberman
You averred it will be priced at $428, but failed to provide a web retailer link selling them at that price! The price you quoted is NOT true. Web pricing averages in the $600.00 to $1,000 dollar price range for the Seiko Automatic Scuba Prospex 6r15 watch.
James Stacey
@yahoo-7D6OFVGWI45YMM22FZXSPNCBWY:disqus The post you have commented on is over four years old and is accurate to its publishing date. The Seiko SBDC range originally hit the market around 63,000 yen (this is a JDM watch, has to be imported or purchased via a grey-market retailer). The price is actually still going up. When I published our review of the SBDC005 (https://watchreport.com/2010/12/review-of-the-seiko-sbdc005-sumo.html) you could get an SBDC001 for about $600. A quick google search shows that you can now get an SBDC model for $670 (creation watches).
The issue is the popularity of the watch, rising costs to manufacture the watch, and most notably, currency changes. In 2007 63,000 Japanese yen was equal to $430 USD. Today (Aug 28th, 2011) 63,000 Japanese yen is equal to 817.00 USD. The relationship between the Yen and the USD has changed in the past four years and this resultes in a noticeable price change for the consumer.