The Seiko Turtle: SRPE93

Seiko Turtle: SRPE93

Stats:

• Case Width: 45mm

• Lug to Lug: 47.7mm

• Case Depth: 13.4mm

• Lug width: 22mm

• Weight: 124.9g (on LIW waffle strap)

• Movement: Seiko 4R36 Automatic

  • 24 Jewels

  • Hacking and Hand Winding

• Complications: Day and Date

• Water Resistance: 200m

• Crystal: Hardlex (Seiko)

• Bezel: Aluminum

• Lume: Lumibrite (Seiko)

Note:This watch was purchased at the listed retail price from Long Island Watch.

Background

The SRPE93 (previously SRP777) is one of Seiko’s Prospex Diver’s watches that also happens to be one of its “reimagined” vintage designs. It’s modeled after the 6306 and 6309 watches of the 1970s, the successor to the highly regarded “Willard” 6105 of the late 60s.

The 6306/9 watches were a third generation of Seiko dive watches, simplifying the case shape of the 6105, losing the extra bulge of the crown guard on the lower right of the case. Instead, the crown was inset halfway into the symmetrical case. This family of dive watches also introduced a day complication alongside the date, an update from the 6105.

Like its 70s inspiration, the SRPE93 is nicknamed the “Turtle” due to its round, shell-like case shape. Depending on the angle you look at the watch, it even looks a bit like a turtle with the lugs acting as legs, the bezel as the shell, and the crown as the turtle’s head as it protrudes slightly from the case.

About the Turtle

The SRPE Turtle, while obviously based directly on the 6306/9 watches, isn’t an exact copy. While it does a very good job of emulating the original watches quite well, there are a handful of obvious differences that make it apparent that you’re looking at a modern watch.

Among differences you’ll notice right away are that the modern version has the Prospex “X” logo on the dial just above the ISO “Diver’s 200m” mark. For those of you counting, that’s 50m more than the original. It also comes with a modern, incredibly soft and comfortable Seiko silicone strap with a signed metal keeper and signed buckle. While I do find the Seiko straps to be incredibly comfortable, I just don’t feel like they fit with the vintage aesthetic of the watch so I immediately swapped it out for a rubber waffle strap. It will probably end up on a NATO-style strap eventually, but for now this is doing the trick. The last major aesthetic change is the second hand. This is SKX/SRPD style second hand with the lumed lollipop on the balance end instead of the vintage style with the lollipop at the tip of the second hand. Aside from these modern changes, the watch does a fairly good job of getting the looks of the original right.

There are also some less obvious differences. One of these differences is that the crown position on the new watch is at 3:45 instead of 4:00 like the original. Another subtle change is that the typeface on the day and date wheels are different. Neither of these are big changes, but they would stand out if you were to hold both versions of the watch side-by-side. Both of these changes are due to the fact that the SRPE93 is using the 4R36 movement—Seiko’s modern workhorse—which doesn’t allow for a crown to be set perfectly to 4:00 and the day and date wheels are standard across all of the 4R36 watches.

The overall size of the Turtle is something that gives some wearers pause when considering the watch. At 45mm wide, the case is quite large and can be overwhelming for someone with a smaller wrist. Luckily, its lug-to-lug measurement is just below 48mm, which helps to reduce the Turtle’s overall wrist presence and helps it wear smaller than its measurements would otherwise suggest. The case also curves sharply at its sides, providing deep cut outs for the wearer’s wrist, which makes the watch feel like it sits lower and reducing the watch’s apparent height.

At the end of the day, though, its size is related to its purpose as a dive tool and watches in this category tend to be larger, so it fits right in with other dive watches.

Highlights

The SRPE93 Turtle has a lot to offer.

The main benefit of the watch is that it carries the “Diver’s 200m” mark. This means that it has passed the ISO certification testing requirements necessary to be rated for SCUBA diving. It’s a certified, professional diving watch. Beyond this, many of the features of the watch are what give the watch its personality.

Case

The case is what we’ve all come to expect from a Seiko Turtle. It has a soft, oblong cushion shape that has defined the Seiko diver for decades. While not being the exact same dimensions as its 1970s counterpart, it is remarkably close for having to be redesigned for modern parts, a modern movement, and modern production facilities.

The case is well built from 316L steel, as other Seiko divers are and have been. Due to its size and shape, though, the case has a fair amount of weight to it compared to the other Seiko dive watches.

The surface of the case is brushed which gives the watch a visual feel of toolishness and helps to give the watch a bit of character. It also gives the watch a bit of an understated look, which for a watch this size is not a bad thing. The case then curves beautifully around to the underside where it changes to a polished surface where the case meets the screw-down caseback. The curves of the underside of the case give the watch some assistance, making room for the watch to sit comfortably on the wrist and pull off a secondary job of reducing a small amount of weight. Every ounce (or gram) counts.

Hardlex Crystal

I know that a lot of reviewers and watch enthusiasts will point this out as something that needs to be improved by upgrading the Seiko Hardlex with Sapphire. This opinion comes from the idea that sapphire is a more premium and scratch-resistant material and microbrands are able to provide this feature at the same or lower price point. I, respectfully, disagree. For a professional tool watch this is a mistake. The Hardlex crystal is more appropriate in this context. Hardlex is a softer material than Sapphire, making it more resilient and less prone to shattering if it's knocked against something. This is the same reason why Acrylic crystals were preferred for tool watches and a requirement for the Omega Speedmaster issued to astronauts.

Of course, Hardlex is easier to scratch and scuff than Sapphire crystal is, but in a professional context I’d rather deal with a scratch on my watch crystal than having the possibility of it shattering on me. Is this the most likely thing to happen? No. Is it still a possibility? Yes. Is it worth taking the chance for a professional? No. Scratches can be buffed out if necessary or the crystal can be replaced. Having a watch take on water during a dive or having pieces of crystal find their way into the movement is a perfect way to ruin a watch and get yourself a massive repair bill. If something as simple as a Hardlex crystal can help mitigate these issues, it’s worth it.

Aluminum Bezel Insert

Another thing that will get discussed as something that needs to be replaced with a higher-end item is the aluminum bezel insert. The general consensus is that it should be a ceramic bezel instead. Using aluminum for the bezel insert keeps the price down with the scale of production that a company the size of Seiko has. It also allows the bezel to show wear, which is something that I personally enjoy.

Lume

The lume on the Turtle is outstanding. I don’t think there is another way to describe it. Using their proprietary LumiBrite, the watch glows bright and for a long time with even a minimal charge from daylight or even indoor light sources. The lume is easily visible in low light settings, where other watches wouldn’t begin to glow. I have also been able to still see a faint glow from the indices and hands as long as five hours after turning out the lights.

Movement Accuracy

The 4R36 movement isn’t know for its rated accuracy. At -35/+45 seconds per day, the movement has a rather wide range from the factory. In my experience, though, and from what I’ve seen reported elsewhere, the actual numbers seen by wearers seem to be much better. After about two weeks of wearing the watch, I noted a loss of around -5 to -10 seconds per day. This isn’t too bad for a factory 4R movement.

Price

While I haven’t checked the prices for the entire Prospex line, the Turtle is one of the lowest priced professional dive watches the line has to offer with a list price on par with some Seiko 5 Sports watch prices. It’s nice to see the barrier to entry in the professional line is relatively low while still providing such a capable watch, and one with a vintage design at that.

Room for Improvement

Seiko has a reputation of bad quality control on its watches at just about every level when it comes to bezel alignment. This Prospex diver is no exception.

Surprisingly, on my example the bezel aligns really well. The bezel has the tiniest bit of play within each click, almost imperceptible, allowing for fine tuning of the alignment. All in all, it's quite solid. Buyer beware, though, a number of other owners have reported their bezels being unaligned, including many reviewers, so when it comes to buying a the watch, its the luck of the draw. I have a feeling, though, that some of this may be biased by people with issues being more likely to voice their complaints than those without issues.

The area where my particular watch has some room for improvement is in the day and date discs. These are aligned slightly high, toward the top of the date window. This isn’t the end of the world, it’s just something that I tend to notice when I look at the dial.

One other area where the Turtle could be improved is in the watch case. It’s not the design or fit and finish, but the heft. The watch weighs 124 grams on a rubber strap. This makes for a rather heavy watch. If there were a way to make the case lighter—and not make the case out of titanium and making the watch cost three times more—it would be a huge improvement. That being said, it’s a tool watch so the extra weight isn’t out of place.

Wrapping Up

A lot of the things that are viewed as positives or negatives about a watch are subjective. More often than not, a watch review ultimately comes down to the reviewer’s preferences. There are definitely objective metrics that can be used to review a watch, but at the end of the day, there’s more to liking or disliking a watch than whether it stacks up against another watch or if meets an arbitrary level of quality.

For the Seiko Turtle SRPE93 some of the subjective things that people dislike about the watch make for a solid tool watch at a price point that much more accessible than other professional dive watch options. Many of these things are why I like this watch so much. There are no frills.

Objectively, there are a number of things that would make the Turtle just OK: the wide accuracy margin of the 4R36, the hit-or-miss bezel insert alignment, and the uncomfortably large dimensions. On paper, these all make for a watch that shouldn’t be comfortable or well-liked. That’s the thing about watches, though. The numbers on paper don’t tell the whole story—the watch doesn’t wear anywhere near as large as the dimensions would imply, the movement accuracy is much tighter in many wearers’ experience, and the alignment issue seems prevalent because you’re going to hear about all of the issues people have—a well-aligned bezel isn’t notable.

Part of the Turtle’s appeal is in the fact that it’s a tool watch. It has credibility that can’t be faked. There’s also the heritage of Seiko divers and the historic ties to one of the company’s original professional watches. Nostalgia plays a big role in a watch’s popularity and the Turtle has a lot of it.

I would recommend the Turtle with no reservations. If you think your wrist is too small I recommend that you still try it on. You might like it.

I love the Turtle. It’s comfortable, it fits my 7.25” wrist extremely well, and it makes me smile every time I look at it on my wrist. If I had to get rid of every watch but one, this would be the one I keep, no doubt about it.

Is it the perfect watch? No! There’s no such thing! At the end of the day it makes me happy and that’s all that matters.