Introducing The New Seiko Ice Divers: SPB297, SPB299, & SPB301
In March 2022 Seiko released their newest addition to the Prospex collection, the Seiko Ice Divers. The new Ice Divers by Seiko pay respects to their earlier forms that were in production from the years 1965 to 1970. Inspired from the past and retooled for the future, the new Seiko Ice Divers are purpose built and engineered for the harshest environments.
Professional diver and photographer, Becky Kagan Schott, operates in some of the most extreme conditions. Becky is well known for conducting deep dives in shipwrecks, strong currents, and even in icy waters. She has been part of the team that has actually put the new Seiko Ice Divers to real life performance testing. As a professional diver, Becky knows how important and life saving her equipment is. In her interview, it’s clear that this dive expert has the utmost faith in the new Seiko Ice Divers to perform as advertised.
Case Construction
Each of the new Ice Divers by Seiko feature a stainless steel case that is water resistant up to 200m. Although the 200m isn’t as impressive as some other dive watches on the market, over engineering doesn’t seem to be the objective of these Seiko watches. The Ice Diver provides us with exactly what a user needs to get the job done and that needs to be appreciated.
As an added benefit, the Seiko Ice Divers have a special hard coating applied to their stainless steel construction. This extra coating is meant to improve corrosion, scratches, and durability.
Calibre
The movement that is shared by all the new Seiko Ice Divers is the 6R35. This is an automatic manual winding movement that has a 70 hour power reserve, accuracy rating of +25/-15 seconds per day, 24 jewels, date display, and stop seconds function.
SPB297: Deep Blue Dial 1965 Edition
Keeping true to its heritage, the SPB297 looks almost exactly to what was released back in 1965 except for the deep blue dial. The deep blue dial Seiko Ice Diver is designed to resemble the beauty of polar glaciers. The patterned deep blue dial represents a natural pattern of the glacial landscape. This reference is also the only one to have the crown at the 3 o’clock position.
SPB299: Light Blue Dial 1968 Edition
It’s a testament to Seiko and their designs that they are still relevant and in demand as much today as they were in the past. The Ice Diver SPB299 light blue dial remake of the original in 1968 is a great example of that.
The light blue dial Seiko Ice Diver represents the beauty and brightness of Antarctica. Uniquely designed, the dial on the SPB299 evokes the look of the Antarctic landscape. Personally it reminds me of massive jagged ice walls that line the Arctic coastline.
SPB301: White Blue Dial 1970 Edition
The 1970 Seiko diver reference was constructed with a much stronger case shape. This exact design and dimensions have stayed true with the current Seiko Ice Diver SPB301. The white dial Ice Diver has the same dial texture as the other Ice Divers and represents the strength of the white Artic environment and the will of the famous Japanese explorer Naomi Uemura.
Seiko Ice Diver Pricing & Availability
The new Seiko Ice Divers are priced at $1,250 MSRP for the SPB297 MSRP (Deep Blue Dial) and SPB299 (Light Blue Dial). The SPB301 (White Artic Dial) costs $100 more at $1,350 MSRP. This line of Seiko watches will be available for purchase, in store only, at Brinker’s Jewelers in July 2022. Join our email list or contact our watch department to stay up to date on the arrival of these special edition submersible timepieces.
Plan your visit with our friendly and knowledgeable staff before they arrive at our showroom in July and browse through our inventory of Seiko watches currently available for online purchase.