Last year Seiko introduced the Prospex SPB077/SBDC061 and SPB079/SBDC063 dive watches that take design cues 1968 vintage Ref. 6159, a Marine Master.

They are not re-editions of the 6159, although Seiko did make a 1,500-piece limited edition for $5,400 (Ref. SLA02) which is nice looking in that price range, but there’s a lot of competition.

Enter the modern, so-called Baby Marine Masters, which are a far better value at $850 and $1,000 (rubber strap or steel bracelet), respectively, without giving up much—especially in the looks department. These are arguably the best-looking divers Seiko makes right now.

More recently, Seiko Japan (and some other online stores), started carrying at least two new versions of SBD Baby Marine Master dive watches. The references SBDC065 and SBDC071 represent the dark blue gradient dial variant with a black bezel and a steel bracelet (pictured top) and the other is a PADI version with a black dial, Pepsi bezel, and silicon accordion strap.

The watches are the same dimension as the two dive models from last year, 44 mm x 13.1 mm x 51 mm, and are powered by Seiko’s 23-jewel automatic caliber 6R15, which operates 3Hz with hacking, hand winding, and a power reserve of 50 hours.

Retail is approximately $1,000 on the dark blue gradient dial and a little less for the PADI version. However, these are currently only available as Japanese Domestic Market models, so the price will fluctuate depending on where you purchase, assuming you can find one in stock. They have not officially hit the US yet, although it’s likely they’ll be announced for the US market at Baselworld next month.

 

Photos by Seiko.