Hands On: Seiko Land Turtle SRPG13 & SRPG 15

Joining the Turtle family are these new “Land Tortoise” models.  This new line up consists of 4 models, the SRPG13 with taupe dial and green grey bezel, the SRPG15 with blue dial blue bezel, the SRPG17 with black dial black bezel, topped with gilt accents, and the SRPG18 with the rose gold plated case and brown dial.  Today, we have the taupe dial SRPG13 and the blue dial SRPG15 for a hands on review.  

Look once, and you might mistake this for a standard Turtle with a new color scheme. However, these Land Tortoise pieces are a bit smaller at 42.4mm compared to the 45mm divers. These are also slightly thinner than the 14mm Turtles at just 11.7mm tall. Thanks to the reduction in diamater, these not-so-small turtles will fit a wider range of wrists.

What makes the Land Turtle a ‘land’ turtle, is the addition of the compass bezel. On the standard ‘sea’ oriented turtle you of course find the diver’s bezel instead. Note that they did also include the wonderful 200m water resistance on the land turtle.

Beating inside is the 4R35. Not the prettiest of movements, but reliable, sturdy and easy to service or replace.  It has a power reserveRéserve de marche Also known as Power Reserve. A watch's power reserve refers to the amount of time a mechanical watch can run without being wound. The power reserve of a mechanical watch can vary depending on the size of the mainspring, the efficiency of the gear train, and the rate at which the mainspring releases energy. If a watch has a Power Reserve 'complication' it simply means that the status of the power reserve can be seen on the watch itself (either on the dial or movement side of the watch). [Learn More] of approximately 41 hours. The accuracy of caliberCaliber The caliber ('movement') is the heart and engine of a watch. It consists of a number of interconnected components that work together. Energy is transmitted through the gear train, to the escapement mechanism. The escapement mechanism releases this energy in a controlled manner. This drives the gear train, which ultimately rotates the hands of the watch and keeps time. [More Info] 4R35 is between +45 / -35 seconds per day. It shows hours, minutes, seconds and date.

The smaller dimensions make this easy to wear for a wider range of wrists. If you always wanted a turtle but were looking for a smaller version, this is a no brainer. While this is focused on ‘land’, you can clearly and safely wear this at ‘sea’ as well if you don’t need the diver’s bezel.

The watches retail for around EUR 500 and are available now, just in time for the Summer!

• Calibre Number
  • 4R35
• Movement Type
  • Automatic with manual winding
• Duration
  • Approx. 41 hours
• Case Material
  • Stainless steel
• Crystal
  • Sapphire crystal
• LumiBrite
  • Lumibrite on hands and indexes
• Water Resistance
  • 20 bar
• Case Size
  • Thickness: 11.7 ㎜
  • Diameter: 42.4 ㎜
  • Length: 45.2 ㎜
• Weight
  • 87.0 g