A while ago, Seiko released two limited edition watches that pay tribute to its late 1960s design roots: the SRPL05K1 and the SRPL03K1. Nearly identical in every technical respect, the two models are distinguished by their dial color. One is a deep matte black, the brand refers to as “Pepper Black,” while the other features a brushed silver-blue tone with a cooler, more luminous effect in daylight. Both are limited to a generous 9,999 pieces and form part of Seiko’s broader effort to reintroduce heritage designs with modern functionality.
These watches wear easily and feel compact on the wrist, but not small due to the 45mm diameter and the 12.4mm thickness. They’re made of stainless steel with a “retro” brushed look to them (my words, not Seiko’s) and house a familiar domed Hardlex crystal up top. The screw-down crownCrown The knob on the outside of the watch that you typically use to either wind the mainspring or set the time [Learn More] and solid caseback help deliver 100 meters of water resistance, making this the perfect watch to take out and about, including on vacation and to the beach, when the last thing you want to worry about is water resistance and the toughness of your watch.
The case features drilled lugs for easy strap changes. I am never not a fan of those. Each watch ships on a stamped single-link bracelet with folding clasp, and includes a black rally-style leather strap in the box. The bracelet is nicely executed and the clasp wears relatively flat which is always nice.
Both watches are powered by Seiko’s automatic 4R36 movement. A workhorse calibre that beats at a cool 21,600 vph, supports hand-winding, hacking secondsHacking Seconds Hacking seconds is a feature found on some mechanical watch movements which allows the wearer to stop the second hand by pulling out the crown. This allows the wearer to set the watch to a precise time. [Learn More], and offers a modest-but-good-enough 41-hour 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]. The day and date are shown in the usual position at 3 o’clock, and legibility overall is excellent thanks to clean applied markers and sharp luminous plots on the hands and dial.
What makes them different is entirely visual. The black-dial version reads as more classic, even stealthy. The silver-blue version, by contrast, feels a touch brighter and more casual, with a beautiful and pronounced sunburst effect, especially when the light hits it just right.
Both are versatile and easy to wear, though the difference in tone shifts the overall personality of each piece. They’re otherwise mechanically and physically identical. Personally, while liking both, the silver dial had that little extra touch of awesomeness. Of course, opinions may vary.
These are easily some of my top favourites in today’s Seiko 5 line-up. Note that you can also grab these in their non-limited selves, which are just as nice, simply different look of course. However, I would certainly urge you to hunt for one of these limited editions while you still can, as these are quite special in my book. While limited, these are still available today if you put even the most minor of search efforts into this, and they are definitely worth a closer look.
SRPL05K1 and SRPL03K1