Four new solar chronographs join the Seiko Prospex collection marking the company’s association with the World Athletics Championships to be held in Budapest, Hungary, in August, 2023. Officially called the Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph, all four watches sport a new movement with the Seiko Caliber 8A50, a 1/100-second chronograph with a +/- 15-seconds per month precision rating.
The Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph watch is 42mm-wide, 12.9mm-thick, and its lug-to-lug distance is 48.3mm, making it reasonably thick for a highly functional chronograph and proportionate to the 42mm diameter. All offer 100 meters of water resistance and 4,800 A/m magnetic resistance for peace of mind. All four watches have the same case and bracelet design but in different executions and, in true Seiko style, ever-so-slightly different prices and naming schemes. From left to right in the gallery above you are looking at the Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph SFJ001, Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph SFJ003, Seiko Prospex Analog Quartz Chronograph 40th Anniversary Limited Edition SFJ005, and, lastly, the Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph World Athletics Championship Budapest 23 Limited Edition SFJ007.
Giving off strong field-watch vibes is the Seiko Prospex Analog Quartz Chronograph 40th Anniversary Limited Edition SFJ005 (above), an homage to the world’s first analog chronograph that displayed time increments in 1/100th of a second in 1992. Seiko refers to this as “a particularly epoch-making development in the history of Seiko’s analog quartz chronograph.” That watch had a rather more traditional 6-9-12 subdial layout with a day-date indication at 3. By contrast, the new Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph watches have a rather quirky layout that does away with center-mounted hands and displays everything in subsidiary dials. The Seiko Prospex Speedtimer 40th Anniversary SFJ005 is priced at 930 Euros and is limited to 4,000 individually numbered pieces.
One might try to read the Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph World Athletics Championship Budapest 23 Limited Edition SFJ007 name out in full during the 100m final, but chances are the first runner will have finished before arriving at the reference number. It is the only version in all black, with a black “hard coating” on the case and bracelet. A curved sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on its inside safeguards a uniquely textured dial. Seiko does not specify where this texture comes from, but it reminds us of the specially paved ground found in gyms and stadiums. The Seiko Prospex Speedtimer SFJ007 Budapest Limited Edition watch is priced at 970 Euros limited to 4,000 individually numbered examples.
The regular production models include the Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph SFJ001 and SFJ003. The former is a charming panda dial version while the latter is a black-on-black dial with white contrasting markers. The case and bracelet are steel as they are on all four references, and case sizes remain unchanged, of course. The Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph SFJ001 and SFJ003 watches are priced at 890 Euros.
The Seiko Prospex Speedtimer Solar Chronograph watch prices range from 890 Euros to 970 Euros, and all four versions will be available from July 2023, in time to have these on the wrist during the World Athletics Championship. You can learn more at the brand’s website.