Seiko Prospex SLA049 – The Naomi Uemura 80th Anniversary Limited Edition
The Seiko Prospex SLA049 is a re-interpretation of the watch worn by Naomi Uemura. The Japanese adventurer subjected the original watch to the most extreme conditions as he completed an arduous 12,500km ‘solo dog-sled run’ from Greenland to Alaska. Mark McArthur-Christie, a self-confessed fan of the Japanese marque, explores the composition of this recently launched limited-edition model and shares his thoughts.
The ‘classic’ watches – the ones that every horophile knows and often covets – have a single thing in common. They are all examples of architect Louis Sullivan’s axiom that “…form ever follows function, and this is the law.” Sullivan meant it as an observation, but it works just as well as a means of explaining why some watches endure and others drift into obscurity.
Over the last 51 years, the unidirectional bezel, shrouded crown and unmissable dial of the ref. 6105 have influenced almost every divers’ watch that Seiko has made, as well as plenty of imitators. Along the way, Japanese adventurer Naomi Uemura strapped one to his wrist and endured a solo dog-sled run from Greenland to Alaska, getting marooned on an ice floe whilst on his travels. It was a journey of 12,000 kilometres that took eighteen months. Uemura, who started adventuring whilst at university, specialised in solo expeditions with just his watch for company. Before he disappeared on a winter ascent of the 20,000ft+ Denali in 1984, he’d solo climbed the Matterhorn, Mont Blanc and Kilimanjaro, summited Everest and been the first man to reach the North Pole solo.
It might seem odd that someone who specialised in endurance at altitude should choose a watch designed to stand up to extreme depths, but it actually makes a lot of sense. In fact, a diving watch is pretty much ideal for any sort of bashing and abuse. After all, diving watches don’t just keep water out. They’re designed to survive the sort of pressured environment that would definitely spoil your day no matter what you were up to. A serious dive watch – like Uemura’s ref. 6105 – will have the case strength and design to withstand knocks, damage, shocks and scrapes. In short, all the things you’re likely to experience when clambering over rocks, icebergs and trying to dodge crevasses. Practically, they’re easy to see at a glance, they wind themselves and you can keep a track of elapsed time by turning the bezel as a kind of basic stopwatch. There’s a lot to be said for a diving watch when you’re halfway up a mountain.
As you can imagine, the ref. 6105 Uemura wore between 1974 and 1976 on his Greenland expedition saw some action. Bluntly, it looks as though someone’s used it as a Deltic diesel engine mount. But it’s still going happily and, despite the ordeal, has held up well. Although Uemura’s watch isn’t for sale, Seiko has marked what would have been his 80th year by issuing two new watches, the SLA049, The Naomi Uemura 80th Anniversary Limited Edition and the SLA051, The 1970s Diver’s Modern Re-Interpretation.
Image – Seiko Prospex – The 1970’s Diver’s Modern Re-interpretation Ref. SLA051
The SLA049 isn’t a reproduction or re-issue of the original but an interpretation. This is not in any sense a bad thing. For a start, Seiko says the dial colour – a deep blue – reflects “the blue tones of the earth’s upper atmospheric layers…” This is typical Seiko understatement. It’s certainly the rich, deep blue you’d expect, but it’s also striated and textured in a way you might not. The more poetic could see a snowstorm becoming a whiteout in the white flecks or the movement of the stars in the rarefied upper atmosphere. Poetic or not, it’s a dial that makes you look at your wrist rather more often than is necessary in polite company.
The dial markers reference the 6105, but don’t slavishly follow. For example, the 12 o’clock ‘open book’ marker on the ref. 6105 has raised metal edges with infilled white lume that sits flush. The new watch’s lume stands proud and the metal outers of the markers are less pronounced. The SLA uses Seiko’s own LumiBrite pigment to get a glow on. The spade hands are lumed likewise but pointed, with the second hand just picking up some visual interest with a red highlight.
Someone, somewhere is going to beef about the date not only being between 4 and 5, but also out of line with the crown. They’ll probably complain because the ref. 6105 had the date at 3 o’clock too. But there are more important things to worry about and, form following function, you get the date AND keep your 4 and 5 o’clock markers so the dial is easier to read.
As you’d expect, the 44mm case is stainless steel and has both a screw-down crown and threaded caseback. That gives 200m of water resistance (50m more than the original) so your SLA will not even be fussed by a post-tennis shower, a dunk off Swanage or even proper SCUBA diving. It’s a substantial piece of metal too (185 grams) so you’ll not forget you’re wearing it, albeit Seiko has managed to design the whole thing to be thoroughly comfortable. It’s also ‘super hard coated’, although it’s not absolutely clear what that involves.
The stainless bracelet is, likewise, more comfortable than it looks but, just in case, there’s a blue silicone strap in the box along with it with the same train-track design as the original.
Where the original ref. 6105 ran a cal. 6105B (17 jewels, automatic, 21,600 vph), the Japanese brand has fitted the Seiko Prospex SLA049 with a cal. 8L35 with 26 jewels and a 50-hour power reserve, beating at a rather brisker 28,800 vph. The 8L35 puts out more torque (it has a larger diameter balance) than the Grand Seiko 9S55 and is undecorated but otherwise is near-as-spit identical.
The timepieces are assembled in Seiko’s Morioka-based Shizuka-Ishi studio. This is the sort of place where, each morning, a craftsman who spent 20 years learning his trade from a master hand-polishes each blade of grass before bedewing it with its own drop of pure spring water. That’s being flippant. In all seriousness, the qualifications and experience of the watchmakers at Shizuka-Ishi are remarkable. The average time served at the bench by the senior watchmakers is nearly 43 years. It’d be considerably higher if the stats hadn’t been knocked by a couple of mere striplings with just 30 and 32 years of experience.
Seiko will only make 1,200 SLA049 watches, so it’s probably best to stake your claim at your dealer pretty rapidly.
There is an alternative if you miss the (dive) boat or just don’t fancy a blue dial. That’s the SLA051. With its grey bezel and grey textured dial it still runs the cal. 8L35 but costs a little less and isn’t a limited edition.
So should you buy one? An original ref. 6109 would certainly be more than fine as a daily wearer but they’ve become properly collectable. There are plenty of people who’d rather have something they worried about a little less. OK, the SLA049 and the SLA051 aren’t in cheap beater territory, but if you’re after a serious, robust and practical watch that has some proper heritage behind it and plenty of visual appeal, it’d be worth trying either of these two on.
Further reading
https://www.seikoboutique.co.uk/
Technical specification
- Model: Seiko Prospex SLA049 – The Naomi Uemura 80th Anniversary Limited Edition
- Reference: SLA049
- Case: Stainless steel, diameter 44 mm, height 13 mm; sapphire crystal to front and solid case back
- Functions: Hours, minutes, central seconds and date
- Movement: Calibre 8L35, automatic movement, frequency 28,800 vph (4Hz); 26 jewels, power reserve 50 hours
- Strap: Steel bracelet with three-fold clasp with push-button release, secure lock and extender. Silicone strap also included
- Price: €3,200 (RRP as at 3.6.2021)
- Limited Edition: 1200 pieces