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55 years ago, Seiko introduced its, and Japan’s, first ever diver’s watch. With an automatic movement and water resistance to 150m, it proved its reliability when it was used by members of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition from 1966 to 1969. In the years that followed, Seiko created many other diver’s watches that found favor with professional divers and adventurers alike, thanks to their high quality and reliability.
The story of Seiko began in 1881, when entrepreneur Kintaro Hattori opened a shop selling and repairing watches and clocks in central Tokyo. In 1965, Seiko produced its first Japan-made diver’s watch, a milestone model. Waterproof to a depth of 150 meters, the watch was designed to withstand high water pressure.
Ten years later, in 1975, Seiko released another milestone model, the world’s first-ever Diver’s Watch with a titanium case. Upon receiving a letter from a professional diver, Seiko engineers were shocked to hear how much strain was put on a watch by the athletes, diving to depths of 350 meters. Seiko took on the challenge, crafting the world’s first diver’s watch that would be resistant to helium and legible at great depths.
Now, Seiko is taking on a new challenge: saving the oceans. Seiko has partnered with PADI, the world’s largest diving network and leading scuba diver training organization. The partnership aims to spread awareness about ocean conservation efforts and teach valuable lessons about marine health.
There are PADI diver courses and scuba diving services nearly everywhere, with more than 6,300 PADI Dive Centers and Resorts, and more than 136,000 individual PADI Professionals who have issued over 25 million certifications worldwide.
To celebrate and promote this partnership, Seiko has crafted a PADI diver’s watch with the PADI logo on the dial and the red and blue PADI colors on the case.
PADI’s mission is to create a community that cares deeply about healing the planet above and below the surface. PADI inspires others to bring about meaningful change by turning passion into a billion torchbearers that explore and protect our ocean.
“One single person can make a difference, and that person is you.”
A Steward for the Sea
Growing up surfing, swimming, and snorkelling the southern California coast instilled a deep love of the ocean in Emily, and an even stronger desire to protect it. The natural beauty and marine life she encountered at the surface – dolphins, sea lions, and kelp beds – piqued her curiosity about what could be at deeper depths. This curiosity not only propelled Emily to become a certified diver, but it inspired her to make diving a career. As part of the PADI marketing team, Emily is committed to ensuring divers are continuing their dive education and aware of the opportunities available to them so that there are more and more stewards for the sea.
“The hope is that if we can get people passionate about diving, we can inspire people to care about the ocean.”—Emily Krak, PADI Open Water Diver
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Built to meet the challenge of the oceans’ depths. In 1983, Seiko 600m diver’s watch was attached to the research submersible Shinkai 2000 to test its durability. It exceeded expectations withstanding water pressure at a remarkable depth of 1,062m. Today’s Prospex diver’s watches are also built to challenge the oceans’ depths. Experience counts.
