With the SKX having been discontinued for seven years now (damn, really?), the Turtle stands alone as Seiko’s undisputed king of affordable dive watches.
Although prices have climbed in recent years like other Seiko models (and like the rest of the watch industry), the Turtle remains a bargain with professional diver specs, an automatic movement and an iconic design all for well under a thousand bucks.
The current Turtle debuted a decade ago in Seiko’s catalog as a modern revival of the original Turtle from the 1970s. The new version slotted into Seiko’s Prospex line and, in some cases, features an extra feather in its cap with PADI branding on the dial, signaling this watch was made with the approval of the world’s largest diving association.
To date, PADI has issued over 30 million diving certifications in 183 countries. The organization was founded in 1966, which, if my math is correct, makes 2026 the 60th anniversary of the organization. To mark the occasion, Seiko has launched a limited-edition Turtle that pays homage to the PADI logo with a striking blue dial and bezel.
Into the blue
This blue Turtle is very, very blue, and it owes its saturated colorway to PADI’s logo. The shimmering blue dial features the PADI logo’s signature globe pattern along with red highlights, which are also derived from the logo, on the seconds hand and “Diver’s 200m” depth rating text.
The bezel is the same bright royal blue shade as the dial, with white markings and a Lumibrite-filled pearl at the pip. With this being a more premium “King Turtle” variant, the bezel insert is in polished ceramic rather than aluminum. That also means we get an AR-coated sapphire crystal in place of Hardlex, with a cyclops magnifier over the day-date complication at 3:00.
