This Affordable Japanese Dive Watch Is Like The Anti-Seiko

Seiko used to be the undisputed king of affordable dive watches, with icons like the SKX, Turtle and other fan favorites dominating the industry for decades.

But in recent years, Seiko has discontinued its old divers, moved most of its collection upmarket and downgraded its lowest-budget offerings while increasing their prices. At the same time, the market has caught up to Seiko thanks to the proliferation of microbrands, many of which offer watches that are arguably as good or even better than Seiko at cheaper prices.

Today, we have another affordable microbrand diver that looks to beat Seiko at the game it invented, and this one even comes from Seiko’s home country of Japan.

Namica

The Anti-Seiko Diver

Despite being an affordable dive watch from Japan, the Namica Shirahama 2 isn’t trying to emulate Seiko. In fact, I’d go so far as to call it the anti-Seiko. The specs offered by the Shirahama 2 won’t be found on the Seiko divers of today at the same low price point, and beyond that, I don’t think Seiko would ever make divers this bright, bold, colorful or weird.

The diver, which comes in four colors (more on those in a bit) features a lumed sapphire bezel where the bottom half of the bezel is white and fully lumed, creating quite the show when the lights go down. The crystal covering the dial is AR-coated sapphire and features a unique, tall “super” chamfer that creates an illusion of flowing into the bezel. It’s quite something.

Namica

The case and bracelet are also quite interesting. The lugs and crown guards are angular and aggressive, while the knurling on the crown and bezel consists of “punk rock-inspired” hobnail studs. The bracelet is full of angles as well, with each beveled link featuring six, count ’em, six sides. The bracelet tapers from 20 to 16mm and features screwed-in links, quick-release spring bars and a tool-free micro-adjustable clasp.

The Shirahama 2 boasts a water-resistance rating of 200m while maintaining a thin profile of just 11.7mm to go along with its bang-on proportions of 40mm across and 47mm lug-to-lug. That thinness is achieved thanks to the use of a Miyota Caliber 9039, a premium automatic from Citizen’s mechanical movement arm that measures a mere 3.9mm tall.

Namica

Lastly, and most obviously, we have the dials — and these are some dials. Namica conceived the original Shirahama as a “beach-ready” diver, and that concept remains exceedingly true on this new sequel, with bright and bold color combinations that take inspiration from various aspects of Japanese culture.

There are four colors, and while some are more daring than others, they’re all pretty head-turning. The most “basic,” if you can even call it that, is the Neo Blizzard, which pairs a white dial with a matte black and white bezel and accents of pink and sky blue. Its white and black combo was inspired by the concept of yin and yang. As for the pink and blue, well, they just look cool.

Namica

Next is Ultra Blue, the “ultimate beach-side diver.” Inspired by the blue-paneled, white-topped Suzuki Hustler crossover that apparently roams Japanese seaside towns, its dial and half its bezel are a fetching shade of sky blue, while white and light orange accents fill out the aesthetic.

The Cherry Blossom Candy is pretty out-there, with a light pink dial, a white and sky blue bezel, and accents of yellow and green on the dial and hands. It sounds terrible on paper, but it looks great. There’s also a Cherry Blossom Kanji version that swaps out some of the indices for Japanese kanji.

Lastly, and wildest of them all, is the Neo Tokyo. It has the same bezel and handset as the Neo Blizzard, but the dial is something else. It’s vertically brushed with a gradient blue and purple center, topped off with a black fumé-effect black ring. It’s inspired by cyberpunk anime and definitely lives up to its inspiration with its retro-futuristic looks.

Namica

Pricing and Availability

The Namica Shirahama 2 is currently available for pre-order directly from Namica, where it has special pre-order pricing until 9 pm Tokyo time on August 19. Pricing for any of the colorways on a steel bracelet is just $629 during the pre-order period, and only $675 afterward.

Alternatively, for even less money, you can skip the bracelet and get the watch on what looks like a very nice white FKM rubber strap. On the strap, the watch can be had for a scant $549 during the pre-order window, or $600 post-August 19.

Namica

Namica Shirahama

Specs

Case Size	40mm
Movement	Miyota Cal. 9039 automatic
Water Resistance	200m

• Starts at $549
  $600 (9% off)

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