Seiko’s Slick New GMT Dive Watch Is a Deep Sea Masterpiece

In March of this year, Seiko announced a suite of limited edition watches celebrating the 60th anniversary of the 62MAS, the brand’s first proper dive watch.

The least interesting offering was a GMT version of the Marinemaster with the anniversary textured wave relief dial in a simple blue and steel color scheme.

Seiko

Just over a month later, Seiko debuted a regular production version of the 1968 Heritage Diver’s GMT in a far more appealing white dial with a blue ceramic bezel and a red GMT hand.

It was one of 2025’s standout releases for a brand drowning in dive watches. But even that classic nautical arrangement pales in comparison to the third version of Seiko’s celebratory travel-diver.

The new 1968 Heritage Diver’s GMT ‘Seashadow’ SPB534 cloaks the highly capable tool watch in a black and gilt motif befitting the most refined attire. It punctuates glossy black surfaces with gold-tone accents set against a lightly brushed elliptical steel case.

Seiko

For me, the most appealing feature is how well the GMT hand blends in. It sticks out like a sore thumb on the previous two iterations, but you barely notice it here unless you’re looking for it, which is how a GMT complication should be presented.

The deep black sea

Seiko named the ‘Seashadow’ after the term used to describe an optical illusion that occurs when diving at great depths. Minimal sunlight combined with how human eyes perceive things in the water makes objects appear like flat black silhouettes.

Seiko

The term is represented by a glossy black dial plate, a black chapter ring with a 24-hour track and a shiny black ceramic bezel insert with a 60-minute countdown track and a pip.

The inky darkness emphasizes the gold-tone hour hand, minute hand, seconds hand, minute track and applied hour marker frames. The hands, hour markers and pip are fitted with Seiko’s LumiBrite.

More than good looks

With a design built on the Marinemaster, one of Seiko’s premier diver lines, the ‘Seashadow’ has professional-grade specs.

The stainless steel case has a hard coating to prevent scratches, and the box sapphire crystal has an anti-reflective coating on the inner surface.

Seiko

The 42mm wide by 13mm tall case, shaped like the original 62MAS, boasts 300m water resistance thanks to a screw-down crown and screw-in case back, each with gaskets.

This 1968 Heritage Diver’s GMT is powered by Seiko’s caliber 6R54 automatic movement, which adds a GMT complication to the 6R55 found in the King Seiko and Presage collections. It has a 72-hour power reserve and a SPRON 510 mainspring.

Seiko

Black and gold is an overdone combination in watch design and often comes off as lame, but when executed with the necessary restraint, it is gorgeous. Seiko doesn’t frequently play this card in its higher-tier watches, which makes it all the more appealing on this elite $2,000 diver.

Availability and price

I hate it when there is a catch, and this is a big one. One of Seiko’s finest watches of 2025 is also one of its scarcest. The Prospex 1968 Diver’s GMT ‘Seashadow’ SPB534 is limited to 500 pieces, an extremely tight run for the Japanese watchmaker. For comparison, 6,000 pieces of the anniversary reference were produced.

But it gets worse for American shoppers. This beauty is only available for purchase in person at Seiko’s Bond Street Boutique in London, England, for £1,600.

If you’re going to book a flight to Heathrow, I would do it fast.

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