Seiko Prospex Black Series King Samurai SRPH97K1 Watch Review
Friday - 17 June 2022
Extending the Japanese watchmaker’s Black Series collection, this new Seiko Prospex Black Series “King Samurai” SRPH97K1 dive watch is limited to 8000 pieces worldwide and makes good use of a vibrant bluey-green luminous material for its integral timekeeping features.
Taking its name from “Professional” and “Specification” and combining the two – the new Seiko Prospex Black Series “King Samurai” SRPH97K1 is one of several new dive watches released by the famous Japanese watchmaker for 2022. The Prospex watch collection comprises many standard models, plus some limited edition iterations. In particular, Seiko has been focussing on reinventing some important models from its heritage. The Seiko Prospex 1965, 1968 and 1970 Mechanical Diver’s Modern Reinterpretation watches were released earlier this year. All three are limited edition models exclusive to just 5,500 pieces worldwide and come fitted on a black polyester band along with an additional silicone strap, whilst one other model - the SLA061J1 watch - was released alongside these but is exclusive to just 1000 pieces and features a black hard-coated stainless steel bracelet. An important sub-series to the Seiko Prospex line is the “Black Series” family, which, if you’re familiar with your dive watches and you have a particular interest in using them during the night, you’ll be more than familiar with.
The Seiko Prospex Black Series watches are all inspired by night vision underwater. We’ve seen Seiko use a vivid orange colour to enhance legibility in its dive watches before now, but never have we seen this striking blue-green colour used for the hour markers and hands. The Seiko Prospex Black Series “King Samurai” SRPH97K1 dive watch has been released alongside another two models – the solar-powered Seiko Prospex Black Series SNE587P1 and the Seiko Prospex Black Series “Tortoise” SRPH99K1.
The principle of the Prospex Black Series range has always remained the same – take a classic steel watch, coat it in black and combine it with a dark bezel and case to really make the integral features of the watch stand out in light-compromised conditions. The great thing about these Seiko dive watches is that they look cool whether you’re planning on utilising them for their true purpose or not. This time, Seiko chooses to follow these rules and adds a flashy new colour to the popular King Samurai watch design.
The Seiko King Samurai
The Seiko Samurai watch was first released in 2004 and was made available in several different versions before it was made redundant. The titanium version was made exclusive for the Japanese market, whilst the stainless steel version boasted a stunning “Clous de Paris” textured dial. When the design was re-launched in 2017, the Seiko King Samurai watch brought back the model’s sharp, imposing dimensions combined with a more modern movement. The new Seiko Prospex Black Series “King Samurai” SRPH97K1 takes the form of the most recent 2017 re-launch. It comes with a sapphire crystal glass front and a polished ceramic insert within its bezel.
The new Seiko Prospex Black Series “King Samurai” SRPH97K1 watch
The new Seiko Prospex Black Series “King Samurai” SRPH97K1 dive watch is a beefy 43.5mm model with a depth of 12.8mm. Its stainless steel case has been hard-coated in black to keep in line with the rest of the “Black Series” watches. In this design, the bezel and crown are also hard coated in the same way. The aggressive, angular look of the chiselled King Samurai watch has been preserved in this new dive watch design. A screw-down crown and a water resistance of 200-meters, not to mention a screwed untreated caseback, have all been included to enhance the durability and functionality of this design.
On the bezel of the new Seiko Prospex Black Series “King Samurai” SRPH97K1 watch, there’s a highly readable 15-minute scale highlighted in white against a fully graduated 60-minute dive scale, with the remaining markers executed in a darker shade. A key difference between this Black Series version of the King Samurai watch and the original King Samurai models is the replacement of the waffle-textured dial with a clean, matte-textured uncluttered display in dark grey. The novelty here, however, lies in the unusual colour of the luminous hour markers and hands, which have been executed in this striking blue-green colour. This design feature animates the watch, offering any Seiko dive watch collector a little something different to add to his collection. Under a cyclops lens is a tone-on-tone date window located at 3 o’clock.
The new Seiko Prospex Black Series “King Samurai” SRPH97K1 watch is powered by the automatic Calibre 4R35, which provides a 41-hour power reserve and beats at 21,600 oscillations per hour. It also offers a hand-wound capacity and features a stop-second function. Just 8000 pieces of the Seiko Prospex Black Series “King Samurai” SRPH97K1 watch have been made available to purchase and the watch, which comes in a special presentation box, also comes on a stylish black silicone strap.
Technical Specifications of the Seiko Prospex Black Series “King Samurai” SRPH97K1 watch
- Case: 43.5mm – stainless steel – hard coated in black – depth: 12.8mm – 200-meter water resistance – untreated stainless steel screwed caseback - anti-reflective sapphire crystal glass front - black unidirectional rotating bezel with white 15-minute dive scale
- Dial: Dark grey – green-blue luminous hour markers and hands – date window at 3 o’clock – matte textured dial surface
- Movement: Automatic Calibre 4R35 – with manual winding capacity – stop-second function – hours, minutes and seconds with date function – 21,600 vibrations per hour – 41-hour power reserve
- Strap – Black silicone
- Reference; SRPH97K1
- Availability: Limited to 8000 pieces worldwide
- Price: £590
