SBPG001 is another Seiko Spirit watch I want.

Lately many of the new Seikos I’d like to see on my wrist are dreamed up by the designers in the Power Design Project – it’s exciting to see the ideas of the design team in production and for sale.
The watch features the best of both worlds: simple, clean, classic design elements matched with modern technology.

Fans of Seiko watches from the 1970s will have a home waiting for this watch. What makes it more than just a re-release are the technologies tucked inside like solar power and atomic clock syncing. The antenna receives signals in Japan, the USA, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

In the ’70s models like this were very expensive and well built. Prices came down in the ’80s and ’90s, but so did quality. For the last couple of decades, Seiko hasn’t offered a digital watch in this style featuring it’s name, although several Alba models were available in the late ’90s.

Those ’90s Albas were cheaply priced, selling in stores in Japan for under ¥5,000. But the build quality was poor. The bracelets were “hair pullers” and featured cheap clasps, and the casebacks had thin metal plates.

According to Seiko press releases, the new Power Design digitals will feature a watch band with a three-piece folding clasp. That’s a good sign that the build quality will be good. It retails for ¥31,500.
There are two versions, the one shown at the top of this post, and SBPG001 in black (above). Several regular contributors on GMT+9 are digital watch fans. Let’s get a discussion going on this new Seiko release, the first digital watch in the Seiko lineup, in this style, in 20 years or so…